Hello!

[MlizGr]

I was directed to this site for assistance with the yellow bellied racer a friend gave to me after her cat brought it home. He seems to be doing quite well so far, and I'm hoping that I can find out more information on how to take care of this kind of snake. I've done plenty of research on Garters, and so far it seems like it's going to mostly be the same sort of care for this guy.

Thank you all in advance for your help with Achilles Heel. He's definitely going to appreciate any extra advice I can get to make his care as perfect as I can.


http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/183/f/1/snake_by_mlizgr-d3kr5tb.jpg

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/183/c/a/snake_by_mlizgr-d3kr5rw.jpg

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/183/7/3/snake_by_mlizgr-d3kr5q0.jpg

[infernalis]

Hello again.

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg

[stephanbakir]

Is he hurt physically? if so, how exactly? any pictures? anything else you can tell us?
Is he eating?

[marvelfreak]

Hello and welcome! We love to see pictures of Achilles Heel.

[infernalis]

Is he hurt physically? if so, how exactly? any pictures? anything else you can tell us?
Is he eating?


Look up, first post is now edited to include the photos. ;)

[stephanbakir]

Are there any broken ribs? If the snake is eating and pooping he should more or less heal on his own, but a vet visit should still be in order.
And no more cats.

[MlizGr]

Oh goodness, for a minute there I thought I was loosing my mind, cause I was sure I hadn't added any photos! Thanks infernalis!

Well, it doesn't seem like he has anything broken, just a couple of cuts and damaged scales. I've been putting neosporin on them at least once a day, and he's definitely more active than he was. Because my friend found him Friday night and it's a holiday weekend I haven't had a chance to call my vet to see if he even deals with snakes, but I do hope he does, because so far I've been pretty impressed with my dog's care with them. If not I'll have to start looking around town for a vet who does know about snakes.

Mostly I'm worried about infection, which is why the neosporin's being used so darn much. He's even gotten a 2 baths with melafix, since I had it on hand and knew it was useful for fighting bacteria and the like, but shouldn't harm him.

I'm pretty sure he's eaten 2 of the worms I offered [don't really have any snake food on hand, and he's NOT getting my betta] that or they are hiding exceptionally well, because I checked everywhere in his tank to make sure they hadn't just managed to wander off. He's definitely pooing [the brat decided to poo in my hands last night. Such a special gift...], and as I said, he's been a little more active and a whole lot stronger than he was when he was first rescued from the cat. Luckily I only have a dog as a possible predator, and my dog is content with a few sniffs to the snake, up until the head is pointed toward him. Then he backs off and leaves it alone.

[stephanbakir]

Are you sure it was poo and not musk?

[MlizGr]

It quite possibly was started as musk, but there was quite a lot of solid stuff in there. It was during on of the baths, so I'm not sure if the warm water was one of the factors or not. Honestly, it looked a whole lot like bird poo [which I've got a lot more experience with...]

[stephanbakir]

Sounds like poo! if he is indeed eating you are off to a great start! If he makes it which I fully expect him to, are you planning on keeping him?

[MlizGr]

Bah. I really shouldn't. Having a hard enough time finding an apartment with my dog and I'd finally decided that I wasn't going to get a snake for some time! However, the answer is probably yes, as I've already named him Achilles Heel. He's a beautiful snake, and so far hasn't tried to nip once [which apparently is kinda rare for racers?], doesn't seem to mind being handled as long as I'm slow and gentle, and as long as he takes well to eating in captivity I'll probably keep him.

[stephanbakir]

He looks fantastic! I would not be able to help myself :P

[MlizGr]

See? That's my problem right there. He's just so pretty, and I know he's only going to get prettier when he heals up! Plus, if I don't keep him the son of the woman who found him and brought him to me might try keeping him, and the family situation at his dad's house isn't one I'd let an animal go into. The kid's great, the rest of the people in his dad's house, not so much.

I figured I just won't tell landlords about him, just get a pet friendly apartment and call it good. Hell, at the rate I'm going on apartment finding I'm gunna have to start offering a $1000 extra deposit to get a place with the dog anyway.

[stephanbakir]

You shouldn't have problems, unless people find out. Even then, keep a book handy identifying it as NON venomous.

[MlizGr]

That's for sure. Venomous snakes are Illegal in the city I'll be moving to once I find an apartment, so I'll probably print out a couple of sheets of info just to have on hand on Racers. Course, I could always just let him bite me in front of the police if they don't believe me I suppose. I'm sure that would be enough to convince anyone!

[stephanbakir]

Thats a bad idea, seeing the snake attack is enough to put most people on edge, that and if they don't believe you they could take you to the hospital and order tests+antivenin at your expense (in case you were suicidal) and send you in for psyche (Worst case, prolly will never happen.)

[MlizGr]

Yeah, that's probably a good point... Don't think he'd bite anyhow. Honestly, he seems more likely to hide his head under his coils than try and bite, even when I'm putting medicine on him! I really hope he stays as friendly once he's healed.