The legend of Scarface...

[Detroitboa13]

Hello,
I recently rescued a 5 5. foot male red tail. The snake seems to be healthy as far as a decent appetite, however there is a serious draw back to this guy. He got his name from his face being very very messed up. When this animal came into my custody a week ago my first thought was mouth rot. I took him into my local vet and had him looked over. The vet questioned me about what happened to this snake and I had no answers. He was literally dropped at my door step and I had no way of contacting the owner, but to me it looks like he either met his match with one hell of a rat or maybe even got into a fight with another snake.

Here is my question, the snake does in fact eat. I have him currently on f/t med rats, but he is missing a nostril and from the looks of it a fang as well. It took him quite a while before he was able to get the dead rat in a position to eat it. My vet told me that at some point he will not be able to eat larger pray due to his missing tooth. What would you guys suggest I do? He is a dream to handle, eats, and has already went to the bathroom. Should I do as the vet suggested and put him down, or should I take a chance with him?

Thank you in advance.

[Starbuck]

Pictures are necessary before anyone can give you more advice... I think it is unlikely thatvthis snake would need to be put down. Snakes loose teeth all thw time in the wild and they are none the worse for wear. Thale fact that he ate already in your care is very encouraging.
Can you give us some details about his cage etc? And did the vet give you any kind of antibiotic or anything? If the wounds are old this wouldnt really be necessary... again pics! :-) good on you for trying to do your best by him!

[Detroitboa13]

I will upload a few pics when I get home from work tonight. The vet said the injuries happend some time ago. The vet said it looked like a feeding injury, however he said that it was the worst one he had seen. The biting force of a rat would have to be very intense in order to remove that much of his face.

As far as his enclosure I have him in a 55 gallon with the thermostat set at 93 degrees on his hot side and about 85 on his cold side. I also have a humidifier that is set at 65 percent rh. The top of the enclosure is screen so I have a towel to help keep the moisture in.

As far as the snake goes his physical appearance means nothing to me. He is a calm well mannered boa and if anyone is superficial enough to put a snake down just for being disfigured they have ZERO business owning anything other than a goldfish. I am going to to do everything in my power to ensure this guy gets the much needed attention and care he deserves.

After all is said and done I feel fortunate that he came into my care because I know many other people would have either killed him or sent him to a vet to be put down. This will never be my option unless it is in the absolute best interest of the snake.

Thank you for responding in such a timely manor.

[Detroitboa13]

On a side note even though I am sure it is obvious he does hiss when he breathes due to only having one functional nostril but he often opens his mouth to draw air. This is my main concern, I had another male red tail that had a NASTY uri and he barely made it. No antibiotic was issued to Scarface due to the fact that the vet told me it wasn't an infection.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I will upload a few pics when I get home from work tonight. The vet said the injuries happend some time ago. The vet said it looked like a feeding injury, however he said that it was the worst one he had seen. The biting force of a rat would have to be very intense in order to remove that much of his face.

As far as his enclosure I have him in a 55 gallon with the thermostat set at 93 degrees on his hot side and about 85 on his cold side. I also have a humidifier that is set at 65 percent rh. The top of the enclosure is screen so I have a towel to help keep the moisture in.

As far as the snake goes his physical appearance means nothing to me. He is a calm well mannered boa and if anyone is superficial enough to put a snake down just for being disfigured they have ZERO business owning anything other than a goldfish. I am going to to do everything in my power to ensure this guy gets the much needed attention and care he deserves.

After all is said and done I feel fortunate that he came into my care because I know many other people would have either killed him or sent him to a vet to be put down. This will never be my option unless it is in the absolute best interest of the snake.

Thank you for responding in such a timely manor.

Unless you're talking about the snake that smiles back, I don't think they should even own that much. There's more to an animal than some scarring. I would only consider putting down an animal due to disfiguring if it caused serious issues with their health or well-being. Good on you for trying so hard with this guy, I really hope he'll be fine. :) Can't wait to see pics of this fighter.

[Detroitboa13]

Sorry for the poor cell phone quality but here is the best pic I could get...

[Starbuck]

Hard to tell for sure from the picture, but I don't see any glaring, wellfare threatening injuries (I'm on my ohone though). I would just keep him and treat him like a normal boa. I have plenty of normal snakes that still derp around with their food. If it progresses to a worsening condition, cross that bridge when you come to it, but I thinkn he looks fine.

[ErikBush97]

I personally think he's fine.

[Detroitboa13]

UPDATE- I woke up this morning to tend to my kids and found that Mr. Scarface has passed away. I am sad, but not suprised. I did all I could but he was too far gone. I'm not exactly sure what the cause of death is but I am sure it was something respiratory.

Thanks to all who were pulling for him and had such kind words for me.

[Starbuck]

sorry for your loss- and appreciative that you gave him a chance.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I am so sorry. I did not see this coming (then again I couldn't see him in person). :( I'm glad you tried to rescue him, not many would.