This is why we don't feed live.

[Shiari]

"Buttercup" here (now called Ratbait) had a previous owner who was somewhat in denial over the severity of his problems. He was fed live rats. One day, the rat won. End result? Owner can't afford to fix him, I now have my very first not-a-corn-snake.

It's been 5 months since he last actually ate. He has retained eye caps from multiple sheds, and what may be cataracts underneath all that. At the very least, the multiple retained sheds (which we removed, except for the eye caps, working on those) have deformed the shape of the cornea. :/

As you can see, he had the major bite to his face, and multiple small wounds down the length of his body... and his tail is rotting. If you could *smell* him... it's horrendous and nauseating. He's had an injection of baytril, and is now on a 30 day initial course of Fortaz intra-muscularly.

His house currently consists of the largest of my plastic tubs with the warm side packed with damp moss, and a giant water bowl on the cool side. Hopefully he'll get better, and can make someone (else) a great pet.

The main bite location:





Retained eyecaps + more bite wound:








Tail:

[Musharaf]

Oh my god! That is absolutely TERRIBLE! He looks dead, poor thing.
I dont understand how people can be that ignorant.

[Corns.dk]

Seeing these pics, I can't help thinking if it wouldn't be more humane to euthanize this poor animal...

[Shiari]

Seeing these pics, I can't help thinking if it wouldn't be more humane to euthanize this poor animal...

He looks significantly better now that he's in his half-filled-with-damp-moss bin. His eyes are no longer dormed, and I expect the remaining caps should be able to come off with the next shed. He's not thrashing, but cruises normally and he's quite inquisitive about his surroundings.

[Ed Tolboom]

When i see this my stummick turns , for this kind of people it shood be forbidden to keep any pet at all .
Hope they dont have children cause if you cant even take care of a pet how can you take care of a child .
Ed Tolboom .

[Corns.dk]

Seeing these pics, I can't help thinking if it wouldn't be more humane to euthanize this poor animal...

He looks significantly better now that he's in his half-filled-with-damp-moss bin. His eyes are no longer dormed, and I expect the remaining caps should be able to come off with the next shed. He's not thrashing, but cruises normally and he's quite inquisitive about his surroundings.

Good to hear
I look forward to seeing some pics when he has recovered.

[Ed Tolboom]

My deepest respect for you Shiari many people wood have put this one to sleep for good .
Whit my regards Ed Tolboom .

[eeji]

Those photos brought a tear to my eye How anyone cannot see those problems has serious troubles I'm glad he is now recieving the best of care, fingers crossed for a good recovery

Can you keep us updated how you get on with him?

[Shiari]

No shed yet, but I decided to take some pics after I applied some silvadene to his wounds. He looks SO much better!

Left side (please ignore the cat hair stuck to his silvadene. )


Right side



Front, and location of the most dramatic improvement!


Tail tip, also looking better!


So many scars.....

[Clancorns]

Poor poor baby!

[Shiari]

Ratbait shed! He's looking *great* and the multiple stuck eyecaps came off with the shed. He is most definitely still blind though. Truly impressive cataracts in both eyes. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

[Shiari]

Ratbait shed and the eyecaps came off! Lookit how handsome he is. I also got updated, more accurate information from his former owner today, as she keeps calling to check up on him.

He's been blind for *years*.

He's not 8 or so like she led me to initially believe. He's closer to 12 as he was already 4 to 4 1/2 feet long when she got him.

So. Angry.

Anyway, he's looking a hell of a lot better and he's a really good "sit and watch TV" snake as he just chilled in my lap outside for half an hour.

To begin, the classic lineup:

Top-



Right (I love that his tongue is marbled)-



Left-



Center-



No, you may not get that center shot you want



His tail tip fell off with this shed, but he lost a lot less than we were expecting. Both the exotics vets were very impressed with how quickly he has improved.



Chilling.



Poor beat up old man.




We're almost there!

[Ed Tolboom]

Nice work there Shiari he is looking a lot better , good to see him curled up on youre lap i think he is feeling safe whit you .
Greets and respect Ed Tolboom .

[Corns.dk]

I am impressed to see to which degree he has been able to 're-sculpture' his face and overall recover.

Still, my opinion is 'Don't do this at home!!' - I think that only reason it is going quite well with him is that he is in the hands of professionals who know what they are doing.
Otherwise, such a damaged creature would be better off being euthanised.

[Donnie]

You are doing a fantastic job, he is looking much better.