This week our featured patient is a juvenile Green Tree Snake named Dilution, who was admitted to the hospital suffering puncture wounds from a cat attack.

On many occasions, patients that are admitted with injuries made by dog or cat bites will be prescribed a course of anti-biotics so infection doesn’t set in. The actual bite might not be life threatening, but if it is left untreated, the infection certainly may.

This little Green Tree Snake was given the name Dilution based on the tiny doses of medicine he has been prescribed by Dr Arana. When calculating how much medication to give to a patient, the vet bases this on the patient’s individual weight and as Dilution only weighs 16 grams, this makes his doses very small! Some of Dilution’s medication includes receiving a 0.0003mls injection of sub-cut anti-biotic.

Green Tree Snakes are common in suburban areas and are frequently encountered in backyards. These snakes are non-venomous and, as the name suggests, spend a considerable amount of time in trees and shrubs. When annoyed, they flatten their body showing their blue skin colouring, which is normally hidden under the green scales and they will also sometimes produce a foul odour.

Dilution is due for a re-check in seven days and if all is well he should be taken for release back to the Shorncliffe area.

The Green Tree Snakes’ diet includes frogs and skinks; fully grown they can reach around 1.5 metres in length and be thicker than a ten cent piece.

Call the Australian Wildlife Hospital on 1300 369 652 for all wildlife emergencies.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Wildlife Warriors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.