Lesson for All *GRAPHIC*

The rat was defintely hungry, those are not defensive wounds seeing as the snake did not try to eat him. Those are chew holes due to hunger.

On a side note, the scarring is the least of my worries. Idc if he scars because he will live out the rest of his days in my collection and even though he won't be as good looking as he once was, he'll still be very well taken care of. My primary concern is getting the wounds to close and not get them infected. My second concern is getting him to eat again, hopefully he isn't traumatized.. After I get those 2 taken care of, then I will hope he looks purty again, but right now I'm just worried about his health. I have already had to cut the bit of his tail that was hanging on by a thread, there was no saving it. It was literally hanging on by a thread so I clipped it.

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

I will start using betadine. How frequent should I use it? Also should I use anything else? Such as an ointment?

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Oh man I'm so sorry. That does not look fun. I recommend doing the betadine washes. Keep him extra extra clean. As well as getting silverdine cream- I'm totally sure that I'm not spelling it right I always keep some in hand but I never can spel it right. Don't use neo. The cream will work much better. And not premote infection or scale flaking. Please update us with what the vet says.
Petstore rats are usually underfed and stressed making this situation much more likely. I'm so sorry you had to do through this. Not fun.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

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Beat me to it ;).

You can get silvadene cream from your vet. And like others said, switch to paper towels for the time being. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

I also want to applaud our members for being understanding of this. Accidents happen.

A few weeks ago I fed one of our ASF eaters a live asf and she coiled it up. I even made sure the rat wasn't biting her. I went back about an hour later to check on her and she had apparently dropped the rat and it WAS STILL ALIVE just hanging out in the back corner. If I didn't re-check her that too could have ended in disaster.

When you try to feed him next I'd suggest a rat pup. They aren't very intimidating.

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Originally Posted by jsmorphs2

When you try to feed him next I'd suggest a rat pup. They aren't very intimidating.

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Yea I know, Im definitely going to wait until he gets better to even consider offering food. Then I will start small and go from there. Hopefully he'll eat quick and stick with rats. Mice and ASF's suck.

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Originally Posted by Otolith

Ew. Somehow that is more disgusting lol. If it were a survival thing then at least somewhat defensible. Bleh rats are foul.

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off topic, i know, but i had an old rat that forced its way out of its cage (10lbs of iron on top), climb in my bird cage, grab a bird, take it back into his cage, and eat it. i woke up to a missing bird, and a knocked off lid, and found a leg and the beak 10 mins later, that rat didnt make it very long...

ever since then, ive felt like slim

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Originally Posted by Slim

I find their disposition much more agreeable after they have been frozen.

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Thank you for sharing this experience with the community, even knowing that you were leaving yourself open to criticism. I'm sure it was a very painful experience for you, and it was brave of you to share so that others will be able to avoid it happening to them.

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Originally Posted by jsmorphs2

I also want to applaud our members for being understanding of this. Accidents happen.

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I agree with this, I was afraid that this was going to turn into a "THIS IS WHY YOU DON"T FEED LIVE" type of thread, but instead people have been very calm and helpful. I do think that part of it has to do with the way that the OP worded his original post.

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Originally Posted by meowmeowkazoo

Thank you for sharing this experience with the community, even knowing that you were leaving yourself open to criticism. I'm sure it was a very painful experience for you, and it was brave of you to share so that others will be able to avoid it happening to them.

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Believe me I thought long and hard before posting. But I made sure to explain that this was an honest mistake. I can't say it was an accident because accidents are unavoidable. This was a huge mistake on my behalf where I failed to pay 100% attention to somethign I've done a hundred times and the one time I messed up, it costs me big.

Even if people wanted to criticize, I couldn't blame them, that picture looks horrible. But I have enough confidence in myself as a keeper to put past w.e negative comments behind me.

I accept full responsibility for this and what matters now is that I'm trying to fix it.

I do want to thank everyone for understanding what happened and not busting my balls for it. I don't think I've read a single negative comment. I just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else on here.

:tears: This is an upsetting story, but I'm really glad you're being calm and responsible about this. What I can't stand is people who don't accept that it was their mistake, or don't try to treat it or seek veterinary help. Accidents really do happen and sometimes I think we forget that as a community.

Thanks for sharing and best wishes for the poor guy's recovery. :gj: Keep us updated on how he's feeling and healing.

Sorry this happened to you, hope the snake has a speedy recovery. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us, it might save a some snakes in the future.

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

My second concern is getting him to eat again, hopefully he isn't traumatized..

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I had a rescue that had her tail tip chewed off and scabs half way down her back
http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/...escuestail.jpg
but she healed over and the scarring went down ALOT
http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/...picture_16.jpg
but after that I could only get her to eat on her own 3 times...every other time I had to start her off by getting the head in her mouth....hopefully your guy will not have trouble eating..

The beauty of this community is that we support those of us in need before anything else. And I'm proud to belong in such a community.
I love you guys!!! <3

I wouldn't worry over scarring. Most of the time the wounds heal, they shed a LOT and often, and the scars disappear mostly. Ball pythons are remarkably tough.

The rat probably bit along the back, because the snake coils and only the back is showing. When something pokes a BP, they tend to 'shove' it away with part of their body, using the back instead of the belly. The rat just chewed the part presented for it to chew easiest. It was probably very hungry and after all, the snake would eat it, can't blame a rat for trying to turn the tables. If something were trying to eat me, I'd bite it back too!

Keep us updated on how he does! I second the keeping him on newspaper or paper towels.

Sorry that you had to go through this... In the future, if you're getting your rats from someone else, I would suggest giving them an hour or so with food and water before tossing them in with your snakes. Rats have a high metabolism and it doesn't take long for them to get hungry and thirsty.

Wow thats why I never leave. but I understand emergencies with humans are one thing, but a good lesson. Another good lesson is having too different types of reptiles together. I won't put my boa with my BP, same is this video I seen the other day. the kid thought his bearded dragon and crested gecko would get along since it never had a reaction to his adult leapord gecko. he went to pick up the crestie and as soon as his hand went to grab the crestie the Beardie had it in a blink of an eye... I felt bad for the kid, and he was torn up about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvNEX...reply_received

Im sorry to see that. Something similar happened to me as well. I have a very large female who is well over 2300 grams. I had thrown in a medium mouse for her and had stepped away becouse there was someone at the door. She got bit on the nose and i felt horrible.

Not reading al the posts, But Do not use peroxide or rubbing alcohol as it kills living tissues.

I dont even use it on myself as all i use is Betadine.

If the woulds are Deep, do not put the neosporin/polysporin in the wounds. Just keep flushing it to keep it clean. Then you will need to see a vet as they will have something that will be applied to open wound along with antibiotics.

I am sorry this happened to you and your snake. I wish you both the best, him to recover and you to stop beating yourself up about it. Both will take time.

It is for just this reason that since I decided to feed live, my husband and I feed in a team. He takes the smaller snakes in tubs with lids, I take the bigger snakes in the rack system. If one of us gets distracted or called away, the other is always on hand to monitor things.

I realize not everyone has that option of course, but it is one of the many precautions I take after choosing to feed live. I also realize that one day I will inevitably be posting here about a feeding accident, no matter how careful you are, it can still go wrong in the blink of an eye.

Thus far, my worst incident has been a nip to the neck that left a rough patch for a shed or two.

Gale

Sorry that happened to you and your snake. Seeing stuff like that makes me so sad. I hope he has a speedy recovery. Just tonight I put a rat in with one of my boys to see if he would eat. He hasn't ate in a month. I bought the rat Saturday. He wouldn't take it Saturday so I put him in a spare container and I have been feeding him good.So tonight Rocko didn't want him but he wanted to follow him around and sniff him. For some reason the rat was in a crappy mood and tried to bite him in the face. I told my husband to get that thing out of there now. Hubby almost got bit to. My first experience with a meany rat :mad:

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

I am the type of person that feeds one snake at a time and has something in my hand to separate the rats mouth should the snake wrap in a place where the rat can move his mouth freely.

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When I have fed live I do the same thing. I keep the tongs ready if their mouth is exposed. If it is, the tongs go right in the rats mouth so it has something to bite on.

It's only been 24 hours but the wounds have darkened up which means the blood is drying and they scabbing. This is a good thing because as long as the wounds are sealed it'll be harder to get infected. I've applied betadine a few times and he is still as lively as ever.

That's very encouraging. Please keep us posted. And, if it's not too much to ask, could you post some pics of the recovery process from time to time. I think we can all learn some lessons from how he goes about recovering.

Will do!

From that pic it looks like it will heal fine. Scarred, visually compromised perhaps, but fine.

Sounds like you are on the right track, good to see.

Feeding live isn't dangerous because rats/mice always attack snakes, it is dangerous for the accidents like this. You forget to take the prey out, you get pulled away, or you check 100 cages and pull rats, but miss that one cage where it was hiding behind/under the water bowl. Then it becomes distaster.

Thanks for sharing your trouble, I look forward to following updates on the animal as it heals.

Best of luck.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Sir or Madame,

While I applaud your rescue work, I must inform you that your Vet is either very uninformed about snakes, or is ignorant, or both. We have long known that while Neosporin will work in a pinch, it can actually cause damage if used long term. Betadine solution is really the best thing for a situation like this.

Also, a wound that goes down to and exposes muscle is not going to be good as new in a few sheds, or after 1000 sheds. That scar will continue to be there for the life of the animal.

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Did I say vet? I meant guy off the street. How much do you charge for an office visit Slim? Do you think you can do it via video conference?

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Originally Posted by Lferg

Did I say vet? I meant guy off the street. How much do you charge for an office visit Slim? Do you think you can do it via video conference?

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Well, if it was a guy off the street, I can certainly understand him being uninformed about what oil based ointments can do to a snakes scales. Also explains why he told you a scar like that would be good as new after a few sheds. Whew! Glad you cleared that up...I was worried that a Vet could be that clueless about general snake care.

I don't do snake med VTC's...I'm just a guy off the street.

Thx again for posting this....a reminder to be careful with my feeding.

Oh my god, that is brutal. Sorry to hear and see that, best of luck on his recovery. Keep us updated.

For those of you who recommended the betadine washes, how do you guys do it. The last couple if times I've been following the bottles instructions which are to spray on and then wash off. Is this right or do you have other methods?

You know I use to want to be a vet, but this reminds me why I changed my mind. I cannot deal with injuries.

What I have seen recommended is soaking your BP in a bath of betadine diluted with warm water (water temp in the mid 80's) the water should be a light tea color if the ratio is correct. I think it was 10% betadine but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Poor guy! Feeding live scares the heck out of me. I've been feeding live (and frozen) over the past 10 years and didn't have my first snake injury until about 3 months ago. It is dangerous even if you do keep an eye on them - if the snake strikes the wrong spot the rat could easily latch on somewhere. In my case, my female Pied got bit right on the neck by a rat. It scared me so bad but luckily she was perfectly fine and healed quickly... Nothing like your poor boy. But it did make me think of how easily a snake can lose an eye to a rat. So now if I have to feed larger live rats I clip their teeth before offering them to the snake. It is perfectly painless to clip the teeth. I also breed my own feeders and only breed docile rats so that helps a little, they aren't prone to attacking and are well-fed. Here is to a speedy recovery!

This is him as of today. From what you can see there is no more fresh blood. Just dry-black blood which are the scabs and exposed muscle tissue.

http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae140/that_dc5/2.jpg

already look much better :gj:

I hope the rest of the recovery goes just as smoothly.

DO NOT USE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. Though it will kill pathogens it will also slow the healing process by destroying your BP's own cells. Please use other disinfectants.

Looks like you have him on the road to recovery. Great job!

Wow. He looks way better. :gj: Keep it up and keep us updated.

Dont be surprised when he sheds soon that the scabs and what not will come off and start bleeding again

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Originally Posted by redstormlax12

DO NOT USE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. Though it will kill pathogens it will also slow the healing process by destroying your BP's own cells. Please use other disinfectants.

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Thank you for the advice but I haven't used Hydrogen Peroxide again... I've been using betadine as I have stated previously several times

I'd also suggest trying to get some silver sulfadiazine. It's an ointment used to treat burns, but it works well for wounds in general. It's great for snakes (much better than neosporin because it's not petroleum based so it doesn't cause individual scale shedding). It's usually only available by Rx, but it's really handy to have so it's worth asking your vet. Legally, the active ingredient can be sold otc, but most places only seem to carry the Rx version.

Wow he looks much much better for now. I agree when he sheds it will probably look worse than it did at first, but it will heal up given time.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

Wow he looks much much better for now. I agree when he sheds it will probably look worse than it did at first, but it will heal up given time.

Gale

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Great -_- I hope he doesn't shed for a few weeks then.

They asked for permission to publish this and I allowed them.

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/ar...esson-for-all/

Here's a little update for you guys.. The holes are still as deep as they were before except they're black with dry blood. This is going to be a lengthy recovery.

http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Snakes/21.jpg
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/a...Snakes/2-1.jpg

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

Here's a little update for you guys.. The holes are still as deep as they were before except they're black with dry blood. This is going to be a lengthy recovery.]

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As bad as it still looks, I'm sure he feels a lot better then when they were fresh.

Looks pretty good. I think you are at the point where you don't have to worry about the betadine anymore. Do you have a pic of the tail?

wow great recovery. :) good luck :D

I'll post one now, that has healed better than anything else.

Wow, that sucks. Looks like he's doing well though, all things considered.
I hate live rodents, they all belong in a freezer.

that_dc5,

I'd like to commend you on a job well done. That was a nasty looking wound and you have obviously gone above and beyond keeping it clean and treated. The fact that you have been able to avoid infection with this injury says a lot about your husbandry.

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Originally Posted by Slim

that_dc5,

I'd like to commend you on a job well done. That was a nasty looking wound and you have obviously gone above and beyond keeping it clean and treated. The fact that you have been able to avoid infection with this injury says a lot about your husbandry.

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:gj: