wild garter snake rehab in Oregon

[dune rider rem]

So we have this wild garter snake who usually lives in my raspberry bed, we have named him tails. Because in years past he has lost his tail and has a nub now.

Tails last week got injured by a dog, normally I would just let nature take its course, but the keeps ending up out in the yard and I've almost stepped on him. I have returned him to the raspberries several times, but I have noticed that he isn't moving the back half of his body past his injury. He seems to be dragging it. Though he moves behind his injury VERY VERY slowly away if you touch him. In front of his injury he is very active moving his head and tongue even striking at you if you get too close.

afraid that he's going to get injured again I have moved them into a tank in the house in a quite corner, until he recovers, and moves more quickly. I would like to get him back to protecting my raspberries ASAP.
We have water and a reptile heat rock in his tank. Is there anything else I can do to help him? Without taking him to a vet. And should I try to feed him crickets, or something else? Or I hate to ask it but, does this not seem like somethin he can recover from? Any advice in helping tails to recovery would be appreciated! Thanks!

[guidofatherof5]

NO Crickets in a garter diet. Night crawlers would be best at this time. Be careful of the heat rock as older models can be way to hot. Give a big enough water dish for the snake to soak in. I'll supply a link to the care sheet. Any visible open wounds or swollen areas?
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

[d_virginiana]

Can you post a picture of him and the setup?

If he's moving behind the injury it may improve, but it may also be permanent paralysis. No way to tell. Is the injury above or below the vent?
Also, if you're maybe looking at paralysis it's important to know if he can pass urates and poo properly. If you don't already, using paper towels or newspaper as bedding makes it easier to monitor this. It sometimes gets kind of lost in fluffier or natural bedding.

[joeysgreen]

In all honesty, if that's all you have to offer, he's better off in the yard to either recover or die in the wild, likely feeding a predator. Or you prolong a likely agonizing death in a stress box. I understand you have the best intentions, but either intervene fully to increase it's odd's of surviving, or let it be. And yes, I'm going to get ribbed for suggesting going above what is often done.. but as the thread title suggests, take it to a wildlife rehabilitator who can do more.


Ian

[d_virginiana]

No one is going to rib you for giving good, cost-free advice to someone who might have time to use it and follow it. Since this snake has apparently been surviving like this awhile, I doubt it will drop dead overnight like the anole in that last thread.

I agree to some degree with Joey. A vet visit or rehabber would give this guy the best chance for survival, and rehabbers will usually return the animal to you if you caught the animal on your property so it can be released there. If for whatever reason you can't do that, you're probably going to have to put a lot of effort into keeping this guy alive. I thif you definitely don't want to do that and perhaps have to keep him as a pet if he's permanently disabled I would recommend considering euthanasia (if that's your decision we can walk you through the options).

Can you post a video of him moving or upload one to youtube and post the link? That will give us a much better idea of what the outlook here is.

[d_virginiana]

No one is going to rib you for giving good, cost-free advice to someone who might have time to use it and follow it. Since this snake has apparently been surviving like this awhile, I doubt it will drop dead overnight like the anole in that last thread.

I agree to some degree with Joey. A vet visit or rehabber would give this guy the best chance for survival, and rehabbers will usually return the animal to you if you caught the animal on your property so it can be released there. If for whatever reason you can't do that, you're probably going to have to put a lot of effort into keeping this guy alive. If you definitely don't want to do that and perhaps have to keep him as a pet if he's permanently disabled I would recommend considering euthanasia (if that's your decision we can walk you through the options).

Can you post a video of him moving or upload one to youtube and post the link? That will give us a much better idea of what the outlook here is.

[d_virginiana]

Well, that posted twice...

[dune rider rem]

Thank you for all your help.
tails is still with us, but I begining to think he is never going to fully recover... I am trying to find a center or some who can better take care of him then me, but no one I have talked to so far wants to take on a wild injured snake.... If you know of any in Oregon, please pass along that info...

On a good note he is moving ever so slowly arond our make sift enclosure mildly better than he was outside ...

And I read threw the care part of this forum ... It was very insightful. We have offered him nightcrawers and small crawler bits, but he hasn't ate any that we know of but he has been in the water dish a few times with his body.

And his injuries are above his vent. And we have him on news paper but have not noticed any pee...

Also I'd like to apologize for not knowing much about snakes... I've never had one as a pet. I just like animals and disliked seeing him suffer, bringing him in to the house was a decision I didn't take lightly.. I knew it would add to his stress... But I was hoping a few days with warmth and no predators would help this situation...

I will try to post a video or a photo

Thanks again

[dune rider rem]

photo of tails injury

[d_virginiana]

Firstly, looks like you probably have a 'she' instead of a 'he' IMO.

Snake 'pee' doesn't look like urine. Their equivalent is called urates and it looks like a white crust when it dries; kind of like bird poo.

Can she move the area below the injury at all, or is it completely non-responsive?


I am trying to find a center or some who can better take care of him then me, but no one I have talked to so far wants to take on a wild injured snake....

Many places won't take on something as common as a garter, especially when it doesn't look like it will be able to go back to the wild, and most I've seen seem to focus on mammals and birds.

[dune rider rem]

tails is a girl? You can tell that from a photo, im inpressed! And oops for calling her a boy all this time...

Below the injury, She is moving very little, like moves skin slowly away at a light touch, and her tail moves very slow but will rap around a finger layed beside it. I'd like to note that if I touch her lightly above the injury she is very skittish and jerks away from the touch.

And no bird looking poop stuff either

[d_virginiana]

I can't tell 100% from the photo, but the head shape looks female to me.

If she's got some feeling and movement below the injury I think she might have a chance to recover at least partially, or at least lead a healthy life as a pet. Are you willing to keep her? I honestly doubt she'll improve enough to go back to the wild.

How are you offering the food? Like, on a dish? I'd go by the petstore and pick up a pair of feeding tongs. Just makes everything a lot easier. In addition to nightcrawlers, you can offer fish (frozen silversides are in most petco/petsmart freezer sections) just be careful to try and stay away from rosy red minnows or goldfish as a feeder as they can cause serious vitamin deficiencies. Look up 'thiaminase' using the search function on here and you'll find dozens of threads about it. They can be used temporarily if they won't take other feeders though. You can also try frozen pinkie mice (also in the petco/petsmart freezers).

Also, the more fake vines and plants you can give her, the more secure she'll feel and more likely she'll eat. I get them from Walmart, just wipe them down with a wet paper towel before putting them in to get the perfume the stores sometimes put on them off.

Let us know what you decide on and keep us updated on how she's doing!

[Albert Clark]

One other note is wild garters can and do harbor heavy parasitic loads and this could be part of the problem. Anytime you have a snake that wont eat suspect parasites. Especially in wild specimens! Actually, a specific parasite known as the nematode thrives in wild garters and migrates to the tail and wreaks havoc to the garter at the tail. Most garters that are infected show visible tail shortening and possibly swelling and edema of the tail. The infection takes hold when a amphibian is ingested and the larvae of the nematode travel to the tail of the garter and set up to thrive there. Thus, the tail is the main site of where the larvae begin to do their damage. :( :eek: So, there is a good possibility "Tails " may be infected with the nematode parasite and possibly other parasites. Thus her non feeding. All just possibilities though. IMO, I would treat her as suspicious until proven otherwise. Stay in peace and not pieces.

[dune rider rem]

Update on Tails: we have found someone to take her on as a pet! This person has previous experience with snakes and will do their best to give her a shot at a new but diffrent life!

I would like to note that this experience has given my family and I the chance to get to know and learn about an animal that we had mostly over looked until now... Thank you everyone for your help, knowledge, and support on helping Tails!

[dune rider rem]

A photo of Tails new home. We wish he the best of luck!

[Eddie]

Tails might be gravid