Spiritual healing?

[Moose]

Hi, this is a bit of a strange request & isn't about my 2 garters. To cut a long story short I live on a canal boat in the UK, about 2 months ago the marina dog caught a seemingly wild european grass snake & gave it a bit of a nip. Puncture wounds to the tail & side where the sides meet the belly scales. It was given to a couple on another boat to look after as they'd recently lost their rat snake. I saw it for the first time this weekend & was supprised to see the wounds still not healed, it's just shed but is not eating well, looks skinny & flesh baggy around the neck. Still livley & a lot friendlier than my garters, no signs of stress when handled. My question is how long should a flesh wound take to heal? It's only had natural therapies so far, bathed twice a day in some solution of lavender & other flowers.
If it was my call it would be straight to the vet but unfortunatly i don't think they would like my advice.

[guidofatherof5]

How open are they to other treatments? like a week betadine solution bath.

[Moose]

I think i'll have to be careful how i approach the subject, she's a Reiki healer so doesn't belive in non natural substances. It mightbe great under some circumstances, i believe it's been good for dogs. What's upsetting is i have a spare vivarium, temp control, full setup apart from a natural daylight tube, I've some limited past experience with reptiles & injuries / illness which is why I don't think it's healing quick enough. Trouble is it's not my call.

[katach]

Ask them really nice if you can have the poor little guy.

[Mommy2many]

Ask them really nice if you can have the poor little guy.


I second that. Maybe you can pour on a truly sad story (sadder than theirs) and acquire the snake for yourself. Then he may have a better chance. Just a thought;)

[d_virginiana]

Maybe you could suggest taking it since you have setups specially designed for garters and the two species are very similar?
Sticky situation.. Hope the snake gets better regardless of where it ends up.

[guidofatherof5]

Ask them really nice if you can have the poor little guy.


I second that. Maybe you can pour on a truly sad story (sadder than theirs) and acquire the snake for yourself. Then he may have a better chance. Just a thought;)

Good advice.;)

[kibakiba]

I really doubt lavender will help the snake, if not hurt it. I am a big believer in natural cures and remedies, because they work for me, but snakes and other animals have such a different body structure and makeup that I don't think that any natural/plant remedy that helps a human would help a snake

[Mommy2many]

I hate to differ with you on that point but animals have an exceptional ability to heal themselves on their own. That can only be done in the wild with natural items. I'm all for naturalistic/holistic healing, however, I am more than open to any benefit that can come from our knowledge of compounds as well. (Please don't take that the wrong way):D

[kibakiba]

I agree with animals being able to heal themselves on their own, but I highly doubt rubbing a plant on it is going to help the snake.I know some plants have antibacteral properties and coule help keep the wound "clean", but peppermint and cedar oil help with muscle pains, but you wouldn't put those on your snake, would you?

[Mommy2many]

I wouldn't, you are correct. I just believe that these animals have their own methods of healing, using the natural ingredients around them. It may not even be what we have used ourselves, so far. Animals outside, have survived horrific injuries, on their own, without human intervention. They have found a way.

[Stefan-A]

Animals outside, have survived horrific injuries, on their own, without human intervention. They have found a way.
Most of them don't survive.

[Moose]

Hi Guido, how long would you expect a puncture wound to heal using this?

[guidofatherof5]

Hi Guido, how long would you expect a puncture wound to heal using this?

Hard to say, there are so many different things that can affect healing.
I would think the wound should scab over in a few days.
Under normal circumstances I'm guessing it should take a couple sheds to be completely done healing.
Notice I said "guessing";)

Good seeing you on the forum.;)

[RicMartin]

You need to work with what you have, if they will not use a strong disinfectant bath or cream on the snake because they are "not natural", whatever that really means, please remind them that there are lots of good natural disinfectant salves used in tattoo & piercing studios, which are not made of cedar or any other obvious snake allergen, (it's more like golden seal herb or some herb combo). Salves work great for humans, I have never tried it on snakes, so I don't recommend it: I'm just saying that if they want to go the natural route, lavender is not it, they will need to do research, google it, etc.
At the very least they should do warm salt water baths to keep bacteria down, & raise the snake temperature.

[RicMartin]

An approach that has worked for me in dealing with people with vet issues is to offer to pay for the vet, or saying "I'll see if my vet will do it for free" (& pay it without telling them); a lot of times treatment objections boil down to money. If the snake develops a systemic infection without antibiotics, the natural result will be bad. Good luck with this, let us know what happens.

[RdubSnider]

Could be a bad situation for the snake. Ill pitch in by keeping my fingers crossed for the little guy. Good luck

[RedSidedSPR]

Ditto. Good luck with him.

[Moose]

Hi, sorry i've not been on for a few weeks, thought i'd give an update. I've not been able to see the grass snake since i last posted. i gave the lady a link to this thread plus some advice from various books (offer to lend the books has not been taken up). I've been told the snake now has heat, better enclosure & has eaten but have no way of knowing how it's doing. Thanks for all your advice, i'll be keeping my fingers crossed as well.:confused:

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks for the update.
Nice to see you back.