urgent help python with broken tail

[micka87]

just checked in on my snakes to find my male with a broken tail have rung the vets and they cant do anything till next week is there anything i can do for him till then

 

[thomasssss]

Is it just me or does that look like a retained tail tip cutting off circulation ultimately killing the tail ?

 

[saximus]

Yeah looks like that to me too Thomas. If its gotten to the point where it's breaking off there's probably not much you can do. The vet will likely have to amputate it anyway if its dead. Just try to keep it clean and dry over the weekend

 

[micka87]

it is a retained tail tip but was told by the vet to leave it for a few weeks to see how much more was going to die off before it got amputated is there anything i can put on it so that it doesnt get infected thanks michael

 

[thomasssss]

I thought so sax just wasn't sure as I'm i'm viewing from an iPad in a car and I'm fighting the glare from the window , it looks like there dead skin attached to the tail still which is what made me think of it and with how much smaller the tail dead looking part of the tail is compared to the ridge where it rises up to healthy skin is a big difference

This doesn't en over night I'm interested how often the op checks his animals ,or is it a new purchase?

Just seen the ops last post , how long has it had retained skin on for genuinely curious

 

[micka87]

he fall and got his tail stuck a week and 3 days ago took him to the vet and was told that he had snapped the nerves in his tail and to leave him for a couple of weeks to see how much more would die off

 

[PythonLegs]

Wow. Take him to a different vet.

 

[notechistiger]

I second taking him to a different vet. Retained sheds on the tail and eye caps should never, ever be left on.

 

[Ramsayi]

it is a retained tail tip but was told by the vet to leave it for a few weeks to see how much more was going to die off before it got amputated is there anything i can put on it so that it doesnt get infected thanks michael

Seriously a vet told you this,I would think no vet would offer such advice?

It damaged its tail and is not from a retained shed?

 

[PMyers]

His name wasn't Jayant Patel, was it? Dead men tell no lies, and funnily enough, neither do reptiles...

 

[Kareeves]

is it just me or dose that look like its been on there for more than a few weeks

 

[Stuart]

Any chance of naming the Vet so we can avoid him at all costs?

Heres hoping your little fella comes right soon.

 

[disintegratus]

One of our coastals we bought with a retained tail tip shed, My own stupidity, I was told he'd only just shed, and didn't bother to check it there, got him home and got the retained shed off and was left with a stump with what looked like blackened bone sticking out of it. He wasn't in any pain, it wasn't tender to touch and since it was actually an open wound, I didn't bother taking him to the vet. It's since healed up just fine, it looks a little wierd but only if you look closely.
To the OP, I'd suggest keeping him confined, as in take out his branches or anything he can climb on so he avoids using his tail, and putting him on newspaper or similar, it's a lot easier to keep clean and hygenic. Snakes are pretty good at not dying most of the time, and I can't imagine that things like this would not happen in the wild, so theoretically it should heal without any dramas. And before anyone starts going on about captive snakes not living in the wild, I'm well aware of that, but honestly, if this happened to a wild snake, it would probably heal up just fine, and nature's grotty and disgusting, so a captive snake in a box should have even less dramas. I'd say still take him to the vet, but don't stress out too much, he should be just fine in the long run

 

[evilj]

My jungle recently got her tail stuck in the bottom of the esky (feeding box). After I free'd her the tail has kinked a bit. Now she has just shed and still has maybe 2cm's of stuck shed on the tail. Do I just remove it by doing the soak/rub method?

Definitely want to avoid this.

 

[saximus]

Tail tips can be tricky. Depending on the temperament of the snake and how stuck it is, it can be as easy as giving it a bit of a soak and rubbing it off or sometimes you need to really pick at it and possibly restrain the animal to stop it wriggling/biting

 

[evilj]

^ that was not the reply I was after haha. I'll give her a good go tonight when I'm finished work. She's generally pretty calm though. I'll report back with my findings.

- - - Updated - - -

^ that was not the reply I was after haha. I'll give her a good go tonight when I'm finished work. She's generally pretty calm though. I'll report back with my findings.

As promised, I am home from work and soaked her. She was PISSED.

Did not like the soaking, I could hear her hissing inside the tub. When I took her out after 20mins or so, she went ape ****. I've never been bitten by her and wasnt keen on starting. I was so confident at work, but I've chickened out big time now its time to bite the bullet.

 

[RobynTRR]

Sorry to see that. Best of luck on a successful recovery.