My dog ate my snake skin

[Jay]

Is snake skin harmful to dogs? He is a small dog Boston terrier x cocker spaniel
I was getting shed out of my snakes viv and he jumped up and grabbed it he only swallowed the head part
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/215607_10150560101470401_532410400_17659981_455395 0_n.jpg
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/230446_10150576345985401_532410400_17837461_628097 1_n.jpg

[stephanbakir]

cute dog, my dog ate my box of snake skin (about 40 sheds) and he was fine, i saw no ill effects (i don't know if its bad for them, just trying to put your mind at ease till you get a more definitive answer)

[RandyRhoads]

How did you take a picture of yourself in the cage?

[Jay]

lol that would be my friend

[RandyRhoads]

Oh I was wondering....did you plan all this and set your camera up ahead of time lol....

[mykee]

No harm, but could your dog be mentally reetarded?
I only ask because snake shed has zero nutritional value, usually dogs don't eat stuff like that.....unless they're slow.
Don't be ashamed, one of my dogs is "slow" too...

[stephanbakir]

Sometimes they just want to eat/chew.

[whoaxmary]

Seeing as I'm at work -clearly not working too hard since I took the time to look at the forum ;) - at the dog clinic right now I thought I should answer you.
You've got nothing to worry about, with the skin itself. The snake skin will break down, and will not cause any blockage. Unless you start to notice any behavioral changes ei: not eating, passing BM, lethargy, then don't fret. The only worry is if there was some sort of germ being carried on the skin like salmonella or anything, which if you keep good husbandry shouldn't be an issue.

Ps. I confirmed this all with the vet on call tonight before posting it, seeing as I'm not a vet I wouldn't give you my own opinion with out checking first.

[stephanbakir]

Thanks for the info!

[Jay]

Yea he is a puppy so he chews everything.

[Jay]

No harm, but could your dog be mentally reetarded?
I only ask because snake shed has zero nutritional value, usually dogs don't eat stuff like that.....unless they're slow.
Don't be ashamed, one of my dogs is "slow" too...
Nope Joe is not mental..I wouldn't be ashamed either, I think it would be a challenge. How long have you had your dog with the disability?

[whoaxmary]

btw your puppy is very very cute. <3

[mykee]

"The only worry is if there was some sort of germ being carried on the skin like salmonella or anything, which if you keep good husbandry shouldn't be an issue."
ALL reptiles have salmonella.
And it has absolutely nothing at all to do with good husbandry.

I was just kidding about the 'slow' thing, My Willow may be a spaz and have ADHD, but she is as quick as a whip.

[whoaxmary]

ALL reptiles have salmonella.
And it has absolutely nothing at all to do with good husbandry.

:) Mykee is right - Hence why we wash our hands after handling.
But obviously a snake kept in 'dirty' conditions is far more likely to pass something on in it's shed that the puppy could pick up by eating it, which is the point I meant. I'd be far more worried if you posted a picture of never-cleaned-gross-icky-viv and said your puppy ate the shed from a snake that lived there. ;]
Really, with puppies eating stuff, unless it's toxic, if their able to pass it the worse you normally have to deal with it some diarrhea or maybe a bit of vomit, usually nothing to worry about if it doesn't last. It's when they eat things they can't pass and get blocked. ;/ Exploratorys are no fun, especially for ones wallet.

[Little Wise Owl]

No harm, but could your dog be mentally reetarded?
I only ask because snake shed has zero nutritional value, usually dogs don't eat stuff like that.....unless they're slow.
Don't be ashamed, one of my dogs is "slow" too...

All the dogs I've known have eaten the weirdest things and none have been "mentally ********"... well sometimes I think they are. From socks to bandages to tissue paper to cardboard... Snake skin probably has more nutrition then tissue paper (which is my dog's favourite)

I wouldn't be worried of a dog getting sick from eating snake skin. Dogs lick their own (and other dogs') butts and their fecal matter can contain salmonella. Some dogs eat feces and are fine... Some dogs eat garbage and lick the ground. Actually ALL dogs will probably do one of the above at least. Dogs are natural scavengers and can handle a lot of weird things in their gut... Like socks.

[mistersprinkles]

It's keratin. If the snake skin is clean the worst thing eating it can do is make your dog's fur thicker. :). You can eat it too if you want to.

[Jay]

No harm, but could your dog be mentally reetarded?
Don't be ashamed, one of my dogs is "slow" too...
.....Found this picture, hopefully you see it. I think he was in a pre lick
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/IMG_7119.jpg

This it what he looks like (normally)
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/IMG_7108.jpg

[stephanbakir]

Thats cute in a disturbing way :P
I don't normally like small dogs but that one... its cute :P

[Jay]

Yea I'm not a fan of small yippee dogs but I need someone to flush out rabbits.

Here he is on the way to his first hunt, he looks nervous

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/207877_10150480976295401_532410400_17421169_453721 4_n.jpg

Here he is after exhausted after. That is an antler from a little spike deer I shot, He loves it.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/IMG_6846.jpg

[stephanbakir]

If hes a hunting dog that's awesome! I used them when I was a trapper and in animal relocation, it beats finding everything and flushing them out yourself on miserable days:P

[Jay]

Well I have only trained him with rabbits so far. He is small enough to go where a rabbit goes, where I hunt its all tight brush and he fits right underneath it all.

[stephanbakir]

Sounds awesome. If only he could stay that size? :P On a side note, do you plan on training him as a bird dog aswel?

[Jay]

He should stay maybe 20 pounds Boston Terrier X Cocker Spaniel. As for birds I used him to hunt grouse but I don't see them anymore and pheasants are being repopulated atm. I hunt Canadian geese and other water foul but he is way to small for that. My mom has 2 labs that are amazing retrievers

[stephanbakir]

Sounds like my family, the only dogs my uncles own are black labs lol.

[Jay]

I grew up with Labs, Springer Spaniels and Savannah Monitors. Hunting and Herps are in my blood.

[Jay]

I grew up with Labs, Springer Spaniels and Savannah Monitors. Hunting and Herps are in my blood.

"Herps in my blood" Lol Reptiles would be a better word to use, in case that gets read wrong lol

[stephanbakir]

Rofl. They have pills and a cream for that.

[Jay]

Haha I just realized your join date, you almost have 3000 posts !!

[stephanbakir]

I wasn't working for a long time, and I was injured, now that I'm on my feet my post count isn't going to climb nearly as fast:P
Working a 10-13 hour a day 6 days a week job now, I hate it but hey...

[shaunyboy]

No harm, but could your dog be mentally reetarded?
I only ask because snake shed has zero nutritional value, usually dogs don't eat stuff like that.....unless they're slow.
Don't be ashamed, one of my dogs is "slow" too...

^^^^^
that just made my morning :yes::yes::yes:

cheers shaun

[Jay]

What time is it in Kelty?

[Damion930]

My buddys saint bernard ate 8 ft of extintion cord while it was pluged into the wall lol he was just fine lol

[stephanbakir]

Not sure how to respond to that one.