# Help, injured snake



## Weapon-X (May 2, 2003)

ok, now for the last week i have been scathing the woods, fields, and any other area near my house for snakes or toads, well today woke up my little nephew who is 8 years old tells me that they(his sisters and brothers) have caught a snake!(i'm like what the hell), so i run outside to see it asking him what did it look like, he tells me it was green and black, i get out there... its a nice sized garter snake about 20-24" and kinda fat, but its not moving to much  so i pick it up and look at it, then he tells me that alex hit it with a stick, i noticed a raised lump near the tail about 4" up(least to say i was quite pissed), so i took the snake in the house and put it in a 10 gallon w/newspaper for bedding and a large water dish, and a box with a square cut in it for a hide, at fisrt it really seemed traumatized, but i has been stretching out a bit i'm worried its gonna die though its been about 6 hours .... it has'nt died and i'm not sure that it has any broken bones, i hope not, seems like it has a welt that has gone down very little, any help would be greatly appreciated, it really looks like a nice specimen too i would like to keep it as a pet, i was so angry i wanted to yell at them but i'm not allowed to yell or punish my brothers children(even though i am their uncle and they were being bad), and of course my brother their father just blew it off and said "so, i hate snakes, i kill every one i see..., i hate spiders to" his ignorane is so agravating !!!! he's  a redneck and all he thinks about are deer and shooting deer, which hes still a moron i 've even explained that this is not mediaval times and we don't need the food to survive but regardless he just likes to shoot animals for fun with his big gun... i think it must boost his ego, what a big man, makes me sick.... anyhow sorry about the rant a bit off topic, any help or expeirence with an injured snake like this would help, i have heard of snakes being wacked with sticks and dying within 24 hours but i THINK this might be an exception, thanks ahead of time--Jeff


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## sunnymarcie (May 2, 2003)

Some people are just sick! I can't believe he is teaching his
children that animals really do not matter.
True, we do not need to hunt, but people still do. To a certain
point it is necessary. ~ on that subject I'll say no more.
As I know it will start a war
Maybe he's trying to make up for being "a little short" 
somewhere else   
I hope the snake makes it, I wish I could help you


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## Mister Internet (May 2, 2003)

If the snake's spine is indeed broken, the best you can hope for is that is will heal crooked... the worst case scenario, obviously, is that it will ultimately die.  Either way, if that swelling doesn't go down soon, a broken spine is almost guaranteed.... if you see a "kink" in the spine at that point, it would be better for the snake to be put under.

BTW, your brother is no more ignorant about spiders and snakes than you are about hunting...


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## Weapon-X (May 2, 2003)

*re*

yeah your mr. internet, the garter did have a broken spine it was dead this morning , i was gonna just release it but...,i'm sure i'll find another, hopefuly a small pine, yeah i suppose you are right about me ignornat to hunting as he is to spiders and snakes, but i don't think he really respects most animals maybe except his dog--Jeff


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## Mister Internet (May 2, 2003)

*Re: re*



> _Originally posted by Weapon-X _
> *yeah your mr. internet, the garter did have a broken spine it was dead this morning , i was gonna just release it but...,i'm sure i'll find another, hopefuly a small pine, yeah i suppose you are right about me ignornat to hunting as he is to spiders and snakes, but i don't think he really respects most animals maybe except his dog--Jeff *


Sorry to hear about the snake Jeff.... I kept several garter snakes as a kid, and they were always fun to watch.  If you find another one, go to a fishing bait store and buy nightcrawlers... when snakes eat them, it looks like they're slurping spaghetti! 

About the hunting... I don't hunt personally.  I come from a big family of hunters (all in Michigan BTW), and I can say with reasonable assurance that the ONLY reason Michigan even has a deer population today is because of the efforts of hunters culling the herds and controlling population.  IIRC, about 12-13 years ago, deer were in grave danger of overpopulating and killing themselves off in Michigan... I was kind of young at the time and don't remember too clearly.

Anyway, it does make me sad when people don't respect the animals they're hunting... you can kill something without reveling in the carnage.


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