Injured wild-caught Pale-head- plz help.

[Colletts]

I mentioned in the elapid thread that we accidently ran over a Pale-head last night. Here are some pics of him. I'm only new to caring for injured wild elapids so a bit of help would be appreciated.

After getting him out and having a better look at him, it looks as if his mouth on his left side has split. I tried to get photo's of it but it started bleeding so i couldn't see anything. And it appears that he has some damage inside his mouth but i'm not sure what exactly and to what extent. All i know is when i try to have a look it bleeds.

So, should i just give him a few days rest so that the wound can heal and i can see what's going on or should i get it looked at now? All i've done so far is wash his mouth with water. He's on heat, has water and a hide and has a pretty good temperament for a wild snake, hasn't struck yet but does open his mouth and try to bite when pinned. He's alert and responds to movement. Just thought i'd say in advance, i cannot get him to a herp vet. The closest one would be about a days drive and the vets in my area have had very little experience with reptiles, let alone vens.

Thanks.

The first pic was taken last night after we got him home. And the other two tonight. I didn't notice any swelling last night, it's only just come up today.

 

[redbellybite]

the vet senario might be true ,but if you take it there, the least they could do was get talking to a herp vet and they could work out what to do over the phone, as a Vet he/she should be aware of the "jargon" and vet talk ,so one could guide the other and pass on what you should do for after care....give it a go hope there is at least one vet that isnt afraid of it ...

 

[Colletts]

Ha, that's true. I'm not sure if my vets would be happy with dealing with a ven! I'll ring them tomorrow.

Has anyone successfully rehabilitated a snake with similar injuries? The only thing that's stopping me from euthanising him is the fact that he's alert and acting normal.

 

[redbellybite]

untill you get an idea of what could be wrong as long as it seems to be making progress and not making any breathing sounds like gurgling or weezing and no obvious breaks ...see what vet help you can get before you have to make that decision...

 

[Wild_Storm]

Beautiful snake. I hope he recovers well! Good luck.

 

[waruikazi]

If he's alert and can see then i'd honestly just release him back where you found it. The stress of being in captivity would be doing him little good, but a like RBB says have a chat to a vet anyhow.

 

[waruikazi]

I will ad that snakes do everything slowly, including dieing as you would know with ur tiger. So it is very possible that it is in a bad way and just not showing it, i've had slatey's showing no outward sign of injury but die in care. Now I know i said release would be a good idea, i still feel this is the case even if it is dieing. The way i see it if it is going to die atleast it will be going back into the food chain.

 

[cris]

I would advise that you euthanaise(or keep) the snake unless you have very strict quarantine in place. You can legally keep it for three days while applying for a permit if you are interested in going by the book.

 

[aliveandkicking]

It was a bit thoughtless running over the poor snake...............then again, if your after a way to "keep" WC reptiles running them down and then adding them to a "carers" licence is pure genius

 

[saratoga]

If you are going to hang onto it for a few days without seeing a vet, and as you say it seems alert and ok...then put it in a bag or cage in a quiet dark room where it wont be disturbed and stressed and make sure it has access to water.

Also keep it well away from any captives you may have.

Keeping it more than 3 days and being illegal would be the least of my worries.....good luck

 

[Nagraj]

It definitely shouldn't be released in that condition.

A non-herp vet should still be able to work out dosage for some pain relief and on going treatment if practical and/or whether it should euthanased.

 

[Colletts]

Yeah i understand the food chain thing but i'd really like to help the animal, not just let it go and hope for the best. If it were to die after release, i'm sure the animal that were destined to eat it will do with one less meal- this is the snake's only life.

I don't wish to keep it, i plan to rehabilitate and release it.

Thanks cris, i will apply for a permit tomorrow.

The external wound is quite bad. It's ripped his skin so that his mouth opens wider on his left side. I'd relese it but i'm afraid of infection. And the injuries inside the mouth don't look good. It almost looked as if one of it's venom glands has swelled but it could've just been the gum- it was hard to tell with all the blood. I don't want to realease it if it's not going to be able to kill and feed properly.

He doesn't seem to be too stressed about being locked up. He's not pacing and is using the hide. When i move around he doesn't want to escape or feel threatened. I know this all just could be because he's in such pain and is dying, but i'd like to give him a chance still.

 

[waruikazi]

He doesn't seem to be too stressed about being locked up. He's not pacing and is using the hide. When i move around he doesn't want to escape or feel threatened. I know this all just could be because he's in such pain and is dying, but i'd like to give him a chance still.

That sounds a lot like a stressed snake to me lol.

Nagraj i'd put money on it being euthed when/if it goes to the vet. Because the injuries were caused by people i agree to it being in care but at the same time if the snake was released and dies it does it's job in the food chain, where as if it is euthed it gets incinerated and does nothing.

 

[BlindSnake]

She cant take it to a vet that is not trained or licensed to handle vens.
There are massive issues around workplace health and safety..
Someone gets a scratch, and the vet is in the poop. BIGTIME

We had probs when one of our night tigers bit a vet nurse.. She freaked, and spent 10 hours in hospital!! (lol)
Anyway, the upshot of it all, was that if the nurse bitten hadnt been his wife, he would have been seriously in the poop.. and that was just a bts!!!

Hope it pulls through, they are lovely snakes, I can imagine how bad you would have felt when you hit it..

 

[redbellybite]

colletts,I would ring your closest herp vet have a chat ,and see where you go from there...you may find that the herp vet is able to communicate with the non herp vet to be able enough to assist you in medication or decision making from a proffesional point of view...or at the very least if you have to euth they may assist you with that ...otherwise place in a bag put it in your fridge over night brings the temp right down slow enough as to not shock it, then after its been in the fridge place in freezer for another 24 hrs ...then take it to your water hole and give it a watery grave it will be good food for the local yabbies and fish..

 

[smacdonald]

If you have to kill a reptile, crushing its brain instantly with something like a hammer is preferable to the fridge//freezer method.

Stewart

 

[Nagraj]

if the snake was released and dies it does it's job in the food chain

You are neglecting the small factor which makes us human. The ability to understand physical suffering and do something about it. It's one of the reasons we don't feed live prey to our snakes.

It can be euthanased quickly and relatively painlessly without lethabarb if necessary and fed on to something else.

 

[junglepython2]

I'm with Gordo if you can't get it to a vet let it go, keeping it in a box without treatment is unlikely to help, and it has more chance being released then it does being euthed.

 

[Nagraj]

She cant take it to a vet that is not trained or licensed to handle vens.

Sure she can. It's then the Vets decision to treat, advise or otherwise.

 

[zulu]

re Injured

Yes it is right what warazuiki says,they get heaps stressed when brought into captivity,they heal faster in the wild,its best released into the habitat in the area where it was found under bark of a living tree so it can hide until night time at least.