Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I ran this snake over yesterday, I came over a little crest in the road and there he was, just starting to cross the road. I didnt have time to swerve or brake or do anything. I ran his head and neck over. When I went back to him he looked ok at first except the area right behind his neck was real limp. I put him in a box and took him home. He seemd to be getting slowly better. After about an hour his jaw pulled way to the right and I noticed a little blood in his mouth. His jaw has since has returned almost to normal. He appears to be awake and aware of his surroundings, when I approach him his eye moves to focus on me. He doesn't move around much and when he does he's real shaky. So my question is, what can I do??? I called the emergency vets in my area yesterday but none would see a snake. It ticks me off that an emergency animal hospital would act horrified that I wanted to bring an injured snake in for help. I cant believe that the first snake of spring I see I had to run over

PS: I posted this in the kingsnake forum because I _think_ he looks like a king but I'm not sure. He rattled his tail yesterday when he got nervous, dont only kings do that?

Jason

Its a Black Ratsnake Jason. I would just keep him warm and hydrated. You may have to stick his head into the water dish from time to time to drink. If he isnt moving around very well make sure he doesnt get stuck on the warmside of your tank or he will overheat.Keep the cage warm maybe a average temp of 83 fegree's or so but also let it cool down at night to high 70's. There probably isnt much a Vet could do for a head injury. Snakes are suprisingly tough and I bet he can pull through with just some gentle care from you. Good luck and keep us posted st to his progress .

Keith
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Thanks for the quick response. I put his head in the waterdish yesterday and this morning but he didnt seem to drink. I'm afraid of him getting dehydrated, should I use an eye dropper to give him water? I've set up a 30 gallon tank with aspen, a heating pad under half of the tank, a spotlight heatlamp, and a waterbowl. I'm going to make a hide box tonight. Is there anything else you recommend?

By the way, he's 51" long, do you know if he's full grown for a ratsnake or not?

Just make sure his hide is on the coolside. Overheating will kill him quick. Give him one more day to drink on his own if not try the eye dropper but maybe use a gatorade or even better pedialite (Its for children). Pedialite can be found at any grocery store also. He is pretty much full grown but they can get well over 6'.

Keith

>>Thanks for the quick response. I put his head in the waterdish yesterday and this morning but he didnt seem to drink. I'm afraid of him getting dehydrated, should I use an eye dropper to give him water? I've set up a 30 gallon tank with aspen, a heating pad under half of the tank, a spotlight heatlamp, and a waterbowl. I'm going to make a hide box tonight. Is there anything else you recommend?
>>
>>By the way, he's 51" long, do you know if he's full grown for a ratsnake or not?
>>
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I know this is the wrong forum but I just wanted to give you an update:
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I finally got him to drink water, I was starting to get worried. He still wont drink out of a bowl though, I have to give him water from a dropper. Sometimes he will actually open his mouth and suck on the dropper like a baby sucking on a bottle! He refused to cooperate for the camera on that one though. I'm hoping he will be ready to eat soon, I put a pinkie in his cage the other day when I was feeding my King but he totally ignored it.