Trouble Giving Shots To Small Snake
Hello,
I have a smaller western Hognose snake that has an infection requiring 10 doses of antibiotics(1 daily for 10 days). I am currently on injection 6/10 and the 6 I've done have not been smooth.
The issue is that he squirms like crazy as soon as the needle goes in, making it very difficult to give a clean shot.
My foremost worry is that one of these injections will hit an organ if he wiggles wrong and the needle goes all the way in. He tends to back up as soon as it enters his skin. I've been following every given instruction by the vet (45 degree angle, between the scales, near the spine, front 3rd of the body, hold him between tips of fingers and hand, trying for 1/4 to 1/3 of the needle, etc...) and done hours of research only to find next to nothing.
Not only am I certainly causing him much more pain than is necessary, but it is maximizing the chances of lasting injury. I don't want to squeeze him so hard that he can't move at all, and I don't know the threshold for how firmly to press him to my hand, so I'm nervous about causing injury that way as well.
What can be done to minimize squirming? Is there any safe way to keep him still? Should I go at more of an angle to insure it stays in the muscle even if the entire needle goes in? If he does wiggle and I think it will cause the needle to go in further should I pull it out?
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