Well, I hope I'm overreacting...but [possible rat bite]

Hey folks,

Just a little bit of a back story: I fed my normal girl last Tuesday. I've been noticing that she has been grabbing all her prey lately in the wrong way (i.e. by the tail, by the butt, etc) and this last prey item was no different. She got the rat on the butt and there was a ton of blood which I later noticed was coming from the rats rear end; but, seeing as she's very strike happy and didn't want to be fooled around with after she got done swallowing the rat, I let her be until the next day [after doing a once over of her neck while she was swallowing the rat]. Next day, I checked her out but couldn't find much of anything because she was in blue.

I decide to check her out after she shed (yesterday night) and low and behold I find two small lumps and what looks to be an "open" wound on the side of her neck. I touched the lumps and they were hard to the touch but didn't seem to bother her when I was poking at them. I searched the forums and online for "lumpy snakes" and rat bites but couldn't really come up with anything that answered my question: should I be worried? I know these snakes have I really nice built in defense to these kinds of things but I don't even know if it's a rat bite or not at this point because I haven't found anything that looks like this and I didn't see the rat actually bite her [she likes to wrap in a way that makes it near impossible to see what's going on].

Here are some pics of her. Sorry in advance if they are too blurry but she was in "investigation mode" when I was trying to take pics (also doesn't help that she is afraid of the camera):

1. Large Bump
2. Smaller Bump
3. Suspected Intruding Bite Wound

http://i42.tinypic.com/sy3s0m.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/wwf0vq.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/2qc418l.jpg

I do know that when a snake is infected it has hard lumps...have you cleaned the wound or put anything on it?

Ouch! I haven't experienced a rodent bite yet from the 2 snakes that only want LIVE rodents, but those look like bites to me.

Why don't you switch to f/t rodents if your snake is has trouble aiming?

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Originally Posted by pigfat

I do know that when a snake is infected it has hard lumps...have you cleaned the wound or put anything on it?

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See, that's what I was afraid of....I did put some neo on the #3 wound (no pain killers, I know) but I don't know how that is suppose to help the infection (if it is, in fact, an infection). Is it vet time?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by h00blah

Why don't you switch to f/t rodents if your snake is has trouble aiming?

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I tried...a lot. She's an oldie that's set in her ways and will turn her nose up at things that don't kick. :( I might have to give it another try though, especially after this....

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Originally Posted by HighVoltageRoyals

I tried...a lot. She's an oldie that's set in her ways and will turn her nose up at things that don't kick. :( I might have to give it another try though, especially after this....

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You may try leaving it in with her overnight. I got super lucky, I tried everything with mine and then one day BAM....he starting taking f/t. But if its a bad infection...I THINK that it has to be cut out...hopefully someone else will correct me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pigfat

You may try leaving it in with her overnight. I got super lucky, I tried everything with mine and then one day BAM....he starting taking f/t. But if its a bad infection...I THINK that it has to be cut out...hopefully someone else will correct me.

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I will try that and thanks for the advice! I kind of dread puss related injuries because I had a bunny that got a really bad abscess filled with "hard puss" that I had to get drained 4 times (at $300 a pop mind you) and he finally said "Ooooohh...seems to be a tooth infection! We should like...take those teeth out or something." Long story short, my bunny died because of incompetence and my brain reacts to "puss filled pocket" as instant death sentence.

I have found a better vet that actually cares for exotics, including snakes but I'm still very uneasy about the whole thing and a little stand-offish....:mad: But it is what it is and if she needs to see a vet, she needs to see a vet; but I would really like to avoid that if at all possible not necessarily for the expense (I'm more than willing to dole out some cash to save my animals) but just because of my major trust issues.

Chelsea, if I were in your situation, I would watch those bumps very closely for a few days. Look for any change in size or consistancy. As soon as you see anything that you know isn't right, take her to the Vet at that point.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Chelsea, if I were in your situation, I would watch those bumps very closely for a few days. Look for any change in size or consistancy. As soon as you see anything that you know isn't right, take her to the Vet at that point.

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I'll monitor her like a MOMMA HAWK.

http://i41.tinypic.com/1089yys.gif

Besides the obvious (continued swelling of lumps), what else should I be watching for that would dictate a vet visit?

Just watch for further swelling/oozing of the bite. You can apply neo to it once a day . Honestly I dont see her having any problems. Snakes are a lot hardier than people give them credit for. We have had a few bites and only one ever got neo. But it was a chew not a bite. The rest healed up on their own and after a couple sheds it was gone. Just watch her . When she goes into she'd again keep humidity up so it will. E easier to shed the scabs off. You may have to do it for her.