[Skin] she got bit!

[boricuamami]

my baby milan got bit tonight by the mouse i fed her. she hate it and everything, but there was blood and a little struggle when she first attacked the mouse. now im nervous she might contract something from the mouse or get the wound infected.

[jOHNNY t]

Re: she got bit!

First off, you should switch to F/T or pre killed prey as a preventative measure. If you could post pictures of the bite, we may be able to help you. Hang in there.

[acephantom903]

Re: she got bit!

If you can, please take pictures of the bite area and post them for us. Even though you should leave snakes alone for 48 hours after feeding, for their health it is justified to gently manipulate them. How old is she? How big? Did you see the bite? My 7 month old Butter will squeeze her F/T food enough to get blood on herself so it isn't uncommon for snakes to get blood on themselves which can make it hard to tell if it is an injury or not.

Just be patient and try to keep a level head. Emotions can get in the way sometimes.

[Noelle7206]

Re: she got bit!

Rub in a little Neosporin ointment into the wound to help keep it from getting infected. ONLY use the regular Neosporin, NOT the version with 'pain relief' as the additional ingredients are not thought to be safe for
use on snakes. If it doesn't heal ok or seems to be infected anyway, you need to take your snake to a (herp experienced) vet.

I think you'll find that when you factor in the cost of vet care (to treat rodent bites), the scars left on your beautiful snakes, and the pain caused to the pet you care about (-?), it's well-worth feeding ONLY DEAD
prey. Rodents have been known to kill snakes...as snakes that aren't hungry* will refuse to kill the rodent, and rodents can cause horrible injuries to snake, which either kills them outright or they die from infections.
*some snakes also become afraid of taking prey once they've been injured, making them difficult to feed. All of this is preventable...please consider your pet's well-being?

[boricuamami]

Re: she got bit!

ya i checked for a wound but i cant quite point one out. the struggle then seeing blood made me super nervous, shes in her hide right now and acted normal after eating the mouse. im a first time snake mother so everything makes me nervous lol. i want to switch to frozen thawed but me and my boyfriend tried with his ball python leo and it was hopeless, he wouldnt take it. if she did get bit and i just cant point out a wound yet what are signs she might be sick? she is about two feet long and 7 months old.

[boricuamami]

Re: she got bit!

i totally agree. before i thought that id just let the snake be a snake and do it the old fashion way, but now im scared, shes my baby

[acephantom903]

Re: she got bit!

Send us pictures of where she was bit. You both might have gotten lucky and it might have just been the mouse blood. Ball pythons are notorious live feeders and it is stressful because of that. Ball pythons can be switched but it is hard and it takes patients. Someone I know can only get her ball python to eat 2 times every 3 months. Boas are easy. Just put a warm dead rodent in front of them and they will usually take it immediately. Sometimes they need a little jiggle (with tongs) to be happy. I've never done research into how to get a stubborn ball python to eat because I decided against them in my pet search pretty early on because of their feeding issues.

To send us pictures you can upload them to photobucket and post the IMG link they provide or copy and paste the URLs between [img] [/img].

[Jrock23]

Re: she got bit!

Use triple antibiotic ointment on the sore and never feed live rodents again..

[Noelle7206]

Re: she got bit!

ya i checked for a wound but i cant quite point one out. the struggle then seeing blood made me super nervous, shes in her hide right now and acted normal after eating the mouse. im a first time snake mother so everything makes me nervous lol. i want to switch to frozen thawed but me and my boyfriend tried with his ball python leo and it was hopeless, he wouldnt take it. if she did get bit and i just cant point out a wound yet what are signs she might be sick? she is about two feet long and 7 months old.

The bite wound was probably small & quit bleeding on it's own...but that doesn't mean it's not infected. Please watch for swelling...and btw, snakes often get a lump under the skin, as the pus they form tends to
be solid...which means it isn't likely to ooze out or 'go away' on it's own. If you can find the wound, apply Neosporin...if not, keep your fingers crossed & hope the blood was only from the prey. Snakes are fairly
stoic so if she were to get a systemic infection from such a bite, you'd probably have a snake that refuses to eat & one that was obviously feeling poorly, possibly wanting to be left alone, not handled, etc. It's
just so much better to avoid the risks of live than to try to repair the damage.

As already mentioned, ball pythons are often hard to feed and often insist on live food. That's not true for most boas...but use feeding tongs to keep your hands out of their way & to jiggle the prey just a bit...I
think you'll be happily surprised at how easy she is to feed (pre-killed).

[Pandorasdad]

Re: she got bit!

Be thankful that it was only one small bite. I quick Google search will turn up some horrific and graphic examples of why feeding live is not a good idea. That being said, Snakes are tough. They're amazing healers from minor wounds and I imagine this kinda thing happens all the time. Monitor it, clean the area and use the non pain relieving Neosporin on it. Like [MENTION=13772]Noelle7206[/MENTION] said, a lump can form. If it doesn't go away in a week or so, you should find a herp vet.

When it comes to feeding boas, deader is better.