Rat bite! Please help!

[Oreo_Pudding]

My Male ball python has been refusing food lately, (resulting in an unexpected batch of seven baby rats) and recently started eating again, but earlier today was bit by a medium rat on the neck, and it's pretty swollen.

I do feed live, as he refuses to eat dead or frozen thawed, but I never leave a rat in the tank with him unsupervised.

He has been bitten before, but none have looked this bad. The swelling isn't hard, and he has let me rub some neosporin on it (hoping to prevent infection, read that that's what they do for smaller bites) so it can't be too painful, but Im still worried about him.

If anyone knows of a better treatment, please let me know! I'm very worried about him

I have pictures that I'll try to upload when I get to my computer.

[Oreo_Pudding]

[Archimedes]

Neosporin actually isn't the best route to go, since it's oil-based. It tends to make scales fall off where applied. also, double check and make sure the ointment has NO pain relief ingredients, because that is toxic to animals.

A good alternative is Silver oxiadizine cream (or whatever they call it, it's found in the same aisle as neosporin and is commonly used to treat burns). it's water based, so no sloughing of scales, and also no pain relief (but always double check!) also, Betadine. it's a relative of iodine, a disinfectant commonly used in hospitals, but it's made for home use.

Otherwise, definitely time for a vet visit. They'll be able to prevent infection and make sure there's no lingering damage from the bite.

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