Wounded snake, please help!

[NuttyBarz]

Let me start off by saying I feel like an ass. Great way to introduce myself to the community, I know. I woke up this morning to find my IJ carpet stuck to the adhesive on the back of the thermo/hygro. I imagine it fell off in the middle of the night and he ran over it, getting caught in the adhesive backing. The skin was really stretched out to the point of tearing from his efforts to pull himself off. I managed to get him free after almost an hour of struggling with the use of some olive oil and mild soap. The skin got stretched pretty good, and he has a lateral gash about 3/4" long just a few inches aft of his head. I washed him in mild soapy water and rinsed him off and put him in a now sterile tank (paper towels, water bowl, hide with damp sphagnum moss, and NO adhesive bull). I read that bacitracin could be used so I tried to apply some, but I felt like I was just going to open the wound more because the ointment is so viscous and gummy. I have some betadine (iodine) that is liquid, but I'm unsure how this would work on a snake. Any advice on what to do keep the wound from becoming infected, or what I can do to help him recover faster would be welcome. I know this is the BP section of the forum, and my snake is a carpet, but I figured this is probably the most viewed section.

[aldebono]

Can you see muscle under the gash?

I personally would put a small dab of neosporin without the pain killer on today and then just let it dry up. You could wash it with a betadine diluted bath, but it sounds like you washed it already. Do not continue the betadine baths and don't continue with neosporin as it causes the scales to soften too much. Silver sulfadiazine is the best antibacterial healing ointment that treats gram - and + bacteria, but again, not too much. You can get it from the vet, and it's expensive.

Your snake will shed quickly to repair the damage. I would do smaller than normal feedings to reduce stress on the wound. I would take out the sphagnum and replace with damp paper towel. Try to keep environment sterile and not over treat the wound. They heal quickly.

[wilomn]

If it won't close, superglue is your friend. Your snake should be just fine after a shed or two.

[NuttyBarz]

@aldebono

I'm not sure. While he was still stuck I could clearly see that there was some complete tearing of the skin. There was no blood that I could see. Do they have another layer of skin before the muscle? I Can probably get a pic if need be, but he's rather small (less than 6 months old), so not sure how much will actually be discernible. Luckily he ate a rather large rat pinky on Thursday, so I might just skip a meal.

@wilomn
Superglue won't have an adverse effect on shedding?

Also, like I said I use olive oil to free him, and although I rinsed him off as best I could, he's still a bit... shiny. I'm assuming I need to do something about this, but unsure how to go about washing it off.

[wilomn]

So long as the wound doesn't get all weepy or full of cheese it should heal fine on its own. Pictures are always helpful and no, the superglue won't hurt them.

[ktaylor89]

Superglue? Who woulda thunk! LOL learn something new everyday!

To the OP, I'm sorry that happened and hope it heals fast and easy!

[Kaorte]

Yeah I super glued all my cuts through college. I couldn't afford to have band aids on my fingers while working with delicate models.

If it isn't bleeding it should be fine. Snakes have lived through much worse .

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[baskingbaby]

I use silver sulfadiazine cream for almost all my reptile injuries (mostly bearded dragons) and have had a lot of success with it. If you need some, I can send some to you (just pay shipping). I wouldn't be able to ship it out until Thursday though.

Hope he heals up quickly for you!

[NuttyBarz]

He seems to be healing nicely so far, and it looks as though he's going to be shedding in a few days. Thanks for the help!