My snake might have eaten a rat that could have eaten ratsack, will it kill my snake?

[Mittcho]

I let my snake out its cage and couldnt find it when i did it was on my next doors door step eating a rat and they said they use ratsack im worried that my snake mite die

He is 12 feet long carpet

I dont know if it will kill him i hope not dose anyone no he is fine know but i only found him like that 20 mins ago
Plz help!

 

[Cougar2007]

First mate it won't kill him in minutes. Rat bait takes a while to work. Days even, and with the slow metabolism of a snake it will probably take longer. But I would be in touch with a vet first thing in the morning. Vitamin K injection is the antidote for and mammal that has ingested ratsac, I am not a vet but I'd be betting they will give the snake a shot.

 

[Mittcho]

Ok how will i know if he is poisoned

 

[Mittcho]

Im so worried about him ive had him for 6 years and his name is axle

 

[Jonah]

As above best thing to do is take him to the vet first thing in the morn and get their advice mate

 

[Mittcho]

Ok will do hope its not the case

 

[Mittcho]

Thankyou cougar i will do that

 

[Cougar2007]

Mate if he is poisoned he will become lethargic. Rat poison makes them bleed internally, that's how it kills rats. Now I HAVE NEVER HAD A SNAKE effected by rat poison but I've had dogs who have ate the rats and ate the poison straight out. The vet has always given them a shot of vitamin K weather they showed signs or not. All have been fine and showed no signs at any stage but I played the better safe than sorry line. Just ring your vet in the morning. They will tell you what to do from there.

 

[Mittcho]

Ok thankyou so much i will mate

 

[Cougar2007]

No worries,
Good luck.
i have a 10ft girl and 8ft boy. When he has been checked out you will have to post some pics.

 

[Mittcho]

Yeah no prob i have him and 10ft girl coastal and a 5ft hybrid

I will put picks up of them all

Im off to bed chat tomorrow cya

 

[Endeavour]

Get you snake to the vet ASAP most rat poisons are designed to cause internal hemorraging in rodents. I would imagine if the rat had ingested poison you would have a narrow window before the rat begins to be broken down and any poison released. I know in dogs where there is doubt as to if rat poison has been consumed a blood test can be performed to detect abnormal clotting. Vitamin K is also often prescribed (not the same as you can get yourself from the chemist). At the end of the day its a massive unknown as to if the rat ate poison and if so how much. I don't know if the vet could give a snake something to make it regurge or lowering the temperature is a good idea to slow prey breakdown . This is me just thinking out loud but I would be thinking until I get it to the vet if I can keep this snake cooler than normal it will not digest as quick. I suppose this is a time when a regurge is exactly what you want.

Kindest regards


Endeavour

Please keep us informed as to how things are and the best of luck

 

[Cougar2007]

I thought about Regurge , it would be good but if it tore the rat open coming in or out could also make it worse. Also stressing the animal is not going to help if it is indeed intoxicated. I never thought about cooling though. Good call.

there is a few things I have been told by vets though. Rat poison is very slow acting, it takes days apparently. Add to that the speed of a snakes metabolism, it will take even longer. Add again the body mass of the snake compared to the tiny amount that would kill a rat, I reckon he has at least got a fighting chance.

Problem there is that any treatment will also take longer to metabolise. Unfortunately there is seldom a vet open in Australia at 1am so there isn't really much he can do.

 

[phantomreptiles]

Wow very interesting situation. Unfortunately I am currently at home so a lot of my books are at work. From the limited research I have done, it seems to be a mixed bag. Some say a one off of vit K is suffice, some suggest getting the python to regurg will solve the problem.
I would suggest calling Karingal vet hospital and getting their advice. I am more than happy to look it into more tonight when I am at work.
Either way I hope your python is ok and let us know what you have been advised.


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[Helikaon]

you could always try activated charcoal. But you should find out what type of rat sack they use.

 

[geckodan]

Firstly, check the neighbours for the packaging the bait came in. If it is a warfarin base then the risk to your snake is very low as multiple feeds over several days is needed - a single dose of Vitamin K will be adequate. If it is anything else then your snake will require more significant treatment. The chemical that blocks Vitamin K useage binds for extended periods (up to eight weeks) so a single dose will not be adequate. I would treat for at least two weeks , preferably 4 weeks. You will not see anything clinically for 4-7 days - it may present with bleeding (oral, anal, nostril), plaeness in the inside of the mouth or sudden death.

 

[thomasssss]

Cougar , rat poison isn't always slow acting , it depends on the amount consumed I think, but it definitely can kill quickly it killed my 40kg+ boxer girl over night , this was around 10 years ago now and it may have changed we haven't used rat poison since

Op I hope it all turns out ok for you , I would get him to a vet though just to be sure

 

[geckodan]

Thomasss, all current rat poisons are still slow acting, regardless of dose (dose will determine how quickly the body will eliminate it from the receptor sites). There were some Calcium Blocker baits around years ago but they were discontinued due to the high rate of deaths in non target species.

 

[thomasssss]

Thomasss, all current rat poisons are still slow acting, regardless of dose (dose will determine how quickly the body will eliminate it from the receptor sites). There were some Calcium Blocker baits around years ago but they were discontinued due to the high rate of deaths in non target species.

Righto cheers for the info , as I said it was 10 years ago so probably would of bee a different bait back then , she was found in the morning in our shed she had gotten into a near full block of bait that my dad had forgotten about and it was up on a table but she got to it anyway , lesson learnt the hard way though we ditched the use of any baits after it too risky IMO I rather the traps that leave them alive in a cage then you can dispose of them with out the need for baits and there's no stinky rat behind the wall or fridge

 

[Cougar2007]

Hi Mate,

Just wondering how you got on at the vet?