HELP!!! baby garter stuck to adhesive!!

[Artic Exotics]

Help! I just got new hides from homedepot, they are the water collection dishes that you put under potted plants. I wash them before they go into the tanks but this time they had individual price tag stickers that I had to take off and apparently the adhesive didnt come off of one of them when i washed it and one of my baby northwesterns is stuck to it really bad and she's trashing and twisting and really really stressed out!!! I called the vet and they werent open naturally.... I need to get her free of it like yesterday but its gonna kill her if i rip her off to get her free and solvants will probably kill her too. Ive got water on it so shes like soaking but its not coming off! What do i do???

[zooplan]

Give a drop of oil on the snake!

[@ndy]

Luke warm water and a drop of sunflower oil, works like a charm!

[Selkielass]

Olive oil, or a spritz of aerosol cooking spray- the very light oil in 'pam' penetrates goo more quickly than bottled oils in my experience. Spray some into a spoon and drip where needed to minimize inhalation of propellants.
Gentle warmth helps speed the process along.

[guidofatherof5]

I've used olive oil in the past and carefully loosened the snake using my finger nail.

[Greg'sGarters]

I've heard vegetable oil. What type of adhesive is it? Most common adhesives are hydrocarbon based and are water soluble if it's a cyanoacrylate, we might have a problem. I also work with coral and know that the coral glue is a cyanoacrylate and water actually helps it harden. If it is still sticky, it is probably a hydrocarbon, try putting vegetable oil/olive oil on there, and if that doesn't work, wash the whole thing using Dawn Dish Soap and lukewarm water. Next time, if it is not an acrylic or plastic dish, make sure to get all the adhesive off by running the flat, sharp edge of a razor blade over it, this gets the adhesive off. Don't do this with plastic or acrylic though it will just make rough scratches on the dish which can injure him. If none of this works, you might have to use another method, it's dangerous but if you're careful it will work. Lift up his heads so that his body is pulling on the glue. SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY, using a razor blade, run the razor blade under him with the sharp edge facing down at a 45 degree angle. Try coating the razor blade in oil. Do not slash the razor bale across. The reason you want to keep the razor blade down is to keep it away from his scales. ALWAYS CUT FROM FRONT TO REAR! Meaning, start with the end that is closest to his head and cut towards the end that is closest to his cloaca. This will prevent the blade from catching any underside-scales. If you have any doubts PM ME ASAP!!! Hope I could help and hope you get him free. If there is any left over sticky adhesive when he's free, put some flour on it to prevent other things from sticking to it. Also make sure his cage is dry to make sure the flour sticks. Eventually it will dry and he will shed it off.


P.S. ONLY USE THE RAZOR BLADE TRICK AS A LAST RESORT. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS AND ONLY WORTH THE RISK WHEN THE ANIMAL FACES CERTAIN DEATH OTHERWISE!!! You's be better off with a lot of oil, dawn and lukewarm water.

[Artic Exotics]

Thanks everyone. In my panic i remembered a dawn dish soap commercial where they got oil off the baby ducks without hurting them by using the dawn. So I got a q-tip with a little dawn on it and just rubbed the area with it lightly. It came off in about 15 seconds. then i rinsed the area with diluted hibiclens and put a little triple antibiotic ointment over it. took the beasty to the vet today though as she lost a couple scales during the wild thrashing. The wound is very superficial though and i got essentially the same triple antibiotic ointment that i had put on it before. She wont eat today though and that has me worried a little but at least the crisis is over :-)

[ConcinusMan]

OMG, this again. After all the warnings we put up, it's still happening. Glad your snake is OK.

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks everyone. In my panic i remembered a dawn dish soap commercial where they got oil off the baby ducks without hurting them by using the dawn. So I got a q-tip with a little dawn on it and just rubbed the area with it lightly. It came off in about 15 seconds. then i rinsed the area with diluted hibiclens and put a little triple antibiotic ointment over it. took the beasty to the vet today though as she lost a couple scales during the wild thrashing. The wound is very superficial though and i got essentially the same triple antibiotic ointment that i had put on it before. She wont eat today though and that has me worried a little but at least the crisis is over :-)

Glad the little scrub is free of the tape. Keep us posted on the Vet. visit.