injury back!!garter snake...

[what7psp]

last night my garter snake somehow escaped its cage..this morning i saw it beside my door.....it looks like someone closed the door and the snake got in the way.....it cant move half of its body...plz help....my garter snake is young....don't tell me take it too a vet....its like 20 miles away!!!!!


my snake is a Thamnophis couchii - Sierra Gartersnake

my snake without the ingury..;..
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my snake with the injury..
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plz help....

[anji1971]

Oh, dear. I'm afraid that doesn't sound good.
I don't know much about this type of injury, but my instincts are telling me there probably isn't a lot that can be done for the poor thing. There are a lot of important organs that are most likely not going to be able to function.
I'll let some more experienced members handle it, but I think your option is going to be, sadly, euthanasia.
Sorry for such an unhappy welcome into our forum.

[Stefan-A]

Three options.

1. Take it to the vet. I strongly recommend this option.
2. Keep it where it is and see how it develops. If it doesn't get better soon, see alternative 3.
3. Put it out of its misery. Back injuries are serious and its chances aren't good.

[ssssnakeluvr]

doesn't sound good, lack of movement below the injury suggest spinal cord damage....give him a couple days and see if any movement comes back, if so then there is just minor damage and swelling around the cord....if no movement comes back, the cord is damaged and there's no choice...the snake will have to be euthanized.

[what7psp]

doesn't sound good, lack of movement below the injury suggest spinal cord damage....give him a couple days and see if any movement comes back, if so then there is just minor damage and swelling around the cord....if no movement comes back, the cord is damaged and there's no choice...the snake will have to be euthanized.

right now my injured snake ate a live fish...is that good news

[lestat]

So sad to hear that. Hope it is just swelling and it goes down but if not then try the vet. I know it is a long way to go but they are best trained and they can relieve it's pain.

[infernalis]

20 miles is no big deal, even a Cadillac can do it with 10 bucks worth of gas round trip.

I would walk 20 miles to take one of my snakes to the vet.

heck where we live, its nearly 20 miles to the closest grocery store.

[drache]

20 miles is less than a half hour drive, unless you live in NYC, where some of us don't even have cars
since you don't want to hear the obvious, I'm not sure how we can help you
somehow that sounds callous and I don't mean it that way
I am sorry about your snake - it really doesn't look good

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

wow I am very sorry to see that... but it looks like your options are limited. i don't want to come off as harsh and please dont get mad at me, here but when a pet is in need of drastic help you should be willing to walk uphill both ways if you had to, if your dog or cat were hit by a car, you'd rush him to the vet, right? We need to care as much for our small pets as we do for our dogs, cats, and families.

Anyway, if you are (sadly) not willing to take your snake to a vet, your only option is to see if any movement is regained. If not, you need to have him euthanized because that kind of damage is irreversible and the snake will only suffer if you wait for him to die on his own

So sorry to see this is how you came upon us... Nonetheless I am glad you sought *some* kind of help.

I noticed you've got a goldfish in his bowl.... if he gets better, or if you should choose to get another garter, please don't feed goldfish, they are toxic to your snake

Everything else aside....Welcome to the forum and I hope you stick around and get to know some more garters!

[GartersRock]

Wow... 20 miles is to much to take an animal to?