Hi guys

[grimmy]

I'm new and I caught a injured garter yesterday it has a cut on the stomach what can I do?

[Snaky]

Keep the environment you put him in clean. Only use newspapers as substrate and if there's faeces, clean it immediately. For the rest, create the right conditions (hiding places, temperature, ...). Just make sure nothing get's in the wound.

You can also clean the wound and disinfect it with something that doesn't sting. But if it's from yesterday and it looks ok, I would leave it. Maybe there are other opinions here

edit: Of course welcome to the forum!

[rwgsnakes]

first off welcome to the forum

and second as snaky said us newspaper as flooring if not that than papertowles, you can put some neosporean (sp?) on the wound, and use filtered water just incase/ a friend had a water snake with a wound on its lower side and when it got into the water it got an infection...or so he thinks


good luck! is it eating?

[adamanteus]

Welcome to the forum Grimmy! I agree with Snaky, the most important thing is to keep the wound very clean. Is it a serious cut? Or only minor? If it's only minor you could clean the wound yourself with Pevidine or similar mild anti-bacterial product. Anything more serious it might be best to consult a vet.

As Snaky says, provide plenty of hides, so the snake feels secure, fresh water of course and proper temperature controls. I wouldn't worry about feeding just yet, let the snake settle in and deal with the wound first. Good luck, keep us posted.

[Cazador]

All good advice. If it's a minor cut, you can go straight for the Neosporin, but if it's deeper/larger or looks infected, you should easily be able to find Betadine (or similar) at most pet stores. First rinse the cut with Betadine. Then rinse with water after a few minutes. Dry, and apply Neosporin. You might want to continue the Betadine (or similar) treatment for about a week if the cut is fairly bad, but continue the Neosporin until there isn't any scab left. A very clean enclosure is important, as mentioned. The scales will show evidence of scarring for at least several shed cycles, and possibly throughout its lifetime. Best wishes with your new snake,

Rick

[drache]

Welcome to this forum
I won't add to all the great advice
only to wish your garter speedy recovery

[Sid]

Welcome to the forum Grimmy. Good luck with your injuried Garter. Keep us posted on how it comes along.

Sid

[grimmy]

its pretty bad see i have 3 milks and no experience with garters the cut under the belly thx for the advise

[grimmy]

heres my milks

[adamanteus]

its pretty bad see i have 3 milks and no experience with garters the cut under the belly thx for the advise

If the cut is bad, you might be better seeing a vet for expert advise. Can you post a picture of the wound?