Accident! Advice wanted

[NotoriouS]

Hey guys, hoping to get some advice. I had an accident yesterday during feeding time with one of my hatchy Bredlis. This particular hatchy has a very strong feeding response. I defrosted the mouse as per usual and dropped it infront of his hide (where he eats every week). He usually comes out within 15-20seconds and takes it. He didn't come out this time, I'd wated for about 2 minutes. I was running short on time and needed to do the regular cleaning, etc so I put my hand in the click-clack to pick up the water bowl thinking the fella's asleep... big mistake! I saw him pop out and strike towards my hand and just as a reflex reaction I pulled my hand back quickly (no I'm not afraid of a bite.. it was a complete accident and unintentional). The next thing I know, the snake's dissapeared from the click clack, and I've managed to fling the poor thing a couple of meters behind me!

He wasn't limp or anything, just obviously as shocked as I was. He was in his 'S' stance and I backed away letting him calm down. After a couple of minutes, I approached him and picked him and popped him back in his click-clack. I observed him for around 5 minutes but saw no signs of injury.. he started roaming his click-clack, tongue flicking and back to normal. I offered the food item again and he took it with no dramas. I'm just afraid that I may have injured him.. is there anything in particular that I should be looking out for? Or is the fact that he has eaten a sign that it's all good? His movement is normal but I just want to ensure that I haven't injured his teeth. I'm quite upset with myself and worried for the poor thing. Nothing like this has ever happened and hopefully never will again.. It was a reflex reaction, I did not do it on purpose (I feel the need to re-iterate this on this forum as a result of the large number of people ready with their flame-throwers ). Any advice would be helpful.

 

[Kyro]

Don't stress mate I have accidently done the same thing once but didn't fling the poor thing quite as far as you:lol: It really is human instinct to quickly pull your hand away when your not expecting to cop a bite. I think it's safe to say he will be fine, just keep any eye on him over the next few days & stop beating yourself up over it

 

[timantula]

hey, ive had a hatchie stimmy i was holding in my hand have a shot at my other hand. in the process as he struck he leaped outa my hand and fell straight onto concrete... the lil fella was fine.. im no expert but i think your lil one will be ok. just keep an eye on it over the next few days... and im also thinking if he ate straight away hes fine....

 

[NotoriouS]

Thanks guys.. will keep monitoring it and if I notice anything out of the usual i'll making a trip to the vet.

 

[Bluetongue1]

Don't worry about any teeth that may have been pulled out in the process. It will regrow them.

Blue

 

[Wookie]

Mine fall off door frames and **** they're climbing on all the time. Pretty resilient suckers. No kinks or blood and eating fine. He'll be fine.

 

[veenarm]

My stupid diamond gets so surprised when I throw a spray of water or herp shed at her that she instantly rolls backwards (as she wasn't hanging on to anything) and falls from her perch.. onto the bedding, its only about 25cm but she does it every now and then.

Hope your guy is ok, obviously it was a feeding response as she obviously didnt let go or just do a non mouth open get out attack

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Mine fall off door frames and **** they're climbing on all the time. Pretty resilient suckers. No kinks or blood and eating fine. He'll be fine.

One day it won't be fine... your snake will end up with head or spinal damage if you don't prevent this from happening. Snakes are actually very delicately built, and are fine in their own environment where they have full control over what they do and where they go. They can suffer serious physical damage very easily if the owner is careless enough to let them get into situations where they can fall or otherwise injure themselves.

Jamie

 

[Chris1]

One day it won't be fine... your snake will end up with head or spinal damage if you don't prevent this from happening. Snakes are actually very delicately built, and are fine in their own environment where they have full control over what they do and where they go. They can suffer serious physical damage very easily if the owner is careless enough to let them get into situations where they can fal or otherwise injure themselves.

Jamie

eg

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/herp-help-38/jungle-broken-back-help-please-155568/

im not saying this poor owner was careless, just an example that theyre not as tough as you'd expect a strip of muscle to be,....

but since yours is moving fine id expect its ok,...

 

[cadwallader]

must say this has happened to me before like you said its just a natural reflex when your not expecting it i guess sucks though just gotta be more carefull

 

[AM Pythons]

one hatchie last week got a bit excited, took off over the edge of the table while cleaning & feel 2 foot to the floor, was fine, but now take alot more care..

 

[carterd]

In the wild they fall from tree's to the ground with a thud, when they strike and coil there prey. Don't worry.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

In the wild they fall from tree's to the ground with a thud, when they strike and coil there prey. Don't worry.

Do they indeed? How careless of them! I think you'll find that they don't ordinarily 'fall from tree's (sic) to the ground with a thud' - if they're in a tree and they strike and constrict, they always have the means of NOT falling to the ground with a thud - in most circumstances they will anchor themselves firmly with their tail, and hang & constrict, just like chondros do.

There is a risk of injury when constricting prey, and to compound this with a risky fall to oblivion would not lead to a long and healthy life.

You've actually made one of the silliest statements I've read recently! As I said, snakes are physically fragile and easily damaged - they do not throw themselves around carelessly in the bush.

Jamie.

 

[longqi]

If a snake falls and strikes its jaw first it will often die
Mouth damage is fatal in most cases simply because they can no longer feed
I have a fairly decent sized burmese that can only feed either though a tube or with mice because of a broken lower jaw
Just because snakes look and feel tough doesnt mean they can take big hits easily
Broken rib into cavity usually kills them as well

Op has understood this and knows what went wrong and will try to avoid it in future
Anyone else who believes snakes cant die because of letting them drop from any height is just crazy

 

[Elapidae1]

If a snake falls and strikes its jaw first it will often die
Mouth damage is fatal in most cases simply because they can no longer feed
I have a fairly decent sized burmese that can only feed either though a tube or with mice because of a broken lower jaw
Just because snakes look and feel tough doesnt mean they can take big hits easily
Broken rib into cavity usually kills them as well

Op has understood this and knows what went wrong and will try to avoid it in future
Anyone else who believes snakes cant die because of letting them drop from any height is just crazy

Ohhhh and here I was thinking they were just like cats.

 

[AM Pythons]

If a snake falls and strikes its jaw first it will often die
Mouth damage is fatal in most cases simply because they can no longer feed
I have a fairly decent sized burmese that can only feed either though a tube or with mice because of a broken lower jaw
Just because snakes look and feel tough doesnt mean they can take big hits easily
Broken rib into cavity usually kills them as well

Op has understood this and knows what went wrong and will try to avoid it in future
Anyone else who believes snakes cant die because of letting them drop from any height is just crazy

the reason why i dont let my pythons see or smell thier pray untill there cage door is open... striking at the glass can do just asmuch damage....

 

[CodeRed]

one of my darwins fell 30 cm off its perch and landed on the edge of its water bowl. It ended up developing a huge bulge in its mid section where it hit the bowl and eventually had to be put down. Most times they can take the fall, othertimes they just land wrong and its all over

 

[Kyro]

Sorry to hear that Steve, of course there's always a chance they may injure themselves in any fall & nobody's disputing that but as the op stated that the snake seem fine with no obvious injuries then there's not really much more to do other than keep an eye on it & if in doubt then get a vet to check him out. There is always a chance that the animal may have an injury you can't see like a broken bone which is why I & others suggested he keeps a close eye on it for any problems.

 

[Wookie]

One day it won't be fine... your snake will end up with head or spinal damage if you don't prevent this from happening.
Jamie

Bar preventing the snakes from climbing I don't see how I can prevent the falls mate? I don't put them on unstable surfaces in an attempt to see them fall and I obviously don't leave them out unattended.

In this case, with no obvious signs of injury or change in behaviour alongside a normal feed I think the snake in question is going to be fine.

Ps. Not saying snakes can't be injured falling, thought that was common sense.

 

[Bluetongue1]

In the wild they fall from tree's to the ground with a thud, when they strike and coil there prey. Don't worry.

I have a feeling this myth is perpetuated by certain film makers and their sound effects. I have seen it happen naturally with a light bodied snake that lowered itself to within less than half a metre of the ground, held its head and neck up, and landed on a thick bed of leaf litter. Definitely no “thud”, as Pythoninfinite points out.

The impact and potential damage caused by any impact depends up a number of factors. As was stated, landing face first is not good and can produce serious injuries. Also impacts where a small section of the body takes the bulk of it can result, as indicated, in broken ribs and/or displaced vertebrae.

The weight and size of the snake, in combination with the speed of impact, is very important. Heavier bodied snakes will have a greater momentum and a smaller relative area to spread it over, on impact. Put simply, light bodied snakes will land “more lightly” than heavy bodied snakes falling the same distance, all else being equal. Snakes don’t have any mechanism for absorbing the impact of landing from a height, unlike some animals (e.g. cat lol).

I do not know the rate at which the skeleton calcifies but you may find hatchies still have a fair degree of cartilage that has not yet turned to bone. If this is the case, it would enable them to absorb and release impact energy over a time period (very short but has a significant effect), as well as undergo a certain degree of body distortion without anything breaking. Much the way as a child learning to walk is so flexible and can bounce off their bottom from a standing position, without being hurt. Compare that with an adult. This may have contributed to yours and the good fortunate of others with similar experiences with hatchies – I don’t know for sure though.

Bear in mind, the internal organs can also be damaged. A ruptured spleen or kidney, or as longqqi pointed out, a punctured organ, such as a lung, can be fatal.

Bottom line, lucky this time - so if you are truly concerned for you animal, make the changes so that it can’t happen again.

Blue