Why NOT to feed a snake live food. (New foster, graphic pics)

[snakemama]

This guy has always been fed live rodents. It was fine for eight years, until it wasn't. One day, the rat won. This snake's owners were obviously deficient in their husbandry in many ways....he had layer after layer of retained shed over his eyes...so much so that his corneas are now deformed, and his wounds are badly infected. The rat attack happened five months ago! His tail is literally rotting, and the smell is...wow. He's now afraid of his food and hasn't eaten in five months on top of everything else. :(

I don't know what made these people decide to bring their snake to the vet after five months of ignoring what is clearly a massive set of problems, but they did....then surrendered him because they didn't want to spend the time/money getting him well. My sister took him in, and he's now on a course of powerful antibiotics and in a nice bed of damp moss to help with those eyecaps. Theye may or may not be cataracts under the eyecaps, but that's a worry for another day. So now "Ratbait" is in good hands and can hopefully recover to find a good home. I'm already thinking maybe that home could be with me, but I'll have to see how my hubby feels about that.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6535/ratbait3.jpg

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4707/ratbait4.jpg

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/7065/ratbait6.jpg

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9681/ratbait2.jpg

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8978/ratbait1.jpg

He's a Yellow Ratsnake, so when he recovers he'll look a lot like this guy: (Photo is from dixiedining.wordpress.com). With any luck, the end of his tail won't fall off and he should be quite a good looking critter! Then he has to learn to eat frozen-thawed food, and get over his fear of rodents!

http://dixiedining.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/animalsyellowratsnake1.jpg

Good vibes for a fast recovery are appreciated!

[Karen]

Poor guy! Does he have a name? We will say a prayer for his recovery, no creature deserves that mistreatment.

[snakemama]

Er...well....his previous owners called him "Buttercup" thinking he was female. The vet staff has renamed him "Ratbait". If I get to keep him his name will change again.

This snake (http://www.iherp.com/Gallery/92043/36702_74759_Large_qhWcGkKDtG.jpg) went on to make a full recovery (Yes that is her SPINE SHOWING...Her recovery photos can be found here http://www.iherp.com/Public/Animals/AnimalPhotoGallery.aspx?AnimalID=36702&PhotoID=108065) so I'm hopeful that Ratbait will also recover completely. Even if he never fully regains his vision, frozen-thawed mice don't move very fast!

[chocolatepuppy]

What is wrong with people??? I hope this guy does well and recovers. Yes, once again, he'll need a new name.

[moosmom]

While I'm not a fan of snakes, I feel so bad for that little guy. I can't get over the stupidity of pet owners lately. When I get a new pet, like my Sphynxes, I went on line and did my homework about their care and upkeep. It's our responsibility as pet owners.

I hope he has a speedy recovery and you get to keep and CARE for him, something his former owners didn't do.

Thank you snakemama, for caring.;)

[Taz_Zoee]

So sad. :( I hope you can take him, I know you'd do everything in your power to help him.
And his name REALLY needs to be changed...........that's just wrong.

[AvaJoy]

Poor Buttercup/Ratbait . . . hoping for a complete recovery and that his vision gets restored. He is now in great hands so he should make strides. I used to have a corn snake and fed him frozen (thawed) pinkies/baby mice. I would tie a thread around tail so I could dangle it and then Sly would go after it. I like snakes and hope Ratbait returns to good health and will want to eat again soon.

[Lilith Cherry]

Lots of good healing thoughts for the poor little guy.... I am so glad he was rescued by loving people!

[snakemama]

If I can convince my hubby to let me keep him I'm naming him Dandy, short for Dandelion. Yellow Rats are sadly taken for granted in the pet trade, because wild caught ones are so cheaply available all over the place. They're considered more "disposable" than a lot of other species, and not too many pet owners really appreciate how lovely they are. I'll keep PT updated with his progress, and hopefully soon some happier pictures of him.

[Bonny]

I am so glad your sister took the snake in & it is on antibiotics. The coloring is nothing like the picture of the healthy snake & praying there is no gangrene in the tail. Good Thoughts & Prayers sent to Mr/Mrs. Snake. Don't like the name Ratbait Ugh! Stupid humans is all I can say. :(

[snakemama]

A positive update: Ratbait's eyecaps have not come off yet, but his corneas have returned to a normal shape! His tail wound has been cleaned again and it looks like there is fresh new tissue underneath it!! He's still stinky and has a ways to go, but he'll get there!

[Jumbo Ratty]

Thats great news,,, hes a lucky creature to have found hiself in your care when he needed it most.

I do so hope he does regain his sight.

[TamanduaGirl]

Hope he does recover well. Sounds like he will survive it. I know it can be a slow process for them. A friend took one in that had a lot of retained sheds too. Eyes and around the tail. Got the skin off with lots of soaks but the tail tip stayed misshapen and a year later it fell off.

[snakemama]

Thanks! Ratbait is "going blue" right now, so he'll shed soon and hopefully those eyecaps will come off! My sister has been keeping vaseline on them to soften them, and he has a nice bed of damp moss in his bin which he's been sitting in a lot. I need to get some new pictures, even with the eyecaps still on he looks much better!

[chocolatepuppy]

Good to hear he's doing better! I hope he continues to improve.

[snakemama]

He STILL hasn't shed, but here are some new pictures to show how much better he looks anyways.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5526/ratbait4122.jpg

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/2558/ratbait4123.jpg

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/7430/ratbait4121.jpg

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/790/ratbait4124.jpg

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/7289/ratbait4125.jpg

Sadly, he's still not eating (Can you blame him?!), but my sister in law says she's going to try tube feeding him if he's not willing to eat after his shed. He's still got good muscle tone and he's not underweight, so we have some time before we need to worry.

[cassiesmom]

Good to hear he's doing better! I hope he continues to improve.


His poor eyes! Dandy, please try to eat if you can. Snakemama, will he be at risk for problems with shedding again in the future? I hope the Vaseline will help too.

[snakemama]

The eyecaps are OFF!!! After speaking with his former owner again, we've determined that he's probably closer to 12 than 8, and judging by how advanced his cataracts are he has likely been blind for years. He's thriving, though he's still afraid of his food and hasn't eaten yet. Also, the tip of his tail did drop off when he shed, but not as much as expected. My sis in law has done a great job with him in such a short time!

See all the nice scar tissue on his nose?
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/551/ratbait5122.jpg

Marbly tongue!
http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/1995/ratbait5121.jpg

Left cataract looks a little bigger than the right one.
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/9066/ratbait5123.jpg

http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/861/ratbait5125.jpg

This is a nice shot....What a handsome old man he is!
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/6007/ratbait5124.jpg

His tail tip has nice pink scar tissue too!
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/5052/ratbait5126.jpg

Just relaxing...He's easy to handle. If he starts eating again, he'd make someone a nice first snake.
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/9736/ratbait5127.jpg

He's banged up, but we're quite fond of him anyways. :love:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6611/ratbait5128.jpg

[luckies4me]

Aww, poor guy. Glad to see he's making a nice recovery.

[chocolatepuppy]

He's sure looking better! I hope he continues to do well!

[Scooter's Mom]

Ya know, I'm certainly not what you'd consider a snake lover... but I sure hate to see when they are in such deplorable condition. I am so happy y'all are taking such good care of him.
It makes my heart happy to know that every critter has care. :love:

[cassiesmom]

Ya know, I'm certainly not what you'd consider a snake lover... but I sure hate to see when they are in such deplorable condition. I am so happy y'all are taking such good care of him.
It makes my heart happy to know that every critter has care. :love:

I don't think you'd consider me a snake lover, either but I don't like to see any creature not receiving the care they need. He sure looks better! The second picture from the bottom in #18-- he looks LONG! Snake, please try to eat some. You don't have to be afraid of your food anymore. Please eat, please!

[Bonny]

He sure is looking a lot better. He is a good size snake.

[sallyandsnowx]

Oh, poor little guy. :( He looks SO much better now then he did before. I'm glad he's healing up so nicely and I hope he continues the positive progress. Thank you and your sister and law for taking wonderful care of pretty Dandy. :love:

[ramanth]

Yep, that's why I never feed live. Just not worth the risk. I'm glad he's making a good recovery and I hope he starts eating again soon. :)

[snakemama]

Good news! Ratbait is EATING on his own! After eight months without food! First, my sister tricked him by taking his water away for a few days. Once he was good and thirsty, she dunked a thawed out mouse in water and held it up to him. He opened his mouth trying to drink the water off of it, and she put the mouse in his mouth!

Next, she got a baby bird who had passed away due to falling on the hot asphalt. She had tried to save him, but even veterinary intervention wasn't enough. So he was offered to Ratbait, who ate enthusiastically. His appetite seems to have been stimulated, because after the bird he ate another mouse without being tricked! Next week he'll be offered just a mouse to see if he's interested!

[Karen]

Whew, glad he is regaining his appetite and growing stronger!

[cassiesmom]

Snakemama or anyone, can you say a little more about a snake's eating and drinking habits for me? How often does a snake eat, and what is a typical diet (other than mice-- eek!)? How often do they drink water, do you keep fresh water always available for them? I am glad he is doing better!

[snakemama]

Snakemama or anyone, can you say a little more about a snake's eating and drinking habits for me? How often does a snake eat, and what is a typical diet (other than mice-- eek!)? How often do they drink water, do you keep fresh water always available for them? I am glad he is doing better!

All of my snakes always have fresh water available, even though I only occasionally see any of them drink.

Most snakes when they're growing are offered food every 5-7 days. Most of my adults eat more like every 10 - 14 days. One appropriately-sized prey item is offered per feeding (appropriate size is about 1.5x the width of the snake at its widest point). My snakes eat only frozen/thawed prey, never live. Live prey can bite your snake or transmit bacteria from its gut into the snake's. There is a lot of debate as to whether snakes benefit from a varied diet or not. Certainly thousands of pet snakes grow to a ripe old age eating nothing but mice. I offer mice, quail, eggs, fish, and whatever else I can get my hands on. It's fun to me to offer tham a variety of options, though I always regret feeding them fish a few days later. STINKY!

There is, of course, a lot of variation across species lines...my indigo snake can't stretch his jaws like other species and he has a MUCH higher metabulism...so he eats 8-12 smaller prey items a week.

[snakemama]

Lesson learned: don't startle a blind snake! He left these in my sister's hand when he snapped at her the other day. Luckily, both snake and person are fine! :)

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7936/owwieratbait.jpg

[Karen]

Thank goodness everyone is okay! Do snakes regrow teeth? Just curious!

[snakemama]

Thank goodness everyone is okay! Do snakes regrow teeth? Just curious!

Yep, they'll grow back in. :)