Snake CPR

Meet Hermie. He came to me “on emergency” from two very nice ladies who found him by the river bank. It is difficult to see in the photo, but Hermie had a significant laceration that I suspect may have been lawn mower induced. Hermie spent the night on my back porch while I diligently searched for a “How to repair a snake” article (Oddly enough, I did not find one). I called every exotic vet in the area, a veterinary surgeon, and a friend of mine who is a vet in NYC with  experience in reptile medicine. I left messages for all and hoped to have some answers quickly.

The next day I still had not heard back from anyone and knew time was ticking for poor Hermie. After a second attempt to contact the local exotic animal specialist, I decided I needed to make the move and try to fix Hermie myself.

I weighed him and calculated doses for pain medication and antibiotics. (NOT an easy task FYI!)

Here is Hermie on an anesthetic mask that delivers both oxygen and anesthesia. The mask is made for dogs and cats, so I improvised with a little medical tape:)

Once Hermie was anesthetized, I got started.

I began by removing pieces of scale that were dead and would not hold together if I tried to stitch them. Once all the edges were clean and healthy, my “plastic surgery” began – putting all the pieces back together so that they would hold well and heal quickly.

I was SO excited that it all came back together so perfectly and began to “wake Hermie up.” I waited while he was on oxygen to see signs of movement……………and I waited a little longer……………. and then I realized Hermie might be “heading towards the light.”

I have performed CPR on LOTS of critters, but never a snake. The big question: “Where is it’s heart!?” No other animal has the body of a tube. I decided it was probably somewhere in the upper one third, so that is where I began my tiny compressions. Now the next big question: how do you breathe for a snake?

Hmmm, mouth to mouth – not such a good option. I opened his tiny jaw and to my surprise found the entrance to his trachea (breathing tube) right away. I grabbed an IV catheter and found it to be the perfect fit into his little airway. Feeling rather proud of my McGyver move, I used an empty syringe filled with air to deliver the oxygen, and continued my tiny compressions with my two index fingers – I know, ridiculous.

After about 5 minutes of serious creative efforts to save Hermie, I came to the reality that he had already passed on. I cried for a little while and prepared a burial site for Hermie in the backyard. I said a prayer for him and that is when my heart got a little lighter and I let out a giggle. I realized the humor in the situation and recognized that I really did go above and beyond to care for this poor little critter. I also discovered that my guess as to where the heart is in a snake was right – whether it helps at all is a separate issue.

At least there is now a “How-to” article on snake CPR!