OUTER BANKS SENTINEL (Nags Head, N Carolina) 08 June 05 Aquarium snake gets toothache
Photo at URL: With the anesthetizing tube in place, Dr. Craig Harms examines the abscessed fang. (Dr. Craig Harms)
How do you treat a rattlesnake's toothache? V-E-R-Y carefully.
Husbandry Curator Stuart May and Educator Jenifer Hoskins at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores noticed a droopy lip on the Aquarium's resident eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
The snake continued to eat with its usual irregularity, but the droop didn't improve. Photos were e-mailed to consultants at the North Carolina Zoo and the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine (NCSU-CVM). They recommended monitoring the condition. If there was no noticeable improvement an examination would be necessary.
After a few weeks, the aquarium called in Dr. Craig Harms, NCSU-CVM assistant professor for aquatic and zoo animals, for a closer look. Joining the exam would be Aquarium Curator Hap Fatzinger and Aquarist Technician Keith Farmer, both from the Aquarium at Fort Fisher. The team manipulated the rattler into a clear Plexiglas tube, where Dr. Harms was able to diagnose an abscess behind an upper fang.
The rattler was transferred to Fort Fisher for treatment. Dr. Harms anesthetized the snake, cleaned the wound and removed the left rear fang. Follow-up required antibiotics administered by the Fort Fisher staff.
A recent check-up by Dr. Gregory Lewbart, NCSU-CMV Associate Professor, Aquatic, Wildlife, and Zoologic Medicine, found the snake to be in great shape. As is common in snakes, a new fang was growing to replace the old one.
"The snake has eaten twice without any problem and is getting back to its old self," said Fatzinger.
Snakes have the ability to replace lost teeth, and venomous snakes maintain a never-ending cycle of fangs that grow and move forward. Each one eventually becomes the functional fang of the moment. The shedding of an old fang and replacement with a new fang occurs every 60 days or so. Normally only one fang is fixed in place, but when a new fang is moving into the socket it is not unusual to find the old fang remaining alongside the new one for several days. until the new fang is secure.
Aquarium snake gets toothache