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Here one of the Hierophis viridiflavus I found in Italy on the Weekend.
It was fast, agile and aggressive as usual. I got some bites and a chawing massage.




I was much surprised when I looked at the Tail! The Tail????




During the observation I saw a motion in the rotten meat and suddenly a few maggots are crawling out!
I was happy that I only got a cup of black coffee and a cigarette for breakfast.

Snakes will take a lot of injuries without care.
But this Hierophis will not survive, I'm afraid
Looks like a pre anal injury?

Mario

For me it looks like that a car was running over the tail.
I think that the snake will not live more than two more weeks.

I only got a cup of black coffee and a cigarette for breakfast.

Aaaa, the true herper`s way to start the day!

Jürgen Gebhart wrote:For me it looks like that a car was running over the tail.
I think that the snake will not live more than two more weeks.

This might be an underestimation. Probably it will eventually die but I've seen worse.
In the autumn of 2008 I spend 2 months in Paraguay to do some voluntary inventory work in San Rafaël natural parc (it was actually spring over there).
One day we found close to the farm where we were staying a South American Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus terrificus) in a big hole between the roots of a dead tree.
I managed to get it out. The snake was a bit slow but could move completely normal. Then I noticed the most horrific injury I've ever seen in a snake:
It had a big hole in the side of his body with some dried-up ribs sticking out. Most probably caused by a "brush cutter". The snake must have been relying on its rattling but one cannot hear that when operating a machine like that.
The snake when it was still alive:


We euthanized it by putting it in the freezer.
And I had a closer look:

I could very easily pick the ribs out and got out some other rotten stuff.

When I opened up the wound a bit more, you could see that the whole back part of the intestines were completely rotten while the front part looked completely healthy. Surrounding muscle tissue seemed also completely healthy. Just incredible to see. This animal must have been in this condition for already weeks or months and could still move around. Eventually it would have died for sure but I think it would have been a very slow dead.

Sorry if you were eating while reading this post

Bert, I would not have made ​​euthanasia: the resilience and regeneration of tissue in snakes are truly remarkable
In Greece I found an old cervone along a six-foot cm (elaphe quatorlineata) who years earlier had been "broken" at three points of the spine and had lead shot under the skin .... was in excellent health and was moving very well!

In the cases of this Hierophis and Crotalus, Euthanasis was the best, I think!
Once the intestine is affected, there's little chance to recover. You should think about digestion fluids, allways leaking into the abdominal cavity, making a lot of problems (digestion of all the organs).
On the other hand, it is well known from captive kept snakes, that very dangerous looking injuries will cure quite well.
There are many reports, when snakes get cut from rat or rabit teeth through the oesophagus and even through the outer skin and these injuries cure good. But in the oesophagus there are no digestion fluids (at least only very little saliva).
Btw, it is no good exercise, to euthanase a snake by freezing, although we no nothing on pain feels on these kind of animals.
Friends of mine did it with an apperox. 80 cms Bitis arietans. After 2.5 to 3 hours it was still alive!

Mario

This is the worse post I have ever seen in my life...

Snakes always surprise me. Maybe this is part of the evolution of the snakes:

1) Daboia mauritanica, Vipera latastei, Cerastes vipera, Acanthophis, etc...: yellow tail, different of the body coloration. Move it and birds attack the tail and snake can prey on birds (common caudal luring)
2) Pseudocerastes ururachonides: solifugue tail. Move the solifugue and capture birds (really strange caudal luring)
3) Jurgen Hierophis viridiflavus: Dead tail. Worms appear. Lacerta bilineata attack the worms of the tail and the snake can prey on this fast lizards ("zombi" caudal luring)

Mario Schweiger wrote:Friends of mine did it with an apperox. 80 cms Bitis arietans. After 2.5 to 3 hours it was still alive!Mario

°C ?

Freezer temperature -18°C.
But you have to keep in mind the weight of this viper (+ 1 kg or so).

Mario