Reptile & Amphibian Forums

today i aquired a young male hognose in a deal which was originally for the snake and a rack system. i got a call when i was almost to the location at which id pick the things up that the owner of the snake had accidentially dropped a water bowl onto the snake, giving it a literal dent in its body. at first he thought it was dead. i got to the house to get the rack and look at the snake which had started moving again, and there it was, a nice inch long indent where he had been hit. he told me if i didnt take the snake, hed be going in the freezer.. which i cant stand if its your fault. my question to the community here is judging by the included pics, one of the indent, and 2 of him folding himself at the indent, its how hes moving from time to time, what should i do. i figured id ask here what youd do. killing the little guy is LAST resort, if he refuses food and water and becomes emaciated and extremely sickly.

second pic

1 more to show his back

popsicle splint?
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few boa morphs hypo,jungle,anery,het snows,an some high reds
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garter morphs easterns,erys,flames,few het bluegrass an het schuett albino /albino,het checkereds/redsides
western hognose morphs
1.1 super kids Memfis Lance and Linda May(co-dom)

have you ever done this? if so, how did you go upon it?

That's an unfortunate dilemma. From the pictures, I would say that the snake has at the least many broken ribs with the high possibility of internal organ damage although it's hard to say which organs those might be in that location. Being that the snake is showing half of it's body in the upturned direction in the 2nd and 3rd photo's suggests that it might also have suffered spinal injuries as well.

The best thing you can do is to take it to the vet to get an examination of the snake to determine the extent of it's injuries but obviously that is going to cost a lot of money and even when those injuries are determined, I would be willing to bet that there's not a lot that can be done to save the snake. While sticking it in the freezer sounds like the easy way out, if the animal is clearly injured to the point of no return, there's not much else to do except to let the animal eventually die.

I wish there were better options but the vet is your best and most expensive option while freezing it might be the most humane. It's your call. Sorry.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

yea.. i figured that. im bringing him to a local reptile store later today, getting their opinion too. i mean right now, hes moving without that body kink, it just seems to be when he moves a certain way his back area folds over. they do have someone whos employed who breeds them, theyre selling his babies. if they think its worth it ill definately bring him to the vet.

Sorry to read about this unfortunate situation for you and the snake. Snakes are generally quite tough and Hognose snakes are no exception. Here’s something to consider in your decision. Perhaps euthanizing the snake should either be the first resort or not occur at all. My hunch is that this snake is suffering quite a bit from this injury. If a vet is willing to bill you for some intervention, my guess is that the snake will suffer quite a lot from that too. There will also be a considerable financial cost added to your end of the business deal with whoever it was you did business with. Euthanizing is usually excused as a way of reducing an animal’s suffering. If that would be your intent, then as last resort it would mostly defeat the purpose.
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Adam Schroeder
formerly "hogsandpythons"

thats the thing. today, he hasnt been flipping like the pics show nearly as much as last night. hes drank some water, and has been cruising around the cage all day. i got him to puff up, and the spot inflates and deflates with the rest of his body. as i said, i got him for free, so financially hed be no loss, i just dont want to put down an animal that doesnt need to be. im bringing him to a reptile specialist locally to see what they think. as you said, hoggies are tough little guys, and i want to be sure theres nothing i can do to give him a chance at life.

If he has a severed nerve cord he will die and should be put down. You need to get to a vet and get an X-ray ASAP. I have seen that in other snakes. If the nerve cord is NOT severed he has a chance. Reptiles are tough critters.

Best of luck,
-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

I would put that animal down... You do not need a vet to know that there is a spinal injury... One which will most likely cause it to die anyway... You also do not need a vet to put it down either... Quick, blunt force trama to the head will quickly and humanely dispatch the suffering snake...

Just wondering what type of water bowl was being used to inflict that sort of damage...

I know you think you are doing the right thing by trying to give it a "chance at life" but in my eyes it is a bit selfish and self serving when the animal in question is in that bad of shape...

yea, thats what has been brought up when i went to all the local reptile stores. majority said vet is the best option. i was told that the rest of the body is usually limp though, or it has spasms. ive notice nothing of this, and he is able to straighten himself out, but we will be going to a vet tomorrow. to see the extent of the damage.

vet checked him out today. told the obvious. broken spine... good news is as of right now no signs of nerve damage. he told me feed him, he passes the food hell likely live. if he regurgitates, stops being so active, forms twitches or spasms in the backside of his body, or just stops voulenarily moving it,has to drag his back side, to put him down. the other note, injury was older than i was told. and not caused by a bowl. he said it looked like he was shut in something. and it was not done 3 days ago. he also said if he does pass the food, try to keep te body from curving. hell never be perfect, but itll a lot. so i fed him, and he had no problem attacking the hopper. couldnt constrict it like he wanted, but he ate it. got it into the area that was crushed. should be around his stomach though i guess. well know in the morning.

Keep us posted.

Best of luck,
Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

There seems to be a misconception that a broken spine means this snake is going to die. To the contrary:
An article published in Herp Review showed a radiograph of a Western with definite break in the vertebrae and spinal cord... and lived.

The article was authored by a prof at the U of Colorado and kept it in his collection there. I visited the place in 2004, and saw with my own eyes the snake in question. It still had a kink in the back, but certainly didn't appear to be suffering or inhibited.
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Virginia Herping
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VaHS
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http://www.cafepress.com/vaherpsociety

"The irrational fear of snakes is the only excuse a grown man has... to act like a complete sissy" - Colchicine