Burnt Thamnophis

[Tlaka]

Hi, i need urgent help :S i own a thamnophis proximus, i bought him at a mexican store called +kota (i'm mexican) and this morning something awful happened, my little bro took the tank where i keep my snake to the backyard to seize the sunlights, unfortunately he left the tank for too long and the snake suffered some burns and dehydration, in fact we tought it was dead, my snake didn't move for 5 hours and it was flaccid, we put in in a box but my dad just took it out and we realized it was alive but very weak. I took it to the petstore and the manager told me to put it in saline solution, i did it and now it moves a little more but honestly i think it has some sight damage cause it moves weird and it seems very disoriented and i'm worried i don't want it to die or to suffer. What should i do? (Sorry for my English :P)

[Stefan-A]

Keep it hydrated, that's all the advice I can give. Are there any vets in your area, that might be able to help?

Your English is good, don't worry.

[kibakiba]

One thing I can say is do not bother it too much, you'll stress the poor thing out. If you can get any triple antibiotic ointment, you can place that on the burnt areas, but be extremely gentle! Keep a big water dish in the tank so he can drink when he needs to. Don't leave the snake in the saline, and don't let it get in the snakes mouth. Salt isn't good for snakes to ingest. Silver sulfadiazine (silvadene) is also a good thing to put on the burns. It's an antibacterial used on burns. If you have any of that around it'd be good for that.

I hope your snake does okay!
Your English is fine :)

[guidofatherof5]

I'm very sorry to here about your situation.
A Vet. visit would be great but even with that I think only time will tell. Garters can handle a wide range of temps. but excessive heat is really hard on then.
Sounds like you're doing all you can do at this point.
Best of luck and please keep us posted on this situation.

Welcome to the forum.

[Tlaka]

Thanks guys, you are really kind you've helped me a lot, i'm going to try everything you said; today my snake is moving faster and it seems stronger too, now it is taking its tongue out and i think that's a good sign of its recovery, i've called a vet, he is coming to see it ASP but it looks like it is blind :S is that possible? thanks again

[gregmonsta]

Fingers crossed for your snake. Heat-shock is very hard on them.

[mustang]

IS there a snake equivilent for LANICANE?
good luck

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks guys, you are really kind you've helped me a lot, i'm going to try everything you said; today my snake is moving faster and it seems stronger too, now it is taking its tongue out and i think that's a good sign of its recovery, i've called a vet, he is coming to see it ASP but it looks like it is blind :S is that possible? thanks again

Great job getting a Vet. involved.
Tongue flicking is an awesome sign. Moving around is good.
I had a snapping turtle do a full recovery from heat stroke. I even had to do mouth to mouth on him to get him breathing again.
You'll know you're on the road to a good recovery when your snake eats and poops.

Has your snake been drinking on its own?

Not sure what to say about the blindness. If it's true and that's the worst that happens because of this incident considered yourself lucky.
This was a great update. Please keep us posted.


Does your snake have a name?

When things settle down be sure to visit the "Welcome Lounge" and introduce yourself to the forum.:)
Welcome Lounge - Garter Snake Forum (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/welcome-lounge/)

[mustang]

Great job getting a Vet. involved.
Tongue flicking is an awesome sign. Moving around is good.
I had a snapping turtle do a full recovery from heat stroke. I even had to do mouth to mouth on him to get him breathing again.
You'll know you're on the road to a good recovery when your snake eats and poops.

Has your snake been drinking on its own?

Not sure what to say about the blindness. If it's true and that's the worst that happens because of this incident considered yourself lucky.
This was a great update. Please keep us posted.


Does your snake have a name?

When things settle down be sure to visit the "Welcome Lounge" and introduce yourself to the forum.:)
Welcome Lounge - Garter Snake Forum (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/welcome-lounge/)
lets do anther naming game! wow twice iv asked in 1 day:D
oh if i havent introduced myself
im Robert
and WELCOME!!

[guidofatherof5]

Maybe his snake already has a name.:D Now wouldn't we feel silly.:D

[Tlaka]

hehehe "he" already has a name it's Anker but i don't know if i should change it due to this experience

[guidofatherof5]

I like Anker. Don't change anything.;)

[Tlaka]

Thank you :D ......... It hasn't drunk anything or at least i havent seen it, today i offered him a guppy and i saw him trying to open his mouth to eat it but then he regretted; he is exploring the tank so i think he is doing well. Thanks for your quick responses you've helped a lot and you also have brought me up :D i will access to the lounge thanks

[guidofatherof5]

Be sure to hold him in water everyday, even a couple times a day to let him drink.
Be sure to monitor this time.
Don't leave him alone in the water as he make not be able to get out due to this resent ordeal.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Tlaka :)
2 thumbs up :D

[ConcinusMan]

Thank you :D ......... It hasn't drunk anything or at least i havent seen it, today i offered him a guppy and i saw him trying to open his mouth to eat it but then he regretted; he is exploring the tank so i think he is doing well. Thanks for your quick responses you've helped a lot and you also have brought me up :D i will access to the lounge thanks

That is good news. I have seen snakes get overheated before and go limp. If you find them soon enough they can recover.

Ésa es buenas noticias. He visto serpientes conseguir recalentadas antes e ir blandas. Las serpientes pueden curar si usted las encuentra muy pronto.