Injured wild-caught Pale-head- plz help.

[Nagraj]

I would be inclined to try to wash away the blood clot with sterile water and cotton buds if you can do so safely as it will heal more quickly and with less scarring without a great lump of dried blood in the way.

 

[Colletts]

i hope it gets realeasted (sorry for bad spelling)

Thanks matey! I hope he gets to that point too! Lookin' good so far.

 

[Colletts]

Yeah he's got a pretty face but his body is quite scarred and yuck. He's a tiny bit on the thin side too but he's really well tempered for a wc (not that i've met any others, i'm just going by the striking pose pictures you see in herp books! They look crazy!)

I was thinking about washing it but he was getting a bit cranky and moving about just a tad too much for my liking, so i decided to leave him for now. And the corner of his mouth started to bleed just a little before i put him down so i'd say that's still very sore and open. Maybe in one or two days i'll see if i can bathe it.

 

[gonsnaken]

well done colletts keep up the good work.
ive been following all the posts and its amazing the amount of people who will just right the animal off its people like yourself that are prepared to aleast give it a go that we need more of.

just going off the pics it looks like part of the upper lining of the gum has come away from the jaw is that the case?
or perhaps part of his lip has come away from the jaw?
in your opinion is it a blood blister or some form of scabbing?
or could it be that the teeth in that area have been broken & have come out?

 

[Colletts]

well done colletts keep up the good work.
ive been following all the posts and its amazing the amount of people who will just right the animal off its people like yourself that are prepared to aleast give it a go that we need more of.

just going off the pics it looks like part of the upper lining of the gum has come away from the jaw is that the case?
or perhaps part of his lip has come away from the jaw?
in your opinion is it a blood blister or some form of scabbing?
or could it be that the teeth in that area have been broken & have come out?

Thanks! Yeah, there seems to be a lot of 'wildlife carers' out there that would rather euthanize or just let the animal go. I'm not sure if that qualifies as a wildlife carer, i always thought 'care' and 'rehabilitate' means to do whatever you can do for the animal so it can be released, not just to give up and/or hope for the best (euthanize or release).

Yeah it's mainly the fleshy part of the inside mouth lining (the part between the gum and inside layer of skin), well that's what i see it as. As i said, he was wriggling around and reaching for me a fair bit and im only new to this head-holding method so i didn't feel comfortable enough to examine any further. Hopefully next time i'll be able to see more, and hopefully next time i'll have more confidence!! And yes his lip seems to come away from the jaw but also his scales in the corner of his mouth have slipt so it's a bit open there too. I'm sure it's either a blood blister or his gum because i noticed it there protruding the night he was hit, it hasn't just appeared in the last few days. From what i saw yesterday, his teeth near the wound look fine, but again i couldn't look for too long. Will have a better look tomorrow.

 

[Colletts]

Took these pictures today. Seems to be healing and i'm 100% sure it hasn't done any damage to his jaw, ligaments and teeth,
however the fang on that side isn't protruding from it's sheath. Could it have broken off? How long do they take to regrow?
I'll still be able to release him with one fang hey, they loose them in the wild dont they?

 

[baxtor]

I'll still be able to release him with one fang hey, they loose them in the wild dont they?

Yes

 

[gonsnaken]

colletts
when the snake has his mouth closed can you see the injury?

dont worry about the fang they will always have another that is in waiting, how long it takes to comes through though im not to sure.

do you have a set of scales you can weigh the snake on as you will need to be aware the snakes hydration levels.
have you seen it drink? or do you think it has been?

 

[Colletts]

colletts
when the snake has his mouth closed can you see the injury?

dont worry about the fang they will always have another that is in waiting, how long it takes to comes through though im not to sure.

do you have a set of scales you can weigh the snake on as you will need to be aware the snakes hydration levels.
have you seen it drink? or do you think it has been?

When it's mouth is closed you can just see that black blood blister thing. It's slowly hardening up and shrinking though. Other than that his mouth looks fine and in line.

I have water in with it and i've noticed it becomes dirty but that could just be him passing through it (but i have no substrate in the enc so this is unlikely. His mouth was very messy to start off with but is now clean and the water was dirty so i just assumed he'd drunk) I haven't seen him drink yet but i'm hardly in the room. Can you test their hydration like other animals by pinching the skin? Where's the best site to do this? I would imagine close to his tail where there's less loose skin to start off with? Or should i just start weighing him? Have wild caught snakes been known not to drink when in captivity? I've always thought it would be instinct for them to drink when thirsty no matter where they are or the conditions?

Thanks for your advice

 

[Colletts]

Good news!!

Hey guys,

Pale-head made a full recovery and was released today

The scab finally fell off and the flesh underneath healed well. Here are some photos. I managed to take a few quick shots of him before he slithered away, and one of the area where he was released:

 

[Danni]

oh wow that is great news, well done you should be proud of yourself.

was he released where you found him?

 

[smacdonald]

Congrats! Hopefully he'll be out there boning all the lovely pale-headed ladies in the area. Although, given that he got run over, maybe those genes aren't exactly the best to be passed on... Anyway, it's nice that our Lord, God almighty, gave this beautifully, intelligently designed creature a second chance.


Stewart

 

[slacker]

Awesome. Glad to hear he made it. Very cool snakes.

And Uncle reptilesDownUnder, don't you ever think about anything else?

 

[smacdonald]

And Uncle reptilesDownUnder, don't you ever think about anything else?

I never think of anything except intelligent design. Ever.


Stewart

 

[slacker]

:lol: