DOR? Not so fast!

[the_edsta]

Driving home two nights ago, I saw what I thought was a DOR snake... so I made a U-turn and parked in front of it. Sure enough, it was lying there lifeless, and it was a garter -- sirtalis, but of the bright florida variety we have so many of. I picked it up to remove it from the road, and blood came spilling out of its mouth. Obviously, I didn't take this as a good sign... but when I brought it to the roadside... it came back to life! It gave a decent fight... at this point, other cars were crowding, and when someone asked what was going on, I blurted, "just a snake" and jumped into the car with him.

When I got home, I got put a light on him and opened his mouth... it appeared that a bone from the lower jaw had been fractured; it was hard and protruding up through the flesh. Other than that injury to his jaw and the front of his mouth, he looked fine. I rinsed it with a bit of alcohol, applied an antibiotic cream, and then left him in a dark container with some water and a hide. Today... he doesn't look bad at all! The second pic shows his mouth/jaw... and that eye isn't looking great. He is so healthy looking... I'm sure if I can get him to swallow something, he'll be fine. And he's not bad on the eyes either... could be a permanent addition.


rescue_garter.jpg

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[gibble888]

Good job.

[guidofatherof5]

Looks like some TLC is in order. Nice rescue. Thanks.

[indigoman]

Great job! I love a rescue.

[d_virginiana]

Poor guy Glad you found him!

He looks healthy other than the jaw so as long as he drinks, hopefully it won't be a problem for him to go without food while that jaw heals.