Rescued ball python with hole in her neck

Ok
so I have rescued a ball python female off a friend who is now no longer a friend
my condition on nor reporting him to the police for animal abuse was he turn his snake over to me for the care she needed as he flatly refused to *waste money taking her to a vet*
She wasnt eating for him and he tried to force feed her and failed
First before any one starts yelling it She has a appointment with my herp vet on monday he could not see her before then and the 24 hr hospital here has no idea about snakes I have asked them in the past they have no one with any reptile exp.
She has a tear in her neck witch smells badly and a rasping in her breathing that I do not like (tho she only does this when she is held)
No bubbles in her mouth and seams to be moving and tongue flicking just fine
her jaw looks a tad swollen
on my vets recommendation I have started treating the neck wound with a betadine bath and antibiotic cream untill he can see her
I am unable at this time to post pictures of this wound as I do not wish to hurt her any more than she has been already but it is a small hole clean through the skin

what I am looking for here is sugestions as to rather it is more humane at this point to have her humanily euthanized or to try to get her to recover
and if anyone has heard of a snake suriving something like this so basically am I wasting my time to try or does she stand a chance of survivle

If there is a bad odor coming from the puncture......... That's not very good.
How old is the injury?

It's really difficult to tell how bad an injury is without seeing it.

If the hole is just through the skin, or even into some muscle and is not overly large, it will most likely heal up amazingly well with a little help.

Use betadine to clean it, keep her warm and clean(keep her on paper towels for cleanliness) and apply antibiotic gel WITHOUT PAIN RELIEF to the wound(try not to get it elsewhere). The vet will probably give antibiotics and will deep clean the wound.

Ball pythons can heal up from pretty extensive wounds so I would keep a positive attitude for it. If you can get a picture, that would help, but no online advice will match a good experienced reptile vet. Good luck for monday!

it is about a week old now and yea i know they can heal form alot i just didnt like the fact that he refused to help her
it realy doesnt look so bad but it smells alot like unwashed feet and i was worried about it as for size she is about 2000g and 4 feet and the hole is about the size of a pencil eraser

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Originally Posted by StillBP

it realy doesnt look so bad but it smells alot like unwashed feet and i was worried about it as for size she is about 2000g and 4 feet and the hole is about the size of a pencil eraser

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Sounds like it may be infected. If she gets vet care and he prescribes antibiotics to deal with it, she may pull through just fine.

She will probably be off food for a few months while she heals up. How is her body condition?

Why would someone try to force feed a 2000g snake?!?!??!
Sorry just had to vent that.....

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Why would someone try to force feed a 2000g snake?!?!??!
Sorry just had to vent that.....

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idk he said that she hasnt eatten in almost 6 months and had lost 300g
another reason he does not need to keep her
she still looks solid not fat but not skinny she looks athletic nice and lean but not under weight

Was this wound from a rat bite / attack ???

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Was this wound from a rat bite / attack ???

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Did you not read FAILED FORCE FEED??

could the wound just be a sign that she wasnt eating due to an infection all ready there in her throat? i mean if he never got her checked out who knows how long she was fighting off an infection.

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Originally Posted by Mada

could the wound just be a sign that she wasnt eating due to an infection all ready there in her throat? i mean if he never got her checked out who knows how long she was fighting off an infection.

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That is a possibility. If she had an abscess which put her off food, the assist feeding attempt could have ruptured it.

I'd also like to know how an assist feed could even cause a tear in the snake's neck. I've done it for non-feeding babies successfully and by the time the feeder gets past the mouth the snake usually starts swallowing it.

only thing i could think of that would cause a "healthy" snake who is not eating to get a hole in it from an assist would be how the rodent was killed (broken bone constricted and then becoming a sharp object in the neck) or that the rat's teeth were overly long and sticking out. i mean unless the meal is huge the snake shouldn't be stretched beyond it could handle but a pointy object could cause major damage.

Well, regardless of how the injury originally happened, I'm glad that the snake is in better hands now. Good job on the rescue!

Hopefully she'll recover well. It does sound like she needs antibiotics to help her fight off that infection while the wound heals up. The site may need to be lanced or irrigated as well. I believe that with a vet's attention, she stands a very good chance of full recovery.

Luckily BPs are very resilient animals. I have a rescued normal male who came to me nearly starved, all skin and bones with 3+ layers of stuck shed and thick eye caps. When all of the old shed came off, his skin was in pretty bad shape underneath. He had a lot of scarring and about half a dozen open wounds on his back and sides where the old shed was so tight that it actually cutting into his body. I didn't have high hopes for his recovery but with proper care he bounced right back to full health.

Make sure to keep her in a clean tub with newspaper, paper towels, or some other kind of substrate that won't irritate her injury. Keep her quarantined away from any other reptiles you have, in case she develops an RI.

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With that more detailed description and the fact that she is now in a loving home that intends to care properly for the wound, I think she will do just fine. I've seen snakes of that size with wounds you couldn't cover with your palm that recovered with time and care.

Hopefully your new girl heals up fast and enjoys her new home. Keep us all posted, especially on what the vet says and does.

Given the size of the animal and the fact that the injury is a week old and the snake is still alive, I would think that with proper antibiotic treatment the animal should heal and recover just fine.

I have rehabbed smaller wild snakes with holes and gash that were pretty large and they recovered fine.

All you can do is wait and see what the vet says and make a decision than.

Your main enemy in this type of situation is infection but those are very treatable, once infection is under control, healing can start.

When I worked for Pacific Animal Productions, some of our animals came from rescue situations, especially the reptiles. Many of them pulled through with injuries more horrific than what you describe. With some tlc from you and the good home you'll give her I'm sure she'll pull through! Good luck it seems like you have things dialed in and she is in much better hands now


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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Did you not read FAILED FORCE FEED??

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Yeah ..

Seems unlikely that assist feeding would end up with the snake having a open wound ...... as a few others have also pointed out .

Bud , you criticise everything I post wether it's a question or a compliment or a bit of advice ....so I'm kinda over your waffling tbh.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Yeah ..

Seems unlikely that assist feeding would end up with the snake having a open wound ...... as a few others have also pointed out .

Bud , you criticise everything I post wether it's a question or a compliment or a bit of advice ....so I'm kinda over your waffling tbh.

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Assisting and force are two totally different things.
Enjoy your breakfast. :gj:

just wanted to update you all
The wound in her neck was much worse than I orginaly had suspected
after a deep cleaning and flushing of dead tissue (from the vet)
it left her with a hole the size of my pinky finger compleatly through her neck
you could look in one side and see out the other
I would have sworn she would die but she seams to be responding to the antibiotics and the wound has "scabbed" over (this is not right it is not truly a scab, but this is as close as i can figure)
I am keeping my fingers crossed that she does fully recover
she did have a bad bacterial infection that is far older than a week (so my vet says) in that area so I am now wondering if that was the cause and not the feeding

Good luck. At least she's in good hands now and you can keep her comfortable no matter what.


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Good luck! Poor thing, but it sounds like she is in good hands!

Man I wish you had a picture of this

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