Lesson for All *GRAPHIC*

The rat was defintely hungry, those are not defensive wounds seeing as the snake did not try to eat him. Those are chew holes due to hunger.

On a side note, the scarring is the least of my worries. Idc if he scars because he will live out the rest of his days in my collection and even though he won't be as good looking as he once was, he'll still be very well taken care of. My primary concern is getting the wounds to close and not get them infected. My second concern is getting him to eat again, hopefully he isn't traumatized.. After I get those 2 taken care of, then I will hope he looks purty again, but right now I'm just worried about his health. I have already had to cut the bit of his tail that was hanging on by a thread, there was no saving it. It was literally hanging on by a thread so I clipped it.

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

I will start using betadine. How frequent should I use it? Also should I use anything else? Such as an ointment?

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Oh man I'm so sorry. That does not look fun. I recommend doing the betadine washes. Keep him extra extra clean. As well as getting silverdine cream- I'm totally sure that I'm not spelling it right I always keep some in hand but I never can spel it right. Don't use neo. The cream will work much better. And not premote infection or scale flaking. Please update us with what the vet says.
Petstore rats are usually underfed and stressed making this situation much more likely. I'm so sorry you had to do through this. Not fun.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

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Beat me to it ;).

You can get silvadene cream from your vet. And like others said, switch to paper towels for the time being. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

I also want to applaud our members for being understanding of this. Accidents happen.

A few weeks ago I fed one of our ASF eaters a live asf and she coiled it up. I even made sure the rat wasn't biting her. I went back about an hour later to check on her and she had apparently dropped the rat and it WAS STILL ALIVE just hanging out in the back corner. If I didn't re-check her that too could have ended in disaster.

When you try to feed him next I'd suggest a rat pup. They aren't very intimidating.

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Originally Posted by jsmorphs2

When you try to feed him next I'd suggest a rat pup. They aren't very intimidating.

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Yea I know, Im definitely going to wait until he gets better to even consider offering food. Then I will start small and go from there. Hopefully he'll eat quick and stick with rats. Mice and ASF's suck.

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Originally Posted by Otolith

Ew. Somehow that is more disgusting lol. If it were a survival thing then at least somewhat defensible. Bleh rats are foul.

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off topic, i know, but i had an old rat that forced its way out of its cage (10lbs of iron on top), climb in my bird cage, grab a bird, take it back into his cage, and eat it. i woke up to a missing bird, and a knocked off lid, and found a leg and the beak 10 mins later, that rat didnt make it very long...

ever since then, ive felt like slim

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Originally Posted by Slim

I find their disposition much more agreeable after they have been frozen.

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Thank you for sharing this experience with the community, even knowing that you were leaving yourself open to criticism. I'm sure it was a very painful experience for you, and it was brave of you to share so that others will be able to avoid it happening to them.

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Originally Posted by jsmorphs2

I also want to applaud our members for being understanding of this. Accidents happen.

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I agree with this, I was afraid that this was going to turn into a "THIS IS WHY YOU DON"T FEED LIVE" type of thread, but instead people have been very calm and helpful. I do think that part of it has to do with the way that the OP worded his original post.

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Originally Posted by meowmeowkazoo

Thank you for sharing this experience with the community, even knowing that you were leaving yourself open to criticism. I'm sure it was a very painful experience for you, and it was brave of you to share so that others will be able to avoid it happening to them.

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Believe me I thought long and hard before posting. But I made sure to explain that this was an honest mistake. I can't say it was an accident because accidents are unavoidable. This was a huge mistake on my behalf where I failed to pay 100% attention to somethign I've done a hundred times and the one time I messed up, it costs me big.

Even if people wanted to criticize, I couldn't blame them, that picture looks horrible. But I have enough confidence in myself as a keeper to put past w.e negative comments behind me.

I accept full responsibility for this and what matters now is that I'm trying to fix it.

I do want to thank everyone for understanding what happened and not busting my balls for it. I don't think I've read a single negative comment. I just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else on here.

:tears: This is an upsetting story, but I'm really glad you're being calm and responsible about this. What I can't stand is people who don't accept that it was their mistake, or don't try to treat it or seek veterinary help. Accidents really do happen and sometimes I think we forget that as a community.

Thanks for sharing and best wishes for the poor guy's recovery. :gj: Keep us updated on how he's feeling and healing.

Sorry this happened to you, hope the snake has a speedy recovery. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us, it might save a some snakes in the future.