Burns

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Evil_Birdy

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My spotted python has some pretty nasty burns on her belly (she pushed her substrate out of the way and was tying on the glass with a heat mat underneath). We took her to the vet, who gave us flamazine and told us to clean it twice a day and to change the bedding (using newspaper now) twice a day also. She also told us to inform her if the snake refuses to eat, because it may be a sign of infection.

I tried to feed her on Wednesday, and then again today, both times she showed a complete lack of interest in the mouse, barely poking her nose out of her rock.


We cannot see the vet until Monday and I am unsure what to do.


Is there any chance that she could be stressed from being handled so much and perhaps that is why she won't eat?

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.
 
that you took her to the vet is a good sign that she'll be okay....I dont think its a sure sign of an infection if she doesn't eat, sometimes they dont eat because they're stressed or the pain is annoying them. My ball python didn't eat after a nasty impalement in the couch cushions, very bad, i was so scared, but a few weeks later she was back to eating even though the wound was so bad and there was an obvious infection (took her to the vet both times but unfortunately she never fully recovered...) if worse comes to worse you can force feed her with a syringe, though she could regurgitate :(
 
Thanks for your response. We're taking her back to the vet on Monday anyway just to be sure.

I am no where near confident enough and have no where near enough experience to even attempt to force feed her. I would probably do more harm than good. Its only one week, and since she can go several months without food, provided the burn is not infected, I don't think i'll force feed.

That sucks about your ball python. The vet said that the hardest part is keeping the wound clean and preventing infection. So many germs everywhere.

Thanks again for your reply. I was worried that people would be rude. Thank you for being polite.
 
if worse comes to worse you can force feed her with a syringe, though she could regurgitate :(


Seriously?

The snake has knocked back two feeds because it is injured.It is not starving to death so why even contemplate force feeding.
 
Leave it be. Don't bother trying to feed it until its healed. Sort out that heat mat issue, it should not be reaching temps that cause burns unless your thermostat has failed.
 
@Evil_Birdy, when you are sick or injured do you really feel like eating?? well neither does your spotty, leave it alone until the injury/infection has healed and it has had a shed, at this stage you could do more harm than good trying to force feed it anything, in fact you could quite easily help it go into shock and it could die. As [MENTION=492]Ramsayi[/MENTION] & [MENTION=28719]mad_at_arms[/MENTION] have said let time and the Vet fix it up, As far as your husbandry is concerned......well..... i will leave that alone, it has already been mentioned about the thermostat so i won't harp about it, I hope you and your Spotty get better soon. :) ..................Ron
 
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Snakes with skin injuries also go into shed mode pretty quickly and repeatedly, until the damage and scabbing has gone. Your vet was offering unhelpful advice about refusing food - if the burn is as bad as you suggest, feeding it would be the last thing on my mind at the moment. Just apply the ointment as directed, watch out for VISIBLE signs of infection (strong or increasing inflammation, the presence of pus etc), and otherwise leave the animal alone. Lack of interest in food means nothing at this point in time. Make sure you thoroughly wash YOUR OWN HANDS before handling the animal, given that newspaper won't facilitate infection, but your hands definitely will be carrying pathogens.

Jamie
 
Yeah I did. It's a long story that I wont bother you with, but essentially someone other than me moved the snakes terrarium and did not plug the mat into the thermostat and I did not realise until after she got burned.

Stupid me. I should have checked sooner, the person that moved her has no idea about snakes and didn't know to do that.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you. I was only really worried about feeding because, up until this point, she had been eating weekly no problem. She's never gone more than 2 weeks without food, and that was because I went on holidays.

I wash my hands and use reptile hand sanitizer before handling her. There are no visible signs of infection, and the wound does not smell. She is already beginning to grow new skin.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you for replying. I will definitely take your advice.

She is already showing signs of improvement. I'm just worrying too much because I don't want anything worse to happen.
 
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