June’s Patient of the Month came to us last Friday in quite the predicament. Meet patient 25-356, an Eastern Ratsnake who came to RWS literally tangled up in knots! 🪢

Last week, a concerned community member was surprised to find this snake hopelessly tangled in her garden netting. She followed our advice and did exactly the right thing: she cut a wide section of the netting around him without trying to remove it herself, gently placed him in a box, and brought him straight to us. Here’s what he looked like when he arrived.  ⬇️

Our team got to work removing the netting right away in our wildlife care nursery. ✂️ It was a two rehabber job! While one staff member securely held the Eastern Ratsnake and covered his head with a towel to reduce stress, another staff member used bandage scissors to carefully cut away the netting without cutting the snake’s skin. Finally, after a lot of delicate snipping, he was free and ready for a physical exam.

We were relieved to find no physical wounds beyond some superficial scale damage. However, the snake was extremely dehydrated. We suspect he had been stuck for at least a couple of days given how wrinkly and dry his skin was. ☹️ He also had reduced skin turgor, which is essentially how long it takes for skin to “snap back” into position when pinched. His skin retained its slightly pinched shape for a few seconds, which meant he was in serious need of water.

After his exam, we designed a rehabilitation plan to get him feeling better. 📝 Since his intake, this resilient Eastern Ratsnake has received daily hydration soaks, subcutaneous fluid therapy, and constant access to fresh water. After a few days, he even gobbled up a nutritious mouse meal. That is always a good sign for a snake, which can be notoriously difficult to feed in captive care! We’ve also been monitoring him closely for any signs of pressure necrosis, a condition that can set in days after an entanglement injury as circulation returns to squished tissue. 🧐

Many of our patients stay at RWS for months, like red fox kits or young raptors. However, this snake just needed about five days at the Sanctuary. Thanks to our team’s careful work, patient 25-356 is now ready to slither back to his home territory.

We’re thrilled to share that this charming Eastern Ratsnake will be released TODAY, right back home, with the gardener who cared enough to help him.  💪

And gardeners should care enough to save snakes in need. As expert rodent hunters, they help keep populations of mice, rats, and even young squirrels in check, which makes them a gardener’s best friend in our books!  🐭 They also help control populations of frogs, birds, and even other snakes.

Unfortunately, garden netting tangles are a common reason why snakes are brought into care. While this patient was lucky, more severe cases can lead to deep cuts, infections, or even prolonged death from dehydration or starvation if they are not rescued in time. Tragically, countless other snakes found stuck in garden netting are killed by finders who live by the cruel belief that “the only good snake is a dead snake.” 😞 Remember, humans are far more dangerous than snakes.

If you garden, consider switching to wildlife-safe netting!  Opt for rigid fencing like chicken wire or netting that is stretched taut and secured. Taut fencing keeps plant-munching deer out while still allowing snakes to pass through without risking entanglement. If this is not feasible, at least consider switching to netting made from open-weave textiles like coconut fiber or wheat straw. These materials do not slice into skin like typical monofilament netting can. Overall, netting holes should not be large enough for you to poke a finger through. ☝️

If you do have netting of any kind, peek at it daily to make sure you don’t have any small, stuck critters who might need a helping hand from a creature with opposable thumbs. 👍

Some good news as we wrap up this Patient of the Month: patient 25-356’s rescuer removed all of her old garden netting while he was recuperating at the Sanctuary this week. He’ll be slithering around freely and taking care of those garden pests again later today!

Do you have a real gardening nut in your life? Please share this story with them, especially if they might need a little nudge to see snakes in a more positive light. 💚

Thank you for reading about our work and celebrating our wild neighbors, one story at a time. 🐍