Bleeding - HELP!

[Sophiax]

I'm in a total panic! My snake yawned 2x - from where i was sitting, it looked like there was a bit more saliva than usual. (I'm paranoid about RI) Also her tongue is a bit more gray than pink, so I thought it'd be a good idea to just check inside her mouth for the first time, just to be on the safe side.

Following the advice on this site, I held her head gently but firmly between my fingers and used the edge of a soft rubber spatula to try to pry her mouth open. She squirmed around like CRAZY and freaked out. I tried to keep her still but she just would not cooperate at all. Using just the tip, as softly as possible, I tried to get the edge inside, but she kept shying away. I didn't want to hurt her with my grip, either.

After several minutes of unsuccessful attempts to get her to open her jaw even a little bit, a drop of red blood came out between her lips.

I'm in full blown panic right now. Did I injure her?? It's not flowing, just a drop or two and seems to have stopped, but I'm having a heart attack over here. Someone please offer some advice or consolation? Have I been completely stupid??

[LadyOhh]

Okay...

BREATHE

You probably just caused the snake to bite itself. Just like if you bite your own toungue.. Same situation.

It will heal...

Just leave it alone

[frankykeno]

Just keep a close eye on the snake to make sure no further bleeding occurs but I agree with Heather, it's very likely nothing (do check that spatula didn't have a sharp edge or burr though, some of them aren't made real well).

As far as the RI though you want to keep a very close eye on the snake and your husbandry (temps, humidity, etc.). Watch for excessive yawning, bubbles, etc. Pick up the snake and in a very quiet room listen to it breathe. You should not hear clicks, whistles, popping or any sort of odd sound like that. Observe quietly how your snake is acting for signs it's stressed or in any distress at all.

If you are not sure and are worried, call your herp vet. Really in the end no one online will ever be able to help you like a trusted and experienced vet can when there's any worry about a snake's health.

[Sophiax]

Thank you for the responses - it didn't even occur to me that a snake could bite its own lip but it makes sense. I'll leave further mouth-opening to the vet when I take her for a checkup.

I'm probably being paranoid about RI's (too much time reading the internet and assuming the worst case scenario!) - her breathing's silent, no other signs either - she's always been a yawner so I'll just keep super close watch.

She's now chilling with her nose poking out of her hide, no more blood, so I hope all's ok. Sorry for my panicked newb tone before!

[frankykeno]

Sophia if you knew how many times all of us have panicked over something you wouldn't be apologizing! LOL It's the mark of a caring, concerned snakekeeper so no worries there. Better you ask than blow off something that might be important. The panic does get better as you get to know your snake and be more confident in your own abilities to care for it but I don't think it ever really leaves any of us if something freaky occurs.

I know myself that if something comes up I have a few good experienced breeder friends on speed dial LOL. They are kind enough to have hand held me over the phone through the worries of our first breeding season here.

Back to the yawning though - do watch her on that. Excessive yawning can be a sign of something brewing RI-wise so mention that to the vet on your visit. If the yawning is related to shedding or just after they eat that's no biggie but if it's happening a lot at other times then you want to be alert to that.

If you got this snake from a pet store or from an unknown breeder then collecting a fecal sample to take in to the vet is a good idea. It doesn't generally cost much to get a fecal float done and it's well worth ruling out any issues of internal parasites (if the snake came from an iffy source). To collect a sample simply put some of her poop in a ziploc baggie and keep refridgerated - not frozen - and take it to the vet's office as soon as you can (you don't have to take the snake in with the poop - if there's a problem you can take the snake later for treatment for parasites). Generally a fecal float runs about $30.00 or less and some clinics will do it while you wait.