Ball python went missing for a month;just discovered my neighbors found her!

So unfortunately a month ago I neglected to properly latch my ball python female's tank and to my chagrin, she escaped the back patio from the tank she was in and disappeared from our yard completely. I looked everywhere I thought she'd be in our yard but after a lot of digging I assumed there was no possible way for me to find her (how could I? So much vegetation in our backyard and I know how BP's are experts at hiding..)

Anyway today as I was walking my dog I saw a sign in my neighborhood "Pet snake found call etc." I couldn't believe it! I tore It down and called immediately. They asked me to describe her and I thought "it could be any kind of snake but if this is a bp I'm positive its her" and it was! She had been living underneath their chicken coop and also devoured the resident rat that lived there.

So, the reason I'm posting is because I've noticed what looks like a somewhat large bite on her back (I'm assuming it was the rat) I'm especially concerned about this because when I went to pick her up from my neighbor, I saw they had been keeping her in a five gallon bucket with rotted leaves at the bottom and there was about a half inch or so of "liquid" as well. I have no idea how long she'd been in there and I'm worried her "bite" may have become infected from having to sit in that water/urine/ whatever it was... Also I'm worried because she was on a diet of feeders and who knows whether this wild rat had worms or god knows what...

I've put her back in her tank and am going to leave her to "chill" for awhile, covered up (locked and secured) Any advice on how to handle the bite? There's no blood and its only a little bit swollen looking.. Is there anything I can put on it or should I wait and see? And should I wait to feed her again? She looks quite fat. I was only giving her small rats, it appears she's had no issues at all feeding herself the past month..

I'm so glad she's back, I felt like the worst pet mom in the world -_-

Any advice appreciated, thanks

Vetericyn or Neosporin without painkiller on the bite for now. If the swelling persists she may need an antibiotic.

Schedule a vet trip for a deworming regimen, wild rodents will likely be carrying parasites.

Bite pic?

Wow! Lucky that they found her! I would trot to the vet like the others have said. But congrats on getting them back!

Grats on getting her back! That's crazy that she managed to find food in the "wild". Hope she's okay though.

Since you said she was found under a chicken coop id be worried the wound is from a chicken. I'm which case, it's probably caused internal harm too since they beat prey to death rather than biting or ripping it apart so there could be severe skeletal/ internal organ damage