Garter snake lawnmower injury *with pics of healing progression*

[0TG.]

I figured this may be of interest to some of you folks here so I thought I'd share this with you all:

This past Saturday I was mowing the lawn and hit an adult Garter snake. When I realized he was there it was too late to do anything about it. The blades ended up cutting the last four or five inches of his tail off. I had no choice but to decapitate him as his guts were hanging out his backside. I felt horrible.

But that wasn't all. Not two hours after I hit the first one, I hit a second one. This time a much smaller one, I'm guessing he hatched last year.

After I saw that I hit him, I picked him up to inspect his injuries and snapped some photos:

And here is what it looks like today, after having applied Neosporin three times a day as per the suggestions of people on a Garter snake forum and also of a friend of a friend who happens to be a vet.

Notice how the wound is now more of a pinkish color than it is red, and also appears to be much smoother than it was on the day of the injury.

I plan on trying to give him his first meal tomorrow and if he doesn't take it within a couple of minutes I'll try again in two or three days.

 

[Roy Munson]

Hope he makes it! Good luck with him.

 

[jaxom1957]

After I saw that I hit him, I picked him up to inspect his injuries and snapped some photos....
And here is what it looks like today, after having applied Neosporin three times a day as per the suggestions of people on a Garter snake forum and also of a friend of a friend who happens to be a vet....
I plan on trying to give him his first meal tomorrow and if he doesn't take it within a couple of minutes I'll try again in two or three days.

A decade or so ago, I had a gopher snake that had a run-in with a dog. The snake had over a dozen wounds, including some gashes that went all the way through the muscle layer. I did much like you've done, treating the wounds with a polysporin ointment and letting the snake heal. "Chuckie" took a long time to heal, nearly a year, but in the end, all you could see from the attack were the disruptions in his scale pattern. Good luck with your garter, and I hope he heals just as well. Are you feeding mice or something else? Chuckie liked chicks

 

[0TG.]

A decade or so ago, I had a gopher snake that had a run-in with a dog. The snake had over a dozen wounds, including some gashes that went all the way through the muscle layer. I did much like you've done, treating the wounds with a polysporin ointment and letting the snake heal. "Chuckie" took a long time to heal, nearly a year, but in the end, all you could see from the attack were the disruptions in his scale pattern. Good luck with your garter, and I hope he heals just as well. Are you feeding mice or something else? Chuckie liked chicks

Dude, I named this guy Chuck! Well Chuck Norris actually.

What are the odds? :cheers:

I actually just tried to feed him his first captive meal today, but he wasn't having it. I tried a worm, but he didn't seem interested. I'll try again on Saturday.

 

[jaxom1957]

Dude, I named this guy Chuck! Well Chuck Norris actually. What are the odds? :cheers:

Too funny! My Chuckie was named after the doll in "Child's Play". The snake had the same evil eyes, but was actually a total sweetheart to handle.

 

[0TG.]

Yeah so is this guy, he's as tame as any of my corns. How long did you keep Chuckie for?

 

[jaxom1957]

Yeah so is this guy, he's as tame as any of my corns. How long did you keep Chuckie for?

Two years. I hated turning him loose, he was such a great guy, but it seemed only fair. I turned him loose in some acreage that was riddled with gopher holes and had lots of brambles for him to hide in.

 

[debb]

Don't garters eat fish? Or is that a Ribbon snake I am thinking of? :crazy02: The garter I found in my yard was in the process of eating a toad.

 

[JoannaD]

Hopefully that guy will do well unless he had a deeper puncture that may have peirced his bowel. Time will tell. I am not surprised the garter did not eat. Give him some time to adjust to his new surroundings. You can try worms (not red wrigglers - they are potentially toxic to garters) or fish. Thawed cut up pieces of whole trout are good but your guy might need the stimulation of some movement and minnows work well if you have access to them.

Good luck , I hope he continues to heal.

 

[0TG.]

Hopefully that guy will do well unless he had a deeper puncture that may have peirced his bowel. Time will tell. I am not surprised the garter did not eat. Give him some time to adjust to his new surroundings. You can try worms (not red wrigglers - they are potentially toxic to garters) or fish. Thawed cut up pieces of whole trout are good but your guy might need the stimulation of some movement and minnows work well if you have access to them.

Good luck , I hope he continues to heal.

So I can just plop the fish in there then?

 

[JoannaD]

You can put them in the water bowl and if he does not show an interest then yes let it flop around his enclosure and that should get his attention! It is fun to watch them catch them in the water bowl! You might not want him getting his wound wet though.

Do not be surprised if he is a reluctant eater. Wild caught garters can take their time acclimating to captivity. He might also be getting ready to go into brumation if it has been cold where you live. We have had temps in the 50s at night and I am sure that is confusing some of the garters!

A note on fish. Many of the feeder fish found in pet stores are goldfish and they contain an enzyme, thiaminase, that can deplete a garter's stores of thiamine, a B vitamin. In the short term this is not dangerous but in the long term it can lead to neurological problems and death. I believe minnows do not have this enzyme. You can fins lists of fish with and without thiaminase on the web.

 

[JenC]

Wow, looks like the little fella is doing good. The temperment is good too? Thats awesome what you're doing ^_^

 

[0TG.]

You can put them in the water bowl and if he does not show an interest then yes let it flop around his enclosure and that should get his attention! It is fun to watch them catch them in the water bowl! You might not want him getting his wound wet though.

Do not be surprised if he is a reluctant eater. Wild caught garters can take their time acclimating to captivity. He might also be getting ready to go into brumation if it has been cold where you live. We have had temps in the 50s at night and I am sure that is confusing some of the garters!

A note on fish. Many of the feeder fish found in pet stores are goldfish and they contain an enzyme, thiaminase, that can deplete a garter's stores of thiamine, a B vitamin. In the short term this is not dangerous but in the long term it can lead to neurological problems and death. I believe minnows do not have this enzyme. You can fins lists of fish with and without thiaminase on the web.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely keep it in mind.

 

[0TG.]

Still no successful feeds. Just tried another small worm but he wasn't having it. It looks like he's due for a shed, though, as his eyes have clouded over so that could very well be the reason for the lack of interest in food. It will be interesting to see how this shed turns out with an open wound on his body. I'll not bother him again while he's getting ready to shed except to apply the neosporin.

I'm not overly concerned yet about him not eating but I'd hate to have gone through all this only for him to starve himself. That's just me being a worry wart again, though.

Here is the latest shot of the wound followed by comparative shots:

Day 7:

Day 4:

Day1:

As you can see it's continues to look better and better.

Here is a shot of his head. The camera didn't really pick it up but there is an obvious bluish tone to his eyes.

 

[jaxom1957]

Here is the latest shot of the wound followed by comparative shots:...As you can see it's continues to look better and better.

Keep up the good work. Chuckie had a problem with the first few shed sticking to the wound where there were no dead scales to shed off. Once the wounds closed, he shed with no problem.

Keep up the good work. Hope he eats after he sheds. :cheers:

 

[maegann]

this might be a stupid question, but I know with humans you are supposed to let the wounds dry out after a little while, so should you at some point stop the neosporin?

 

[attackturtle]

 

[NFS07]

Maybe it's just me but it looks like it's swelling some. (in day 7 pic) I know with dogs and such you apply a warm wet cloth to the wound, I'm not sure if you do the same with a snake but there might be puss or something building up behind the wound. Then again, I'm used to treating dogs and cats and other things with fur.

 

[0TG.]

this might be a stupid question, but I know with humans you are supposed to let the wounds dry out after a little while, so should you at some point stop the neosporin?

I've cut it down from three times a day to two. I will continue to add it twice a day for a couple more days and then I'll limit it to just one for about an additional three or four days until I finally stop. You are right, I do want it to start drying out a bit but I'm still leery of infection creeping in, although I think that threat is decreasing as each day passes.

Maybe it's just me but it looks like it's swelling some. (in day 7 pic) I know with dogs and such you apply a warm wet cloth to the wound, I'm not sure if you do the same with a snake but there might be puss or something building up behind the wound. Then again, I'm used to treating dogs and cats and other things with fur.

I do see what you are saying in that pic but after reading your post I took him out and examined the wound closely, I think it's just the angle at which that pic was taken that make it seem like it's a bit swollen.