HELPING WILD HERPS
Canberra, Australia
Karen Guillen – February 2005
These notes are for first point of contact only
Wild reptiles must be cared for by the trained Wildlife carer/group in
your area
If something like this happens to your pet these notes may help
Reptiles are tough & can sustain severe injuries & heal – so don’t make assessments yourself.
The main causes of problems to wild reptiles seem to be attacks by dogs and cats, hit by cars, caught in netting, fences, drink cans & falling into deep holes with/without water-tanks/pools.
If you come across an injured reptile
keep it cool, quiet and dark until it can be taken to a vet. To keep
it cool, put it in the coolest room of the house/on a tiled floor/in
a cement tub. Cooling the reptile will slow it down, reducing activity,
bleeding, stress and the possibility of infection.
Make sure the herp is in something it
cannot escape out of – even with severe injury a reptile can be active
and try to escape. A cardboard box with the lid taped down will be suitable
for the majority of reptiles. You may want to keep a box permanently
in your car.
When you are transporting the herp, make
sure it is secure and won’t slide around in the box – put a towel under
the animal.
Never use
bags made of Hessian or any synthetic material.
Snakes are best transported in a cloth
bag, such as a pillowcase. Tie the end well.
Small lizards can be transported in a
shoe box with lid taped down.
Goannas can be very dangerous to handle,
whether small or large. Large goannas are best transported in a canvas
bag.
To avoid being bitten by a lizard, throw
a towel over it first, and grasp it through the towel. So the lizard
won’t damage its spine by thrashing around, grasp it firmly but gently
with one hand over the shoulder area, and one over the back legs area.
Saline solution is 1 teaspoon salt per
cup of warm water
Never release a
reptile with a wound no matter how small the wound is - whenever there
is broken skin and moisture FLY STRIKE is very likely.
LIZARDS & SNAKES
Dog and Cat attacks
Dog attacks are usually obvious because being larger they cause “larger” damage.
Cat attacks may not be obvious as cat teeth are small and the wound can immediately
close over.
Antibiotics MUST be given so the animal must be taken to a vet ASAP.
If you can not get the animal to a vet immediately flush the wound with saline
taking care not to get it in the ears, eyes, mouth or nose. If the wound
looks like it will need to be sutured e.g. large flap of skin loose apply
some water based gel (e.g. KY) to stop the area drying and keep the
skin flexible.
If the reptile is flyblown you can remove the maggots with tweezers, taking
care not to cause more damage to the wound, after you have flushed
the wound with saline.
Intestines hanging out – pour some saline over the area to clean and keep damp. See
a vet ASAP.
Car Hits
Same as above
Fallen in deep water
If a venomous snake is in deep water DO NOT rescue it yourself unless you are a trained handler.
Until a handler arrives if the depth allows it, put a wide plank or other object
down the side of the pool/tank so the snake can rest, or drop something
into the water that will float. If a lizard or non venomous snake is unable
to be accessed by you, try to help it to keep afloat as suggested for venomous
snakes.
Caught in netting, fence, drink can
If you have rescued a lizard or non venomous snake out of this situation make
absolutely sure there is no damage – cuts, spinal damage, broken limbs,
head/mouth/eye damage etc. If in doubt take it to a vet.
If a venomous snake is caught keep it as cool as possible by providing shade
or preferably by throwing a damp towel over it until help arrives.
TURTLES
Never transport turtles in water. Never put a turtle that may have any type
of injury in water until it has been assessed. This
is because infection is a greater risk in water, and, if the turtle
is in shock, concussed, has neck damage or head damage it will drown.
Dog attacks (as for lizards & snakes)
Take the turtle to a vet ASAP. Antibiotics and care may be necessary and in
some cases euthanasia may be necessary depending on how much damage has
been caused.
Car hits
Because of the physical structure of a turtle it is hard to assess damage accurately,
so take it to a vet. There are some very successful repair methods available
for various degrees of shell injury. If you can not get the turtle to
a vet immediately rinse the shell cracks with saline and apply a water
based gel (e.g. KY) to keep the area moist thus facilitating better shell
repair.
REPTILES ON ROADS
If you stop to rescue a reptile off the
road make sure you put it in the direction it was going.
If you decide to move the reptile to
a safer location do not move it more than 10 to 20 kilometres from where
you found it. The reasons are to prevent the possible transfer of disease
and preserve the integrity of gene pools.
If you see a reptile in the wild don’t take it out of the wild unless
it is injured. It is illegal to take reptiles from the wild and is not
the best option for the reptile. A wild reptile will stress in captivity. Young
reptiles don’t need help either, they are independent from their parents
the minute they are hatched or born.
FROGS
Often frogs arrive in fruit, vegetables and plants from other parts of the country.
“Banana Box” frogs are never “sent back” as it is impossible to determine their
exact origin – which group of banana trees the frog came from for example. There
is the risk of disease transfer when exact origin is unknown. Frogs are
usually transferred permanently to licensed keepers.
If you have a frog temporarily in your care, it can be kept in a ventilated
plastic container with a tight fitting lid. Put some leaves in that the
frog can hide under, like lettuce or cabbage leaves. To raise humidity
spray the leaves with water.
Do not put a large amount of water in the container or the frog may drown.
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