Do snakes feel pain?
The snakes are hunted mostly because of their skins. When they get captured, the heads are forced down and they are severed with the machete. The heads can be nailed to the tree while the skins get peeled off. Since the snakes have a slow metabolism, they will continue to be conscious and feel pain for a long period even after being decapitated. With many methods used by the bloody-handed hunters, there are many snakes which are alive as they get tossed in the pile so that they may die slowly. The snakes may suffer for a long time before they may die because of the dehydration. In the past, the snakes may be put in the refrigerator so that they may be worked on especially if it is a pet snake. However, since the snake will not respond, it does not mean that it is not feeling the pain.
It is not clear what happens with the pain perception in the reptiles. The nerve ends of the snake that perceive the pain, they may be different from that of humans and the way that the snakes feel the pain, it can be different. The pain receptors may not be also developed for certain type of pain. This is because during the evolution, for example, hot items may not be found in the wild so it is hard for the snakes to have such reflexes against something hot.
If the veterinarian believe that the snake needs a pain killer, he may consider giving it oral medications. The types of the drugs used are NSAIDS or synthetic narcotics. The snake may also be required to be hospitalized especially if there is a procedure that has been performed on the snake. This is because the snake can be given water and food in a relaxed manner and if the snake cannot feed, then the veterinarian will know what to do in such cases.
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