Bad day for my checkered.

[jamromhem]

The children decided to sneak in the room and play with her while I was sleeping. Regretfully they woke up before I did..

Well the oldest decided he was going to pick her up with her feeding tongs, which are a pair of scissor like medical clamps.

he tail was badly injured and it practically sheered off part of it. I cleanded out her enclosure and put papertowels down, put neosporine on it after a short bath to try to clean it a little... it looks like the tail itself is a total loss, though it seems to be far enough down not to be a crippling injury. I'll post pics here in a minute.

[guidofatherof5]

That's terrible news. How far from the cloaca is the injury? Tails seem to be disposable on some of mine.
Hope your kids are doing okay from the experience.
Keep us posted and a photo when you can.

[jamromhem]

This is her sitting there. She has no feeling after the injury.. and I think my progress on dead food just went out the window.. Her feeding tongs make her nervous now..



http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj433/jamromhem/PIC-0125.jpg


This one is more on her tail you can see how bad it is damaged and out of place..
http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj433/jamromhem/PIC-0124.jpg


A little closer on this one Her anus is right at the bend next to the glass so it should have been far enough down not to damage anything important.

http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj433/jamromhem/PIC-0127.jpg

[jamromhem]

it is severed almost clean through and it bends at a 180 if she moves just right, so it looks like it will be a total loss.. I am wondering if I should let it heal and fall off on it's own or if I should bring her to have it removed... the local herp vet is extremely high cost as she also goes from country to country on a regular basis and has a limited number of appointments.

[jamromhem]

And regretfully my kids are just about heartless.. they are too young to understand that injuries are permanent.. I have a 4 and just turned 3 yo..... I just purchased materials today to start working on a wooded lockable enclosure.. I'll be sure to make it so she can't get unexpected visitors again.

[guidofatherof5]

Look like the tail is a loss. If you keep it clean it will probably break off on its own. You could clip it off and be done with it. Treat the good end and it should be fine. A styptic pencil would come in handy. Shave some of it off with a knife and apply the powder to the cut end. This will reduce the bleeding.

Your kids sound too young to understand at this point. Bailing wire around it should keep them out of it.:D
This whole thing could have been much worse.
The glass is always half full.:)

[jamromhem]

I agree it could have been much worse. The bleeding is pretty much null short of a light bleed right after a cleaning bath.. I am going to have to get some live food for her to eat since she will no longer have anything to do with the tongs.. I will have to leave them in her cage for a while to get her comfortable with them again after she is healed up some.

[jamromhem]

just a random update because I want to rant about my lil garter ;) (thats what your supposed to do here)

Showed her the bath in her enclosure and she was aparently thirsty after just sitting there not doing anything (which isn't uncommon for her) and she started chugging water. I see it as a good sign.. at-least she is drinking...

She still refuses to eat even though it has been 3 days since her last meal. I will get her some earthworms tomorrow to try to get her to eat something.. still trying to get her on a common diet of fillets but she is picky..

[guidofatherof5]

She may take a couple days off eating to concentrate on the injury site and to calm down. This was a stressful situation for her. The water is a good sign.
If she's going to lose that tail piece, now might be a good time to remove it.
This is of course is my personal opinion and you must decide for yourself what to do about it.
I only say remove it in that the injury site can heal once and not again at a later date.
Best of luck with whatever you decide. Keep us posted on her progress.:)

[jamromhem]

I removed the tail piece.. it was only attached by a little piece of skin. Her flinching was more feeling tension as I grabbed it than when I severed that bit of skin left. I tested a couple times to see if she had any feeling in it before deciding to simply remove it.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice work Doc.
She'll never miss it. For the next couple of sheds you need to check to make sure she sheds completely. She may do a spontaneous shed due to the injury. My boy Tang shed 2 times in a 2 week period in an attempt to heal quicker. She probably needs more alone time for awhile. Nothing personal, she's just trying to calm down and regroup. Trust will have to be built, again.

[jamromhem]

I spend some time near her and gently brushing her, minimizing handling short of re medicating with the antibiotic ointment and ensuring she gets in the water every now and then. She plays stupid some times since it is a clear glass water bowl.

I was actually looking forward to her first shed here.. she looks to have been missing a couple scales since she arrived and I wanted to see if they would grow back after a shed or two.

[DrKate]

That's a pretty rough situation to wake up to, congrats on keeping a cool head and getting things taken care of.

FWIW I second Steve's advice on removing the severed tail - which you already did of course, so good job! ;) It won't hurt to keep putting neosporin on it for a few days or even a week to keep the nasties out as it heals, but you'll eventually want to let it dry down to finish healing.


she looks to have been missing a couple scales since she arrived and I wanted to see if they would grow back after a shed or two.
I know it's kind of a tangent but just FYI completely missing scales generally don't grow back, so she'll probably just have a little spot of bare skin there forever. Unlikely to ever be a problem for her (or you).

[Steve 88]

that awful, but as been mentioned could of been worse! heres to her swift recovery :)

[mustang]

BAD CHILDREN !!!! bad seeds, lord of the flies

[jamromhem]

Most recent update is she is eating again. took 2 goldfish and 2 earthworms in that order in 4 days :P.

I have not fed her for a couple days after that :P.

I am going to try the fillet and pinkies again soon now that she is settled down.

Only sign of hostility is she enjoys "going" on my pants when I hold her.

[k2l3d4]

Most recent update is she is eating again. took 2 goldfish and 2 earthworms in that order in 4 days :P.

I have not fed her for a couple days after that :P.

I am going to try the fillet and pinkies again soon now that she is settled down.

Only sign of hostility is she enjoys "going" on my pants when I hold her.


LOL... glad to hear that she is getting better! and I think that is only a small pentance to pay;)

[bkhuff1s]

wow...that blows

[mustang]

Most recent update is she is eating again. took 2 goldfish and 2 earthworms in that order in 4 days :P.

I have not fed her for a couple days after that :P.

I am going to try the fillet and pinkies again soon now that she is settled down.

Only sign of hostility is she enjoys "going" on my pants when I hold her.
Wow mine does that and it still has its tail!!!

[jamromhem]

well she is starting her first shed since the incident.

we will see how it goes. I am hoping all goes well.

I noticed a small injury on her side which might mean she had a run in with one of the cats during the tail losing period. Or she might have came that way. I am hoping the shed goes well. I'll get the warm bath ready just in case for when she starts :P. her eyes just went gray today. Any estimates on timeframe after that for the shedding process?

[PitGirl89]

I'm glad you removed it and I hope your snake has a speedy recovery.