How to Heal an Injured Garden Snake

Garden snakes are often injured in spring and summer by bikes, lawnmowers and several other hazards. In order to avoid permanent damage to them or their death a certain method can be followed to help it.

 

Materials That Will be Needed

• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Q-tips
• Triple antibiotic ointment
• Gauze
• Skin tape
• An empty aqaurium or plastic container
• Aspen bedding or shredded newspaper or fresh grass
• Water dish (big enough for the garden snake to get into)
• Food (insects, worms, mice,goldfish)

Steps for Helping the Snake

1. 1-Get someone to hold the snake behind the head with one hand and support the body with the other. 
   
   2-Place a towel or some newspaper under the snake. 
   
   3-Clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide. To do this the hydrogen peroxide must be poured in small amounts over the whole wound in intervals of several seconds until the hydrogen peroxide stops foaming. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • 4- Apply some triple antibiotic ointment on the wounded area using a Q-tip. 
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   • 5-Wrap some sterile gauze around the snake in order to cover the wound. If the wound is deep take the snake to a vet.
   • 6-Straight after finishing with first aid let the garden snake rest by placing it in a dim, warm and secure area. The snake may be in shock. An empty aquarium or large plastic container can be used to accommodate the snake. 
   •  7- Apply about 2 inches/ 5 cm  thick  of bedding on the bottom of the container or empty aquarium. For the bedding use aspen bedding, shredded newspaper or fresh grass (preferably aspen bedding). As well as that put a bowl of water big enough for the snake to get into inside the container too.
   • 8-Let the garden snake rest for several hours.
   • 9- Offer the snake food after it has rested. Crickets would be ideal.
   • 10-Replace the gauze with a new one after applying more antibiotic ointment. 
   • 11-Place the container in which the snake is in in sunlight or under a lamp in order for the snake to warm up.
   • 12-Continue giving the snake food and water every day and change the gauze until the snake´s wound has healed. 
   • 13-Release the snake back into the wild as soon as it has recoverd from its wound.
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Tips & Warnings

•  In order to avoid a bite, you should try holding the garden snake right behind the head with one hand, and use your other hand to support the rest of the body.

• Garden snakes eat insects and small rodents found in your garden. You can use these to feed it while you are looking after it, preferably insects or goldfish as the snake being weak may not be up to catching larger prey such as rodents.

• A snake basking on a rock or road can move really quickly.

• Garden snakes can bite you if you try to catch them or pick them up.

Adopt a Dog

Adopting a dog has many advantages for you and the dog. Here are the reasons why you should adopt a dog: 

Benefits for you:

• There are many economic advantages for you. Apart from the fact that you never buy an abandoned dog, you adopt it (although sometimes you have to pay a small fee ranging from 20-120 Euros normally, which is an insignificant sum compared to the normal price of pedigree dog in a shop which is about 500 Euros upwards and taking into account the fact that  you are technically saving a life as many dogs that are not adopted within a certain period of time are put down.  Furthermore, abandoned dogs tend to be mongrels, and are therefore healthier (due to the variation in genes), and will not have to visit the vet as often (unlike pedigree dogs which often suffer from specific diseases. Examples: alsatians/german sheperd dogs and labrador retrievers often suffer from hip deterioration, dalmatians become deaf and beagles develop mental illnesses)  cutting costs massively.

• Furthermore there are social benefits. You can make friends and chat to people thanks to your dog. Many people, especially kids and teenagers, meet up to walk their respective dogs together.

• Not only that. There are physical advantages. You fitness levels gradually increase when you have a dog due to the fact that you walk it daily, doing exercise. Some people even go hjogging with their dogs, which is healthy for both dog and owner.

• However the most important advantage is the friend you will gain. Adopted dogs are super thankful, they always try to make the fact that you saved him /her up to you. They bring joy to the family. As well as that, even if you have always wanted a pedigree dog you might find one in a dog pound, with all the good qualities an abandoned dog has: most of the time they are already house trained, they will be thankful to you all their life, they´ll love you unconditionally, they will look after you, etc.

Benefits for the Dog:

• The dog´ll finally get a home and a family for which it will always be thankful.

• The dog will have proper healthcare and quality of life.

• The dog will have someone to look after (you) and someone to look after it (you).

• The dog will be happy.

• The dog will have a life worth living.

Avoiding the neglecting and abandoning of dogs

Neglect is the most common form of cruelty towards dogs.In order to avoid the dog neglect you should do the following things:

• Do not get, buy or adopt a dog if you cannot afford to mantain it. If you cannot buy food, medicines, essential accesories or cannot afford to pay veterinary bills then dont´t get a dog.

• If you cannot provide shelter for the dog then don´t get one.

• If you don´t have enough space for the dog, if you live in a flat or in a small house please do not   get a dog.

• It´s obvious, if nobody in your family has time to attend to the dog´s basic needs do not acquire a dog.

• Never keep a dog tied to a chain, it´s cruel.

• As a warning. Charges can be pressed against you and you can be taken to court for neglect just as with any other crime.

Another common form of animal cruelty is the abandoning of dogs. This can be avoided easily. A dog should never be abandoned.

-Don´t give dogs as gifts. A large percentage of dogs which are given as birthday, Christmas or any sort of presents are abandoned months afterwards.

-If you have problems with your dog (behavioural such as aggression or the fact that it still does its business inside the house) try training it before you decide to get rid of it. The following list shows books that may be helpful:  

• - Cesar´s Way: The Natural Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems By Cesar Millan

• How to Housebreak Your Dog In 7 Days By Shirlee Kalstone

• Don´t Shoot The Dog!: The New Art of Teaching And Training By Karen Pryor

• Aggression in Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention & Behaviour Modification By Brenda Aloff 

-If the books don´t work and you are sure about getting rid of the dog, never abandon it. Organise to leave it in a dog pound or pet rescue centre. There are many near you, there is one practically everywhere. If you cannot find one, ask your vet, he or she will surely know.

Mastering A Chough

If you find a Chough chick on the ground keep away from it. Find out whether its parents are still feeding it, as  bird parents often feed the chick even after it has left the nest. However if the chick has fallen off the nest before learning how to fly it will certainly be easy prey for predators. In this case you can pick it up, look after it and to an extent, master it. If a Chough is domesticated it can come to cherish you and although it will eventually leave to live in the wild it will often come back to see you.

Looking After The Chick

1- Place the chick in a big, wide cage inside a calm room (if a bird is ever in a cage it should always be big).

2-Make a small nest out of twigs, grass and feathers.

3-Feed the chough chick with small balls made out of earthworms, red meat or a mixture of rice, vegetables and tinned food for dogs or cats.

4-Chicks eat very often but in small quantities, be careful with indigestions. 

5-Don´t force the chick to drink, initially there will be enough water in the chick´s food for it to live.

6-Once the chick´s movements are firm and steady place a bowl of water within its reach. 

7-Incite the chick to peck as soon as possible so that it´ll learn how to look and search for its food. 

8-Always behave calmly around the chough chick and speak to it sweetly and soothingly so that it´ll recognise your voice.

9-Don´t try and touch the chick at first, let it get used to your presence and its new surroundings.

10-Soon, it´ll be the chick who comes to you and who will accept physical contact.

11-Bird chicks sleep a lot, don´t disturb your chough chick while it rests.

Adult Life 

1-As soon as the chough can move around the cage let it out of the cage so it can learn how to fly on its own. 

2-Always leave the cage door open so that the chough can return to the cage and exit it as it pleases.

3-Choughs have an incredible capacity for learning new things, including coming to you when you call it or recognising the sound of your family car.       

4-Be careful, Choughs, like many other animals,are very curious, and may explore different parts of the house or look at any unusual objects so be careful with anything fragile or valuable!

5-If your patient you´ll be amazed by the chough´s imitating talents, it´ll be able to imitate certain word and laughter and even repeat the sound of a car starting it´s engine!

Care

Even when domesticated Choughs will always be wild animals and will sometimes react in ways you will not anticipate. I t has a sharp beak and can cause harm with it. Therefore if you have  a small child in the house which could annoy the chough or cause it to react in a defensive way through aggression it would be better for you not to master the chough if you find it.

Background

Choughs are part of the corvids family (crows, rooks...). They are omnivores and have a great learning capacity. 

Choughs nest in church towers or old stone walls. They have colonised cities and eat waste. They are very organised birds and many biologists carry out passionate studies about them.

Say No to Bullfighting

Bullfighting is cruel and painful for the bull. You´d be surprised about how many tourists come to Spain and watch bullfights in order to get a taste of "Spanish Culture". Half of them leave before the first bull is dead sickened by what they see. However they have supported this horrific event by paying the tickets.

 

Bullfighting is wrong. Legally the bull should be killed within ten minutes to minimise its suffering, but this is seldom the case, and the bull´s pain goes on for long periods of time. Horses are forced into the arena and many die, attacked by the bull. If you happen to visit Spain, which is honestly a beautiful country, please boycott the bullfighting industry and let me tell, if you are thinking of going and watching a bullfight, don´t, chances are you´ll leave before its over, shocked and horrified by what you have seen.

How to help Birds

What to do if a bird flies into a glass window, door or a wall

1-Pick the bird up carefully and place it in a shoe box full of cotton.

2-Close the lid of the shoe box and drill holes into the lid in order for air to pass in and out of the box easily.

3-Leave the bird alone and let it rest.

4-Once the bird starts moving inside the box release it back into the wild!

What to do if you find a bird with a broken leg

1-Place a matchstick against the bird´s broken leg and hold it with two pieces of soft tape.

2-Place the bird in a cotton nest inside a cage. 

3-Leave the bird and let it rest.

4-Only visit it to give it water and food.

5-Ater about two months the leg should have healed. Take the matchstick  off the bird´s leg carefully and release it into the wild.

Broken Wings

Not much can be done for a bird with a broken wing, the best thing to do is let nature take its course.

Ill Bird

The same, not much can be done. The best thing to do is let nature take its course.

What to do if you find a Bird soaked in Oil

It could be the case that you find a bird soaked in oil floating in the sea or washed up on the beach. If it is still alive and it´s not too big, there´s a chance that you can you save it.

1-Put the bird in a bath

2-Close its beak strongly with celotape. This is in order for the bird not to swallow chemical products.

3-Wash the bird with any sort of degreasing product used for dishwashers.

4-Rinse it with  cold water.

5-Repeat the washing of the bird if necessary.

6-Remove the celotape from its beak.

7-Feed the bird some fresh sardines and release it back into the wild. 

8-In case of an oil spill and there are lots of affected animals ( which there will be) call a bird protection asociation or any sort of organisation aimed to help animals.