Wound won't heal

Hey,

so here's the story. Early august I was feeding my BP's. But it seemed my female didn't do a very good job at strangling the rat. It looked like she only made it pass out cause when she was halfway eating it, it regained consiousness and started struggling. I didn't really know what to do with it cause only the back legs of the rat where still outside of my BP :s. Afterwards I saw she had a wound near her mouth (i guess from a scratch from the rat...). I didn't really want to put betadine or something on it cause it really was close to her mouth so i just cleaned it with some water and i had put her on some paper towels in stead of aspen to make sure it stayed clean. It started to heal really well untill she shed... Then the wound just gets open again, and again with every shed. Making that now, a good 6 months later the wound is still there... (see pics below).
It never seemed to bother her except when you touch it. She always kept eating untill a good 2 months ago. The husbandry is fine so I'm thinking it has to do something with the wound... Does anybody know if and what I can do about it?

Thnx


http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg809...jpg&res=medium

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg828...jpg&res=medium

(Not the best pics, but she really wasn't to happy that i was keeping her head still :) )

No news good news, does a BP wound stay for 9 months or so? Pls?

Well, they are very slow healers, but I really don't think that's normal. Have you considered using Neosporin on the wound? The one without painkiller.

Hi,

Have you looked inside her mouth?

It looks as though it may be swollen from your pics which could indicate an infection or abcess inside the mouth.

I'd think about taking her to a vet at that point to get it cleaned out and possibly getting a course of anti-biotics to clear out any residual infection and allow it to heal more easily.


dr del

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Well, they are very slow healers, but I really don't think that's normal. Have you considered using Neosporin on the wound? The one without painkiller.

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Hmm, no I don't know the product... I really didn't have the balls to put some antibiotics or anything on it considering it is so close to her mouth.. Maybe this was a bad move or something but... I really think I did lots of things wrong with this one... I just stood there and watch the whole incident, even my mom made a video of it and i didn't know what to do... it was really weird... Didn't expect this kind of things to happen with a BP...

Only if you want to see it... (very bad movie with an old cell phone...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTJdX...ature=youtu.be

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Have you looked inside her mouth?

It looks as though it may be swollen from your pics which could indicate an infection or abcess inside the mouth.

I'd think about taking her to a vet at that point to get it cleaned out and possibly getting a course of anti-biotics to clear out any residual infection and allow it to heal more easily.


dr del

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No, I can't get her mouth open since the incident...
So, Best that i take her to a vet then?

And did I do something wrong here? I really don't know what I have should done in this situation.. What should you guys have done when you saw something like this???

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Originally Posted by thomasK

No, I can't get her mouth open since the incident...
So, Best that i take her to a vet then?

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I agree, I think a vet trip would be best.

Ok, thnx guys. I'm making an appointment in the morning!

Should I've done this earlier?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thomasK

Ok, thnx guys. I'm making an appointment in the morning!

Should I've done this earlier?

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Probably, but don't beat yourself up over it. Once your little guy gets proper medication and treatment from a vet I'm sure he'll have a nice recovery :)

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Probably, but don't beat yourself up over it. Once your little guy gets proper medication and treatment from a vet I'm sure he'll have a nice recovery :)

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Thank you :)

It's just that it really is my baby. She has been through a lot. I bought her from a petstore when she had scars and burns all over her body... Partially out of pitty and partially out of love, wich started my BP addiction, so i really don't want anything bad happen to her ( she really has the sweetest character!!)

But still I think I didn't react right.. What would you guys/girls have done?

Well I'm sure she will recover just fine as long as the vet can treat her :)

I don't know what I would have done. It sounds like any other emergency, its hard to know what to do unless you've trained for it, like a fire fighter.

Somebody may have said this already, but I would suggest in the future to not feed live animals. Frozen/thawed or prekilled would be better.

I agree I think a vet trip is in order. There could be an infection making keeping it open. As for what you could have done better... The next time she has a hard time with a kill prevent the prey from scratching or biting with chop sticks or hemostats. If she does get a wound even in or near her mouth betadyne is fine to use. Even in her mouth. It will not hurt her. It seems like you waited a bit long to make an appt. I would have done it sooner. No harm no foul though. You may also want to get more comfortable with doing mouth checks. Small overall exams are important for you as a keeper to do on your own as well.
These aren't things you need to beat yourself up over though. Just needs a bit of practice.



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

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Originally Posted by captainjack0000

I don't know what I would have done. It sounds like any other emergency, its hard to know what to do unless you've trained for it, like a fire fighter.

Somebody may have said this already, but I would suggest in the future to not feed live animals. Frozen/thawed or prekilled would be better.

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I know, I give my others Frozen/thawed, but she really is a picky eater and only eats live (she even prefers white ones i think cause it takes longer for her to strike at brown/grey rats...)

A good thump to the head of your prey item wouldnt be a bad idea. I have one female that is like 8 years old and she has never fully coiled properly. Since she was a baby she never did it. I thump her rats for her. I know i know some people are gonna say thats inhumane whatever but the rat is food and she needs to eat. But for sure a trip to the vet to get it fixed is in order. Snakes can hold an infection for a while and the longer it sits in the harder it is to fix.

I just got back from the vet. She needs antibiotics and i have to treat the wound with flamazine-gel. Maybe a tip for everybody, all snake wounds (even inside the mouth) can be treated with flamazine to get them heal faster!

Thnx for the help guys/girls!

you know what, I think reading this thread jinxed me. I have never seen or heard of this happening in my 10 years of owning snakes. However, I switched my black pastel female over to small rats the other day and sure enough she had the head in her mouth and the rat was still alive and started kicking. She has been a mouser her whole life and I think she underestimated killing rats. I watched to make sure the rat wasnt getting her (this is precisely why you keep an eye on them if feeding live) and after a minute or so the rat suffocated and she finished the job, thats got to be a horrible way to go, eaten alive:(. All is well though, just thought I'd share since I'd never had this happen before and I see it on here and then it happens.:O

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Originally Posted by Domepiece

you know what, I think reading this thread jinxed me. I have never seen or heard of this happening in my 10 years of owning snakes. However, I switched my black pastel female over to small rats the other day and sure enough she had the head in her mouth and the rat was still alive and started kicking. She has been a mouser her whole life and I think she underestimated killing rats. I watched to make sure the rat wasnt getting her (this is precisely why you keep an eye on them if feeding live) and after a minute or so the rat suffocated and she finished the job, thats got to be a horrible way to go, eaten alive:(. All is well though, just thought I'd share since I'd never had this happen before and I see it on here and then it happens.:O

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Lol, I'm really sorry to jinx you :D. It really is a horrible thing to watch, poor rat... But I'm glad youre snake is ok :).