MY BOA ATE A DISHRAG!

[sveaz]

HELP! My red-tail boa ate a dishrag after eating a rat. I don't have the thousand dollars for a vet, but I DO have medical student friends who will operate. If anybody has anatomy onformation or any resources, please E-mail me immediately!

Sveaz@yahoo.com[/b]

[Wrasse]

Have you spoken to a vet about the price and possible payment options ? I would be looking into that avenue before leaping at your eager friends offer.

[herp_chick]

The best thing you can do at this point, is get the snake to a vet. No medical student should be operating on a snake. There are plenty of reasons why. First, how are you going to anesthetize the snake? Where are you going to get the necessary drugs to anesthetize, take care of pain management, and don't forget, antibiotics, because you can't possibly provide as steril a setting as a vet. If you can't afford a vet, you shoudl at least have the snake humanely put down. It is entirely possible that operating on an animal you are not certified to operate on would be highly illegal, as well as totally unethical.

[east_stingray]

I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. Monitor the snake for the next few days and see if anything seems wrong. They digest rat fur/skin and bones... I don't see any reason why some cotton would really hurt it unless there were chemicals on it.
-East

[thetupak]

i dont thank anyone asked this question how did it eat a dishtowl anyway?

[kerri4776]

one word !!!!!VET!!!!!!

[LdyDrgn]

Natas (or was it Grant?) had a snake that ate a towel... they managed to catch it in time, though

Take the snake to a vet.

[Wrasse]

Allowing your med student mates to operate, is akin to a death sentence, slowly, for your snake. No matter how much they tell you they can do it, they would require too much time learning about dosage of appropriate anaesthetic, pain medication, anatomy, antibiotics, aftercare, etc.

Surgery to the stomach is one of the more expensive operations due to the complexity of the operation and aftercare needed. As stomach surgery is one of the 'dirtier' surgeries, with stomach contents and digestive enzymes leaking into the surrounding tissue during the surgery, there is a more than high risk of infection and necrosis. As a vet nurse for 15 years, I have assisted during this type of surgery too many times to count. Yet I wouldn't even dream to attempt this type of surgery myself as I know the risks associated with it.

I would contact a vet and ask advice, but I think at this stage it is a sit and see thing.
It is possible the snake will regurge, or even digest the natural fibre component of the dishcloth, leaving only man made fibre to pass.
Use this time to find a vet that will be able to monitor this situation and would be willing to make a payment arrangement if the worst happens and surgery is required.
_________________

You took on an animal as a pet, you have a responsibility to that animal. Too many people think, it'll all be ok, then end up dumping an animal or taking nasty shortcuts when they discover accidents can happen and that accidents cost money. Don't be one of these people. Or if you are, then don't get another animal when this one dies due to a bad decision. Sorry if I sound harsh, but the possibility of even allowing med student mates near an animal for something like this, scares the heck out of me.

[Gecko-Guy]

If it were me, I'd find a vet; FAST. I know its already been asked; but how DID you manage to accidentally feed him a towel?

[haroldo359]

and what are the specifics on the snake. i am not gonna jump on you about this, but you should seriously consider a vet. (if there is one in your area that can handle this).

[kerri4776]

any updates?

[reptilemama]

For some reason the lack of replies has me thinking troll, but I could be wrong.

[trinitywolf]

has anyone e-mailed this person? If I was a troll I certainly wouldn't add my e-mail to my trollish posts (unless it was a fake e-mail to further annoy the people I was trolling).

[kerri4776]

i dint think whoever it is liked what anyone had to say.

[east_stingray]

Why would anyone troll a snake bulletin board? I've heard of constitutional amendment boards being trolled ferociously by libs and such, but I can't understand what would compell someone to do that here.