I feel like *** please help

I’m only like 150 pounds and my girlfriend had my small 6 month old Burmese out and I didn’t realize and I stepped on it with one foot and instantly realized what it was and freaked out she’s moving fine once I did but I put her in her enclosure as soon as possible and now she’s not moving? So my question is you think she’s fine? She’s only like 350 grams and I feel like a piece of **** I can’t believe I did that.

3 Likes

Depends where you stepped, I woulndtt think the world is over bc of that. Just monitor it

1 Like

To be completely honest I have been in almost this exact same situation. I never put all my weight and the snake was a bit larger than yours but after a hissy (and strikey, but who can blame him) fit, he was fine. Have you checked on your snake other than visually? Feeling the spine etc. My understanding is that @t_h_wyman is a vet and I know he would be infinitely more helpful than me.

1 Like

Thanks for the replies As long as she’s okay.

I didn’t wanna mess with her too much but I touch my fingers and kinda rubbed down her a bit to see if anything feel outta place or anything and I think she’s fine she was moving away ima just leave her alone and feed him in 2-3 days and hopefully everything is okay

2 Likes

100% a vet appointment is necessary! Make sure it is a reptile vet, this can’t be overlooked. Where did you step approximately? ( This doesn’t really matter because they are all spine with a head. )
I can’t stress the importance of getting to a reptile vet as soon as possible.

9 Likes

A breeder I know told me it was unnecessary they won’t really be able to do anything. Only time will tell.

2 Likes

There was a case similar to this on another form where a snake fell from a high place. The consensus was that a radiograph could be done to diagnose if there’s a problem but there’s nothing that could be done. If there’s a broken bone nothing that a vet can do that will help. Just avoid handling and maybe skip the next feeding or give smaller food just in case.

6 Likes

You guys are actually incorrect. If there are broken bones, they absolutely can do something, and should do something: look for soft tissue damage and manage pain. Not treating for pain with broken bones is horrible.

19 Likes

Also a radiograph would let you know if bone spur was moving around. (something I have experienced )

5 Likes

Time will tell, or time will potentially do more harm.

Take him to a vet to get checked. If you don’t and something were to happen you’d feel guilty.

7 Likes

I think this is one of those circumstances where the price of a vet visit + x-ray is well worth the peace of mind to make sure he’s ok and hasn’t broken anything

13 Likes

I agree about pain treatment but I have a genuine question. If there’s a broken bone could they do anything to splint it or somehow help it repair quicker? I don’t think a rod could help since snakes often stretch and expand when digesting food.

1 Like

Money isn’t the problem the only vet I know that has anything to do with reptiles is like an hour and 30 something minutes away

2 Likes

Not far then!
I travelled that a few years back for our Chameleon, well took over 2 hours due to traffic to get there in the end :sweat_smile:

8 Likes

Yeah it’s not far if you got a car lol

Got a motorcycle and that’s it the only chance if someone takes me.

2 Likes

That would be fine?

The other half has collected cresties on his motorbike before many a times! :joy:
Infact he brought our last Royal home on his motorbike too last month! I’m sure she loved the ride haha :sweat_smile:

I’ve lost count of the amount of reptiles or amphibians and even inverts he’s collected on that thing.
He just puts them in his backpack! :grin:
So you could take him like that, in a pillowcase or tub in a bag.

4 Likes

He is actually a Ph., not a VM. Marla is our resident vet.

That said, a vet visit is probably the smart choice

11 Likes

I’m medically retired from practice (at least for now) & mostly worked with dogs and cats, so any feedback from me should be put in that context.

I’m being totally honest when I say I’m not sure about the possibilities for physical intervention in the case of broken bones without any surrounding soft tissue damage, I never saw any cases like that. (Edit: this sentence was meant to relay that broken bones almost always come with some form of soft-tissue damage, I just realized it’s not as obvious as I thought when I re-read it.) Radiographs can give information about soft tissue as well as bones, and an ultrasound is a great tool in the hands of an experienced user. With having being stepped on, I’m extremely concerned about internal bleeding and organ damage.

(Edit: In cases where no splinting can be done to help proper healing of broken bones, a veterinarian of mammals will generally recommend major activity restrictions, such as kenneling, for a variable amount of time based on the circumstance and species. I imagine this would carry over to husbandry, handling, and cage cleaning recommendations for reptiles.)

BUT- It’s 100% been proven over and over that appropriate pain management in mammals physically speeds up healing. I don’t think there’s any reason to assume that wouldn’t be the case in reptiles as well. I genuinely don’t know whether research has been done re: pain management’s effect on speed of healing in herps, I haven’t searched the literature myself.

Another reason to go is simply to assess the situation- if diagnostic imaging shows that the snake is beyond recovery or unlikely to go on to have any reasonable quality of life, then euthanasia should be performed instead of letting suffering go on. Right now the OP has essentially no information to go on.

11 Likes

…and don’t feel guilty about what happened. It was an accident. Could have happened to any of us. I hope your snake will be OK.

8 Likes

The reptile vet I go to is is 4+ hrs away from me I technically have one about 20 minutes away but they only do emergency/ lizard stuff

1 Like