Proserpine Carpet Snake on the assessment table.
Even animals that spend all day on their front can have back problems , as the University of Queensland Small Animal Hospital avian and exotics team knows all too well. The team, part of the School of Veterinary Science , treated an eight-foot-long Proserpine Carpet Python for spinal pain earlier this month. Associate Professor Dr Bob Doneley said the snake was longer than the X-ray table, and required special treatment for assessment. "Snakes have between 300 and 400 vertebrae, each with a pair of ribs attached," he said. And though non-venomous, the Proserpine snake could still wind tightly around a human and her bite could still pack a punch. "It was a matter of anaesthetising her and then using a plastic tube to keep her back straight while we took the X-rays," Dr Doneley said. "One vertebrae in her spine was starting to dissolve and we haven't ruled out an infection." The team put the snake on painkillers and antibiotics, and will check her progress in six months.
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