The Mamba with 9 Lives ***(WARNING : GRAPHIC IMAGES)***

[Westley Price]

Looks like you have done the best you could and it's up to the snake now. Well done and I commend you.

Fingers crossed he makes it. Will make for a good "feel-good" story.

[Bernice]

Holding thumbs for his surgery!

The feeding tube sounds like a good idea! I would never have thought of that!

[Mehelya]

So, the mamba arrived at the surgery on Saturday morning, at around 8am, and Dr Lambiris had a quick external glance, and everything looked good to go. We discussed what would probably happen, and then I left and let Angelo do his thing. At around 12:30 I got a call from him, and it was not the call I was hoping for...

Firstly the mamba took four huge gulps of air, and then held it's breathe... The anesthetic gas took nearly two hours to knock him out. The extent of the damage internally was more severe than what any of us had hoped. The shock wave caused by the bullet had done so much damage inside the head cavity that to repair the snake would entail removing two thirds of the upper pallet, the entire left hand jaw, and most of the upper head cavity, and then to try and replace it with muscle and bone from the body (ribs etc). I asked him what is best for the snake, and we agreed (and I became depressed immediately) that to end the snake's life would be for the best. It's quality of life would be seriously compromised from after the operation, and would require constant hand feeding and attention, and would never be able to eat on it's own.

The rest of the weekend just flew by in a daze. I had become really attached to this little fighter, and he did his best to pull through, and although he could have survived, at the end of the day, his life would have been miserable from this point on. It was hard to give the death sentence, seeing as I and the missus had put in our hearts and minds into saving this majestic beast, and to have it all done for naught, was a blow. I really thought we could save this one. There is now a huge Black Mamba hole in my life...

On the only up side, Angelo asked me what I wanted to do with the body, and I said that if he can use it as a specimen, then by all means, and he confirmed that he will be using it to better his techniques in the surgery side, and that it would help him with doing work like this in the future. He was going to open it up, fix it as best as he could, and this would be helpful in future surgeries and treatments of this kind of injury. So, although the snake was eventually sent to snake heaven, his legacy will be in the next snake that can be saved from this exercise.

Everyone: Thank you for the kind words, the not so kind words, and everyone's input. Everything helped with this snake, and although it died in the end, the next one will probably have a better chance of survival from this type of injury.

I will upload the op and post of pictures as soon as they are sent to me, with the descriptions. We tried, and unfortunately it was just not meant to be.

[rolandslf]

My Sympathies to Both Of You B.

Although depressing, this whole saga has been a valuable lesson to me, and that is not to give up on a life, no matter whose or what it is.
Well done to both You and Tash.

You have also learned along this journey, how to treat such horrible injuries until an out and out expert can assess the situation and make a judgement call.

Lastly, thanks for posting this story.

[Bushviper]

Damn that sucks. At least the snake is not going to be so compromised that it would lead a sad life until it died from malnutrition and recurring infections. At least you gave it your best shot and got a professional involved to make the final call. At least it was not in vain and hopefully the next time a damaged snakes is recovered the choice to try and help it will be stronger than just putting it to sleep.
Thanks for trying and keeping us informed.

[Ruan Stander]

Sorry to hear that.

[Bernice]

Im sorry that he could not be saved... its such a shame, you put so much effort into him! cudos to you for your heroic efforts, and condolences on your loss Thanks for keeping us in the loop!

[mania]

What a pity about the end result... but you have to give yourself and your missus a huge pat on the back for what you did for the snake. Well done for trying tho.

[Dexter]

Great story, I have the utter most respect for you and was wondering what has happened to the snake since then.

[rolandslf]

The snake Died.