Snake tail injury!

[Puppyclown]

Help, I caught a garter snake today but found that the end of his/her tail was missing! He/she was bleeding so I took him/her home. I put him/her in a cage layered with paper towels and gave him/her some water and a minnow to eat. I have him/her in my room, near a lamp. What else can I do for him/her?

[guidofatherof5]

Make sure the wound is kept clean. Having her/him on paper towels will really help. I would remove the minnow. First, treat the injury and worry about food later. Second, minnows are usually full of parasites. There are many other safe foods out there. It would be best to I.D. the snake first when it comes to food.
Some biotic ointment applied can't hurt. Be sure the ointment doesn't contain any painkiller(analgesic)
Thanks for being concerned for this snake.

[Puppyclown]

Thank you it will try that.

[jwolfe152]

I know the snake is probably skittish of hands and you in general (my first one was the same deal except i cut his tail off with a weed eater) but if you keep the wound clean he/she should be fine. Also if the wounds is dirty maybe use a some peroxide to flush it. But please don't use peroxide or alcohol on a regular basis it has been shown that they can cause longer healing times because of how they work but one peroxide flush will be good for it.

[guidofatherof5]

Any chance you can post a photo of the injury and whole tail area. I'd like to see where the injury is.
If you can't post a photo can you tell us how far from the vent/cloaca the injury is?

[chris-uk]

The outcome of this really is going to depend how much of the tail has been cut off. A photo would be a great help, but you mentioned that the tail was hanging by a thread when you found it so can you estimate how long the bit that was lost was?

I have a very good antimicrobial barrier ointment, but it's not easy to get in the US. Unless there are signs of infection I'd go with a more conservative treatment and just use an antibiotic ointment (as Steve said, make sure it doesn't have any analgesic) and only resort to peroxide if there's obvious infection.
Hopefully it's a clean cut and will heal well, does it look ragged or like it's been cut with something sharp?

I think feeding is very much secondary to keeping it at a good temp and treating the injury. It's not going to starve if it doesn't eat for a while. Minnows may be full of parasites, but this is a wild snake, so it will likely have a high parasite load anyway. Personally, I'd worry about getting it eating after getting it through the first few days of treating the injury.

A photo and your location will help identify the species too.

[joeysgreen]

In all honesty, most minor wounds like tail damage are best left for the snake to deal with in the wild. All wild snakes have parasites in manageable levels. The stress of captivity in combination to having to heal a wound can allow the parasites to reproduce out of control. Clean the wound off, apply an ointment if you like (polysporin is fine), and then place the snake back to where it was found or a nearby shelter (bush, deep grass, forest undergrowth).

If you are looking for a gartersnake as pet I recommend buying a captive bred animal.

If you are planning to keep this snake as a pet then I recommend a veterinary visit. At home remedies will likely work but your vet will be able to assess and treat the snake as a whole to give it the best chance for a long and healthy life as a pet. This may mean addressing dehydration, internal and external parasites, wound care, pain management and perhaps systemic antibiotics if indicated.

[Puppyclown]

Hey just wanted to say thanks for all the advice... I kept him about a month and his tail healed up nicely. I had to take the dead part of the tail off and the stub healed up nicely. I let him go where I found him and I think he payed me a visit ... I was out herping where I released him and found a snake about his size with a stubby tail! Just wanted to let you know and thanks again!

[guidofatherof5]

Great update and thank you once again for taking the time to care for the wayward one.

[gibble888]

Good job!!