Need your help asap

[twiztidjuggalo]

so a few weeks ago i got a tiger retic from this dude who didn't take care if it properly etc: well it was having sheeding problems so i decided to help it by soaking her in warm water and gently pealing the remaining skin off and all of a sudden her actual new skin ripped and exposed her muscle on her back i don't know what to do nothing on google info sayz anything but to get help from a vet which i really have no money for at all

does anybody know how this could have happend or what to do

has this ever happened to your snake please help

[C#@$e]

why were you helping it shed in the first place? warm water shouldve done the trick.

[Aaron_S]

First of all you have to be extremely careful when peeling off old shed, even with the warm water trick. It's better off to just up the humidity, or give the bath and let the snake do most of the work.

Secondly, the biggest thing is to keep the wound clean. It will heal it self up within a few sheds. Use iodine to cleanse the wound and if you wish to put something on it, then use the most basic, non specialized polysporin. Use paper towel as substrate in the enclosure if you aren't already. I would also take out anything nonessential to the snakes survival. Keep an eye on it and if you can take it a KNOWLEDGABLE (the key word here) reptile vet at some point, it won't hurt.

[Durtis]

i help my snakes shed all the time and chase has watched it once or twice
theres nothing wrong with helping them when they need it chase

ive never seen or heared of this but if you dont take him or her to the vet, lower the humidity in the tank and put a different substrate in the tank such as paper towls or news paper,something without the dust

[Aaron_S]

There's better ways to help your snake shed. Dampen a pillowcase and place it inside for awhile. It'll do the trick without your help.

If the snake is too large for a pillowcase, well find someone who can sew and make a large enough snakebag type thing. I've seen custom made retic cases made from sheets.

[Durtis]

ive never heared of the pillow case trick but ill keep it in mind

[Aaron_S]

It works WONDERS. Seriously. It's my secret tip.

[twiztidjuggalo]

well the thing is i got the snake for 100.00 and it was in shed already but the dude didn't care for it properly it was skinny and about to die because the a$$hole didn't even have the heat lamp on ever or mist the cage for humidity he never even held it and when i got it i changed up the substrate that would hold humidity better and but an undertank heater and she got more active and started eating but the skin was pealing off in peaces and thats when i put her in the tub with some warm water to help and i gently pealed some of the skin off around her face and back then the skin just ripped exposing her back muscle

[twiztidjuggalo]

when i was at the reptile show today i asked a vet who was there and he told me some home remidies and to take the snake out and place it in a different cage with paper towels as substrate and put some neosporn around the wound and just keep doing that till it heals

[Aaron_S]

Isn't that what I told you myself?

[twiztidjuggalo]

well i got on yesterday after i got back from tha show lol

[gonesnakee]

So in addition to the Rock Python you are already looking to get rid of you also have a new Retic :rolleyes: Based on your posts on this site you are nowhere near experienced enough or ready to be able to properly provide & deal with these animals. As for this particular post it is blatantly obvious to me that the snake had a previous injury that was exposed by you helping it shed. Basically you have pulled a "scab" offf so to speak. Clinically clen setup with papertowel substrate. Clean the wound & use polysporin as directed already. If it doesn't start to clear up right away & looks at all infected a vet visit is in order to get the proper antibiotics to clear up the secondary infection that is setting in. The snake will likley go into a series of rapid shed cycles to help fix the probelm itself as well. Mark

[Aaron_S]

You know a lot of people claim age doesn't have much to do with things but I certainly believe to an extent that it does.

[gonesnakee]

You know a lot of people claim age doesn't have much to do with things but I certainly believe to an extent that it does.

It for sure does when talking about teenagers especially. Where are these 17 YO large Boid owners going to be living when they are 19 even say? Will they still be at Mom & Dads? Will they have gone off to school or joined the military or moved across the country somewhere where large Boids are not allowed? Will they get married & have children? Etc. Etc. Etc. People specially teenagers fail to realize these animals are a HUGE commitment in more ways than one. They are not a hamster that only lives a few years either they are long lived animals that if properly cared for will be around for decades. The cost of properly housing & feeding these animals in itself is a big chunk of change as well. Are they going to be able to afford providing it a room for itself all those years & a large deep freeze full of large prey items as well? The initial cost of some of these animals barely covers the cost of a few months prey once they reach subadult size even in the first couple of years. Like I said there are very few that are actually worthy of keeping & caring for these large Boids. I didn't even touch on safety issues here either. Mark

[Aaron_S]

It's quite true. I am an actual experience of such things. I slowly got of the reptile scene when I was about 18 - 19 and by 20 I had no animals. I went off to college and although I did purchase a rosehair tarantula while in college I made sure not to pick up any other animals. The rose hair was a pet I decided was easiest for me to care with the changing or living arrangements every 4 - 8 months as well as a schedule that if I was really busy it wouldn't suddenly kill over. It's still with me today, as well as two recently purchased snakes. I'm done college though, and have a stable job.

[SerpentLust]

*cough* I'm in University and have 8 pets, but I am fully aware of the commitment, time, energy and funds required to maintain these animals :p I agree with the both of you though haha

So far this guy has spent a total of $120 on a retic and a rock python but would not like to dish out the funds for a vet LMAO Wonder if dishing out the $10 for a bottle of polysporin is going to prove to be too costly in the long run aswell.

Another article of fabric that Aaron left out is that a warm damp towel does wonders. There really is NO reason to manhandle the snake. I've always thought that it's best to allow them to take care of themselves without us meddling in their affairs (other than obviously maintaining proper husbandry requirements so that they CAN take care of themselves)

And let's please remember that some snakes, such as RETICS, ringed pythons and white lips are a thinner skinned species to begin with and not only have problems shedding if its too dry but are not the same as helping say, a cornsnake or a rosy boa (right aaron? LOL) to shed

But really, yeah polysporin does wonders. And I'm not going to regurgitate all the info about a clinically clean setup that Aaron and Mark have already provided.

Please STOP bringing in large boids, I don't want to sound condescending, but really, you impulse bought a rock python for $20 that you now want to get rid of. You now have a retic that you are unwilling to bring to a vet if needed. Both of these animals are NOT pets I would recommend to anyone who isn't old enough to have their own place let alone can't handle a smaller boid than the retic. I understand the good intentions behind this "rescue", but really, sit back and think, can YOU provide what this animals REALLY needs? I won't even rescue a snake larger than a BCC, I know my own limitations (funds, space, time), take a step back and seriously reevaluate yours...