Snake Injury.

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Two weeks ago i was called out to this snake that had an injury,possibly caused by a lawnmower,to its cloaca area.
At first i thought I would have to euthanise it but to be sure,I took her to my vet in Karingal here on the Mornington peninsula.
Shane Simpson was the vet and i was glad as he is one of the best.
We cleaned out the wound as best as possible and gave the shot of fortrum.He also gave me a few weeks worth of antibiotic shots and a bottle of antiseptic and swabs.
Anyway, it's been two weeks and the swelling has gone down and the snake looks like it might be ok.
I would like to say thankyou to Shane for his professionalism and compassion whenever i go there.
For years now he has helped with all the native wildlife ( no charge) i bring in as well as the occasional doggy problems we get.
Here are some pics of the first visit and you can tell by the expression on our faces that that the cleaning process was also a very stinky one.
My wife Kaz nearly tossed her cookies as she was taking these pics.

Cheers

 

[Australis]

Good on you, and your vet Baz.

 

[redbellybite]

Wow Baz ,of all areas to be hit with a lawn mower poor fella...glad he looks like his on the mend ..its amazing how hardy they can be ...thumbs up ...

 

[barbed_wire_dove]

great job!

 

[oreo1]

awsome job! sorry, but what kind of snake is it?

 

[taylor111]

do you think it will ever be able to breed

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

It's a female copperhead oreo and I have no idea
wether she will be able to breed Taylor,
I took some more pics of her today so Ill get them on here later.

 

[redbellybite]

and here I was calling her a fella ....I always call them fellas when I dont know ...glad she is doing well Baz she is lovely ...wish I got call outs to get copperheads ...

 

[pythons73]

Awesome job ssssnakeman,its ppl like yourself we need alot more off.Reptiles are in need of attention when something happens to them,whether its a accident or someone that deliberatly hurt it,if it wasnt for ppl like you these reptiles wouldnt stand much of a chance,well done...

 

[baxtor]

I hope this is not considered a hijack but here is a tiger that spent a short time with me that I tagged "slasha". It appeared to have been through a slasher at some time in his life. I counted more than 20 cut type scars all over the body and he also had a lot of very small scares I put down to shotgun pellets.
I wish more vets would treat natives for minimal cost. Our local vet only seems to know how to euthanise most natives and will not even entertain the idea of looking at a snake.

 

[mysnakesau]

aww poor thing baxtor. Its horrible to pick them up and to know they have suffered for a long time before they finally find help is really sad. How come you only had him for a short time? Did you hand him over or did he die?

sssnakeman that is a beautiful snake. Look how shiny he is, looks awesome. Good on you for the work you put into him. I am sure he is grateful even if he doesn't show it. Oreo beat me to the question. I was thinking copperhead. Taking me longer to get the vens ID than it did with the pythons.

 

[cement]

Nice work Baz, It never ceases to amaze me the healing ability of herps if they get the right care.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Slasher lived through it all?
Nice looking tiger.
The copperhead was hit by the mower a few days before and luckily it was getting a bit of sun when I got there.
Hes not out of the woods yet, they sometimes roll over on you just when think they're on the mend.

 

[cracksinthepitch]

Good work Baz ,you certainly have some great looking snakes on the peninsula and are very lucky to have such a good vet who wont charge for native rescues. The wife had to use a certain vet for her rescues and 95% were euthanised hence his nickname"DR DEATH".

 

[MaRkAS]

Nice save there Ssssnakeman, It's a very nice snake Are you going to keep it?

 

[baxtor]

Slasher lived through it all?
Nice looking tiger.
The copperhead was hit by the mower a few days before and luckily it was getting a bit of sun when I got there.
Hes not out of the woods yet, they sometimes roll over on you just when think they're on the mend.

Most of his scars seemed to be from older injuries and well healed when I picked him up at a local primary school.
I kept him for about a week just to be sure and he was then released.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Had its first poo last night since coming in so i reckon thats a good sign.
Might try feeding it a fuzzy today.

 

[Chrisreptile]

Great stuff Baz and Shane

 

[jamesbecker]

thats an awsome looking snake.

how common are copperheads here in vic? mainly asking as iv seen a few cruising my backyard and until i saw this thread, i never actually knew what they were, and how venimous are they?

cheers

 

[elapid@]

great work on the copperhead, nice vet, fortums not a cheep antibiotic either.
keep us up to date with the observations and treatment .
well done
cheers steve