rescue update

[Detroitboa13]

Many of you know that I rescued a bci a little while ago that had multiple burns. After daily treatment the snake seems to be getting worse. It is losing individual scales and the affected areas seem to be getting worse. The vet had been giving baytril injections and I have been cleaning wounds with antiseptic but to no avail. Dark news but an update was needed.

[KORBIN5895]

What are your temps, substrate, humidity, feed schedule and prey size compared to the snake?

[Starbuck]

as Korbin mentioned, we need more details. Can you tell us more about the snake; has it shed since you got it, etc?

If it hasn't shed yet: this is good news. The loss of additional scales could mean the tissue underneath is starting to heal, and the scales it was supporting at the time were too damaged to repair. When it does shed, it may look very bad initially, but this is because the full extent of the damage is being revealed for the first time. I would get your vet to give you some Silver sulfadiazene (?sp?) creme and apply that to the burn site for the first few days after the shed. Make sure also the snake has access to a humid hide to help alleviate any shedding issues, you may need to/the vet may need to assist her if it is very bad, you don't want to try and pull off some stuck shed and tear the new, healing skin on accident! I can't remember the extent of the damage, could you post some pictures?

if she has shed multiple times and it is continuing to get worse, you need to make sure your temps and humidity are appropriate, and get your vet to do a culture and sensitivity test to see what the bacteria/fungus is susceptible to, so you can treat it appropriately. SSD creme would not be a bad idea in this case either. Don't glob it on, as you don't want to snake to get it around its eyes and mouth.

[Detroitboa13]

Temps are 94 on hot side and 89 on cold. Substrate is news paper and humidity is sitting at 70 percent. I upped the temps and humidity and have been feeding her large frozen rats which is her normal food item. She has a red belly so she is soon to shed.

[Detroitboa13]

Here is the worst spot

[Starbuck]

i would reserve judgement until after she sheds and you can see the true extent of any damage... i think you will (hopefully) be pleasantly surprised!

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/lampropeltis/99537-skin-grossness-milk-snake.html


this is the thread for my injured milksnake, you can see what i am talking about pre-post shed. the first set of pictures are when i first got her, and now there is hardly any divers in the scales at all. I think it will be just a matter of time, and properly supported she will take care of herself.

[kwhitlock]

i would reserve judgement until after she sheds and you can see the true extent of any damage... i think you will (hopefully) be pleasantly surprised!

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/lampropeltis/99537-skin-grossness-milk-snake.html


this is the thread for my injured milksnake, you can see what i am talking about pre-post shed. the first set of pictures are when i first got her, and now there is hardly any divers in the scales at all. I think it will be just a matter of time, and properly supported she will take care of herself.

Wow, never thought of frostbite in a snake..what was the end result after that last vet visit? Did your Hondo make a full recovery or did you have to do more treat ments?

[Starbuck]

Full recovery. We finished up the course of antibiotics, and I used sad creme for several shed cycles, but now you can barely tell.
I would like to do another Xray of her tail to see if there was any lasting bone damage, but she looks perfect now

[limey]

I hope everything turns out okay.

The cold side seems a bit high, just saying, it might be worth dropping it if you can. He needs more of a gradient differential. I keep mine at about 80 cold, 93 hot.

Best regards