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Hello I am a mom of a child who owns a 2year old red tail boa. We have been doing live feedings, however this last feeding we put the rat in to feed left her a lone, checked in on her in the morning and the rat had taken chunk bites on her. I am a farm girl of 50 years, I have helped heal, sew, clean, birth, you name it we have done it with our furry animals, but I am in new water with replies. We used hydrogen peroxide to clean the bites then sprayed her with dermaplast antiseptic spray. We have cleaned and sterilized her tank and everything in it with bleach. Can anyone help me make sure I am helping her. We have no vet for reptiles that is close for use to just drive there in a hurry. Please any information would be very helpful
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Re: Red tail boa owner new to forum
If the boa is 2 years old I am assuming it is a decent size and eating decent sized rats. With those assumptions, I would say the bites could be pretty severe, but we don't have pictures. If the bites are severe and you for whatever reason cant take the snake to the vet, then you need to just put the animal down to eliminate suffering. If you are talking superficial bites/scratches then keeping the injuries clean and sterile is fine and they should heal over and shed out pretty decently within a few sheds. If you have bedding in the cage, I would suggest taking it out and putting down paper or paper towels to assist with keeping things sanitary. If there is a water bowl large enough to soak in, I would also take that out and place a small bowl in. If you can get to a vet I would definitely do that as soon as you can so that hey can assess the damage, it is hard to do here for sure. Please Please Please start feeding dead prey animals. I will be the first to agree that watching a snake hunt and overpower its prey is truly amazing and awesome to watch, but your pets safety is more important and I hope this experience will help you guys understand that. I had a very close call with a live feeder once also over 20 years ago and haven't done it since then, not worth it. Whatever you do, don't let the animal suffer, growing upon a farm I am sure you have had to put animals down before, so if its more than superficial injuries, that may be best if you cant get professional help. Hope this helps. -
Re: Red tail boa owner new to forum
I would add that you should not use hydrogen peroxide...it damages the tissues making healing more difficult. Use Neosporin topical ointment on the wounds (NOT the kind with 'pain relief' on snakes).
Some vets who do not see snakes may still be somewhat helpful if you explain the situation to them, as to supplying you with other useful things (Silvadene cream for healing, or antibiotic injections to give...).
Rats have been known to chew thru snakes they've been left with to the bone, or to severely damage muscles, nerves, eyes, and so on...I hope that is not the case here, & that you are dealing with superficial wounds only?
It's your call as we aren't seeing the victim...PLEASE, never feed live rodents again...it's never a good idea. Even if these wounds look as though they'll heal ok, it's possible that serious infection may result. Good luck!
You mentioned bleaching the cage...make sure NO lingering scent of bleach remains...as it's both irritating & toxic to snakes.
You are unfortunately not the first snake owner to learn this the hard way: when a captive snake isn't hungry, it won't kill the prey it is confined with...but the prey might kill the snake. NEVER leave
a snake alone with live prey...and preferably, never feed live in the first place.Comment
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Re: Red tail boa owner new to forum
An infection from the bite of a prey item could take up to 6 weeks to kill your snake so don't think it's"fine" until 2 months have passed to be safe.Comment
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Re: Red tail boa owner new to forum
Also, povidone iodine will help kill the bacteria from the rat and It won't harm your snake. I would suggest dabbing it on the wound once every 4 hours for 6 days, then use the neosporin.Comment
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