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how bad are injuries to the tail after the cloaca?
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by rickyduckworth on June 26, 2006
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i caught a cotton today that had a bad chunk missing about 5-8 scales after his cloaca.....tail wasn't completely severed but the tissue from the bone to the top, about the size of a dime or smaller, is missing....bleeding doesn't seem to be an issue and it looks clean as far as infection goes......i cleaned it up and put some neosporin IN it, covered it with a bandage and some tape on his healthy scales and hopefully it will stay a day or two.........i know that if it's a male that the hemipenes could be damaged since it's that close, but i'm mainly worried about his livelihood......if he lives, that would be cool enough for me......i guess i'll keep him at least for a while.....but how severe are these types of injuries usually? seems alert albeit calm.....should i wait to feed him any more than a week or two?
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by Cro on June 26, 2006
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There is a very good chance that the snake will survive and not have too much problem.
I have found many snakes with old scarrs from being hit by cars. If the damage is in the last third of the body, they have a great chance of surviving.
JohnZ
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by rickyduckworth on June 26, 2006
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this area is 100% secluded and no real chance of it being related to a car, i think it's a recent attack by a raccoon since they're EVERYWHERE in the area.....a bad bite that just tore some flesh.....he seems fine but doesn't seem pissy enough for a wild cotton......i forgot the damn betadyne (is it 100% necessary anyway?)
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by Cro on June 26, 2006
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It should heal up, wether is was from a car or a raccoon, or coyote.
The snake might not be able to breed, but as long as the intestinal tract is not blocked, it should live.
The Betadine is nice but should not matter that much. That type of injury rarely leads to infection.
Scarring is common, but gets better with each shed.
JohnZ
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by rickyduckworth on June 26, 2006
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thanks for the reassurance......i had to wade through leech infested 3ft deep water with 4 larger cottons scattered about 3ft on either side of the banks of this water hole/swamp thing.........he looked like he could use a little help.....i know they're resilient but i'd have felt bad if i'd left him there......when he heals, he can go back, all he has to do is ask ;)
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by ALA_snake33 on June 26, 2006
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Ricky : I don’t know how many times I have had to Nurse Cottonmouths and Copperheads back to health around here. I have found a many of Snakes with the Tail completely missing all the way up to the Cloaca. By the way you describe the wound, I see no reason why he shouldn’t make it. Wish you the best of luck with him. By the way, it seems your Snake Repelling Days are over huuuu? ....................Be Safe Ya’ll, Happy Herping : Wally
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by rickyduckworth on June 27, 2006
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yeah, seen 5 cottons and 1 cane along with some nonvens the past 2 weeks.......not bad for me
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by earthguy on June 27, 2006
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As part of my research I am measuring LOTS of cottonmouths. I started out using total length as my criteria, but have since switched to SVL (Snout-Vent Length). Why you ask? Because I ran across so many cottons missing large chunks of tail. I didn't want to skew my results. I still measure total length, but SVL is my basis of comparison. Something out there thinks their tails are tasty, but they seem to survive alright.
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by MikeB on June 27, 2006
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I would bet that the "something out there" was a snapper or alligator snapper, rather than a raccoon. Some years ago I was herping along the banks of a pond when I saw a disturbance in the water . . . turned out to be a large snapping turtle just finishing a tasty diamondback water snake, which he had chomped into bite-sized segments. Those snapper jaws are impressive!
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RE: how bad are injuries to the tail after the clo
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by Snake18 on June 27, 2006
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I caught a 1.2 meter long caspian whip snake that should have been 1.5 meters long. It was alive and kicking, the injury was at least 2 years old. It will live.
Alex S.
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