Half Eaten King Snake (Beware graphic)

[Rolandslf]

Today has not been a good day for me, first ODIN passing, then at about 10h30 I get an anonymous phonecall from an undisplayed mobile number telling me to go to an address where there is a snake which has been half eaten by a rat.
I got theer and what I found Enraged, Sickened and Saddened me. A beautiful Albino King Snake which had been terribly bitten and eaten by a rat. I confiscated the snake amid threats of the law being sicced on me, this fell on deaf ears and I got into my car and drove away. I will try to treat and heal this poor snake.

 

[corrine]

Poor thing, I hope you can help him and he makes a speedy recovery.

 

[Craiger]

Did they have them housed together? How in the world could somebody let that happen? Wow....that's so sad!

 

[beardielover17]

Wow! I feel for you Roland. You can't catch a break right now. I hope you are able to help the snake even though you have already done a great deal for him but getting him the heck outta that hell that he was in before

 

[Red Ink AUS]

Did they have them housed together? How in the world could somebody let that happen? Wow....that's so sad!

Direct results of LIVE feeding, one of my pet hates. Unless the specimen is flatly refusing to eat FT/FK to the detriment of it's health there is no excuse to feed live.

 

[Craiger]

Did they have them housed together? How in the world could somebody let that happen? Wow....that's so sad!

Direct results of LIVE feeding, one of my pet hates. Unless the specimen is flatly refusing to eat FT/FK to the detriment of it's health there is no excuse to feed live.

I feel the same way, Francis. I wasn't sure if it was a result of live feeding or not. The snake doesn't appear to be large enough for a rat, but the pics could be misleading.

 

[staylor]

Poor snake. Is there anything you can give him for the pain?

 

[Rolandslf]

What had happened was that the owner had gone away for the weekend and his factory workers decided to do a good deed and feed the snake for him. In their ignorance and lack of knowledge they chucked in a rat. The rat was in with the snake for 3 days, the owner came back on Monday night and only looked in on the snake yesterday morning to find this. That is when he contacted me. He has since contacted me again and I had a meeting with him last night. He has given me a considerable sum of money for the snakes treatment, and has requested that I keep the snake if it survives. He really does seem to be remorseful.

As for treatment, I am coating the snake with Bactroban by night, and Betadene by day. This is a two pronged attack which should bring about positive results quite speedily. The main objective now is to combat any present infection.

The snake was very lethargic and sluggish this morning, but this may be because I have dropped the temps a bit to inhibit movement so as to not stress the wounds.

The photos are accurate and have not been altered in any way. Besides the two massive deep wounds, all those red marks are hundreds of little rat bites. How this poor snake must have suffered for those three days.

If it was venomous, this would have been a different story because the rat would have received a bite in defence which would have killed it before such damage could be done.

 

[Craiger]

Wow....that's just sad. I do hope it survives.

In regards to my comment on the photo being misleading, I was meaning the size of the snake in the tub. I was picturing an adult rat being eaten by that thing....and it doesn't appear to be large enough. I didn't mean the picture was altered by any means. Sorry if it seemed that way.

Very glad to hear the owner is so concerned. Evidently he really does care about it.

 

[Rolandslf]

Hey Craig, no offence taken mate. She is about 3,5 feet long.

She seems a bit stronger and more alert this morning. She was definitely more responsive to me touching the two big wounds when putting on ointment this morning. I don't know if that is a good thing or not, is she feeling more pain because the wounds have gotten worse, or because they are in the process of healing.

If she is still alive by Monday, I will upgrade her survival status from 50/50 to 70/30 in favour of her pulling through.

A quick question for those with more medical knowledge. The ointment keeps the wounds moist, Is this a good or bad thing?
If it is bad, What can I safely use to help dry the wounds out a bit?

 

[Craiger]

Glad to hear she's more alert...and seemingly stronger. That's good news.

 

[ladyknite]

Wow..........what does one say.................except WOW
I admire your determination and empathy.
I am not so certain I would be as willing in your shoes. Wrong maybe.......but those are some serious wounds, that lay the complete possibility of neurological as well as bacterial issues ahead. Regardless, it's not my decision. So I offer you this.....and I hope it's of some use.

I've been staring at this post for a couple of days wondering if i could offer anything at all that would help you. I'm just not sure if i can being as unfamiliar as I am with what is available to you. I hope I can provide enough US info, that you can find a conversion there.

We'll address the less impressive bite marks, which i can count well over 50 in your pictures. The snake didn't bleed out, so no main arteries were severed. Hopefully initially they wept releasing what bacteria was in the bite initially. The bactrobam and betadine will serve these well. Some products contain an additive with lidocaine in it. Avoid this. It's a topical pain killer, but it burns like hell and will raise her stress level greatly. it also has some properties that are questionable for reptiles. observe the larger bites for fresh weeping, mucus, or bloody brown discharge with odor.

The long gashes and severe injury marks....
I know you raise snakes. Reptiles don't typically heal like humans. her deep wounds most likely won't close on their own. They're too large compared to her girth and the "slither" of her body. They need mended. you'll also most likely fight a bacterial infection that started long before you came along. Her aggression is the result of pure unadulterated pain. And you know it's her instinct to recuse herself from that. I see spinal tissue and nerve tissue. This is bad. If infection has set in, it is combatable, but only with antibiotics. you'll want to fight staph related infections which are the most common.

For now, you have a Silver based holistic water available that you can use. It's antibacterial, antimicrobial and anti parasitic. It's also self cleansing. Flushing the wounds would help the possibilities you face not to come to pass. The bactroban is probably an irritant here, but I would discuss it with a vet prior to stopping.

My guess would be another very large battle you have would be that first feeding. it's not the tag that will be the problem, it will be the pulverization within the system and the constriction of the body.

Good Luck Dude

 

[staylor]

Gina,

This is not my area of expertise by any means, this is deff more your area. Just a question. You said staph is the most likely to occur. The bactroban could irritate. However bactroban is great at treating and preventing staph and one of the few typical and oral medications to treat MRSA. Would it not be more beneficial to irritate slightly then lose the battle to staph infection that could have been prevented (benefit out weigh risk type of thing)?I know you said talk to a vet first, this is just one of those things in my head that I like to see others view on, I know more human/animal then reptile.

 

[Rolandslf]

Thank You for the Advice. The two main gaping wounds have formed almost a light grey covering overnight, almost like when you have a scab on a wound and you go swimming for a while, the scab turns that pale greyish white. This is the only way I can explain what I see this morning. She was also totally unresponsive this morning when I dressed the wounds, this could be a sign that she has taken a turn for the worse. I will see when I get back home this afternoon.

 

[Rolandslf]

Sadly, I need to let you all know that my wife just phoned me to tell me that the snake has died. At least the pain and suffering are over.

 

[Craiger]

Geez....so sorry to hear. I know you gave it your best shot! The wounds were just too massive. And I agree....at least the pain and suffering are over. I feel so bad for her....to have suffered like that.

 

[ladyknite]

I'm so very sorry Roland. Your heart was in the right place.

Gina,

This is not my area of expertise by any means, this is deff more your area. Just a question. You said staph is the most likely to occur. The bactroban could irritate. However bactroban is great at treating and preventing staph and one of the few typical and oral medications to treat MRSA. Would it not be more beneficial to irritate slightly then lose the battle to staph infection that could have been prevented (benefit out weigh risk type of thing)?I know you said talk to a vet first, this is just one of those things in my head that I like to see others view on, I know more human/animal then reptile.

Exactly what i was tumbling around in my head Sandra. The problem here is that staph was most likely introduced upon the first large gash being opened. Which could have left a day or two for it to enter the system and the blood stream. See, reptiles don't exactly heal like we do. Their skin doesn't grow back together. Raw flesh must be addressed with raw flesh and wounds must be drained in most attacks similar to this. The consistency of the bactroban prevents anything from entering, but also anything from evacuating.
I've taken on several of these. I'm sorry to say they all ended the same way. Each time, a different method was used, vet care provided, and antibiotics administered. It seems that when that area is exposed, it creates a type of neurological infection that's quickly terminal. But my opinion is still out on it. Which is why i suggested he contact the vet. Although it would be my preference to not put the snake thru any more, a possible blood test could reveal the staph and it's count (level) of severity and he may have been able to decide if that granted him the privilege of time.

I've never understood how this can happen. I do feed live food to my snakes. I feel it's an important part of their instinct. But I'm also totally obsessed with knowing they ate. Things like this don't affect me the way it does some ppl. I don't feel sorry for the mice/rats because it's nature's call. The kill doesn't WOW me, but I've never walked away from a feeding/hunting snake. That's just crazy. I do subdue rats, because they can be rather vicious when cornered. But I've never had one bitten.

 

[Rolandslf]

Thank You All for the Condolences.
You know, it just feels like everything is against me, "Odin" - now the King Snake.

But you know what, I have picked up so much knowledge out of these two incidents, I by no means know nearly enough, but heck, I know a million times more than I knew when these particular journeys started out.

I will post an updated pic of TRIP in the upcoming week. He is healthy, fat, eats like a pig, and what a little character.

 

[Gabi Yao]

That's so sad! I hate it when people don't take good care of there pets, and when something happens to them by accident it makes me sick inside to see how long they wait for help. I'm so sorry the poor little guy passed away. But at least someone helped him out in the end.

 

[SxDx1986]

if someones animal was being cared for inhumanely and faced near death id confiscate it too or call animal services then adopt the damn thing.its a shame people make "impulse purcheses" out of pets and let them sit in a tank to die due to neglect or the mindset of "oh two days have past this things boring".of course the same situation happens with cats nobody wants anymore...it makes me feel bad whenever you walk into a pet store and the local spca is there with abandoned/rescue animals-but the animal services want a ridiculous amount of money for these pets..i know they want to give them a good home and need money to care for them but its a government owned business that already gets funding!.lol...i wont lie ive made impulse purchases in the past because an animal looked like it was wasting away in a cage but i had intentions of turning its life around-i now have two cats