Mouse Bit Snake, there is blood

[gmmuscle91]

The freiken mouse bit my snake tonite. i can see the puncture wound right behind her head and there was a good amount of blood. a vet visit is due, right?

[cassandra]

I think so, at least from what can be read here in other threads. Better safe than sorry.

Poor snakey!

[gmmuscle91]

alright, thanks. ill be making an appt ASAP

[tigerlily]

Unless it's a very bad bite, which might require stitches, then I thought a little antibiotic ointment was fine. Keep an eye on it, and if it looks like it might be getting infected then go straight to the vet. Of course that's just me, and I've never encountered bite wounds yet. I relate it to my kids. If they had a bad scratch, that I can handle. If it's gushing blood and looks iffy then off I go to the hospital/doctor. Whatever you feel most comfortable with.

[Pythons Rock]

I fully agree with Tiger on this, if I remember right stuff like bacitracin is used, I belive neosporin has something in it that should not be used on snakes.

[Ginevive]

Yea, I would get some neosporin (not the pain relieving kind) and dab some on to prevent infection.
Next time, I would pre-stun the prey item.

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

Yea, I would get some neosporin (not the pain relieving kind) and dab some on to prevent infection.
Next time, I would pre-stun the prey item.

Im not sure how I stand on that... I think if you know the snake well enough, you know if it will take its time and give the prey a chance to bite... if it is a more timid snake trying to get it on Frozen/Thawed is good... or trying to get a hold of baby rats the size of mice (less aggressive and more timid).

I guess pre-stunning has a few uses, but I would be more worried about a stunned animal coming to and freaking, maybe pre-killed in that case?

Depends on how picky the snake is, and how comfortable you are with different types of food.

[daniel1983]

Neosporin w/out pain reliever works wonders. I had to use it on one of my ball pythons a while back. A staple was not in all the way on the screen above her tub and she cut herself pretty good. I applied the neosporin every day for two weeks and she healed up nicely. Keep an eye out for infection though. If things start to look bad or it is not healing good, I would schedule a vet appointment and get some antibiotics. But I would definately try the neosporin first if the cut is minor.

"Stunning" rodents is not a good practice. Like Bryan mentioned, a stunned mouse is only stunned. They can easily become 'unstunned' and 'freak out'. Not to mention that it is kinda inhumane to do that to the rodent. If you kill the mouse by dislocation of the spine, its nerves will generally cause it to twitch for 5-10 seconds. If the snake's area has been scented previous to offering the rodent, then it will usually be gone before it stops moving and you won't have to worry about any bites.