my bp was bit

today i fed my snake and he was bitten by the mouse what should i do if anything? he still ate the mouse but im still worried. his teeth didnt punture duncan or anything, but im still worried . thanks

if they didnt puncture anything... dont worry. "if it aint broke, dont fix it."

That is why you should never feed your snakes live food. You have to read the caresheets more carefully. Good luck!

i just hope he doesnt stop eating is all . thanks though

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Originally Posted by novato

That is why you should never feed your snakes live food. You have to read the caresheets more carefully. Good luck!

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Actually, there is nothing wrong with feeding live if done responsibly. We support each keeper's choice in method of feeding.

I feed live to all seventeen of my ball pythons and with over 2000 live prey items fed, I've never had an injury.

The poster also did not have an injury - the snake's scales did their job of protecting his snake.

thanks alot bp.net bff's (joking) but also im having trouble keeping the humidity up . i have a sphagnum moss hide along with his normal hide, i also have his water bowl under the lamp and another water bowl on the cooler side and :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: any suggestions , thanks for all the help folks.

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Originally Posted by novato

That is why you should never feed your snakes live food. You have to read the caresheets more carefully. Good luck!

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<sarcasm>
Yeah! What kind of moron would feed their snake live food? In the wild BP's are scavengers and only eat dead/rotting animals, those pits on their head, those are stink pits, lets them home in on pre-killed animals.
</sarcasm>

:eek: :eek: :confused: :eek: :eek:

and after being an ass, following myself up with a real post.

BP's can usually be gotten to feed live, pre killed, or frozen/thawed. This is a great help as many people have different schedules and different options work better for them, but we need to remember that in the wild BP's feed live.

Is live the best way? I won't argue that point, but if you feed them properly sized prey and are responsible in how you feed them, you shouldn't have any serious injuries to your snake, as this is how they were (created? evolved?) and they know how to take care of business.

I agree, as long as it wasnt punctured, id say its fine. Also agree there's nothing wrong with feeding live if dont right. Im not saying that because your snake got bit that you're doing it wrong either. As long as you were watching, and ready to pull the mouse out if it had bitten through, or started to bite again then you were doing your part. Glad the snake is ok. One more thing, what type of enclosure is the snake in?

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Originally Posted by piranhaking

I agree, as long as it wasnt punctured, id say its fine. Also agree there's nothing wrong with feeding live if dont right. Im not saying that because your snake got bit that you're doing it wrong either. As long as you were watching, and ready to pull the mouse out if it had bitten through, or started to bite again then you were doing your part. Glad the snake is ok. One more thing, what type of enclosure is the snake in?

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I find a pen/wooden pencil without a sharp tip/big sliver of wood is a good thing to have handy. You can stick it in the rodents mouthif it has a chance of biting the snake.

in a 30" inch tank glass

thats your humidity problem most likely. I assume the lid is probably a screen top right? If thats the case part of the top needs to be covered, either by stretching plastic wrap over the screen and taping it (on the out side, tape+snake=bad) or a piece of plexiglass cut to fit in the rim in the top of the tank. It shouldnt interfere with the screen top's fit at all. The one problem i can potentially see is that the plexiglass tends to swag, so you may need to run a brace of some type across the tank under the one unsupported edge of the plexiglass. I just use plastic wrap with out tarantula and scorpion. Also, if you are going to go the route of the plexiglass, i would do it with plasticwrap first to see how much of the top needs to be covered. That ill also increase ambiant air temp in the tank, so be sure you adjust for that. Another fix is placing the water bowl over the heat pad. Just be sure you have a big enough bowl, because it will evaporate much quicker that way.

lucky the mouse didn't bite through, but if it does, and there's a cut, i think you're suppose to put neosporin on the wound? am i right?

OK! You are all right. If you feed live you have to keep an eye on the rat or mouse just in case your snake does not eat it.But most of the snake keepers say its better not to feed live, so you can prevent accidents. Right? :mad:

Better be safe than sorry!!!!!!!:D

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Originally Posted by novato

But most of the snake keepers say its better not to feed live, so you can prevent accidents. Right? :mad:

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Maybe you should read the polls around here (being that its a hot topic) and check with some of the big breeders out there and see what they feed... see how many "accidents" they have every week.

thanks for all the help everyone

i moved this into the ball python forum ;)

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Originally Posted by novato

OK! You are all right. If you feed live you have to keep an eye on the rat or mouse just in case your snake does not eat it.But most of the snake keepers say its better not to feed live, so you can prevent accidents. Right? :mad:

Better be safe than sorry!!!!!!!:D

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actually most of the breeders and members on this site believe in responsible feeding, whether live or p/k or f/t. for example adam who feeds thousands of live prey items every year has never had any problems at all. if done right... it's completely safe. :carrot:

link to thread on feeding live

Well since it didn't pucture him, I'd say you were lucky. I feed f/t as I don't think it's a natural situation to place two live animals in a small contianer where neither can get away, then again, knowing my luck, if I ever did feed my BP live, it would kill him.

If he wasn't fast enough this time, I'd keep an extra close eye on him. If his next few feeds he gets it right away, then it might have been a fluke. If he's having problems, it may be a good idea to switched to stunned, pre-killed or f/t. As you wouldn't want a more serious bite to happen.

That said, currently my corn is on live food, but is in the process of being switched over.

there is also a way to feed live prey. i hope i don't leave anything out, if i do.. hopefully adam will fill in the gaps :eek:

first, scent the room. bring your live prey into the room and set it (in a container of course) beside your enclosure for 20 minutes. this allows the snake to smell that dinner is on the way. after 20 minutes you open the enclosure and usually your snake is out and ready to eat... even if it's not... you place the prey item at the opposite end of the enclosure as your snake. this way, you have a calm mouse or rat in the enclosure. it'll start to sniff around and check out it's new location (as they don't even notice the snake so they aren't afraid) and the snake can begin the process of "stalking" it's prey.

if you are feeding more than one prey item... once your snake has completed it's meal and popped it's jaw back into place (a big yawn) then you add the second prey item at the opposite end of the enclosure and allow your snake to do it's thing.

never leave your snake unattended while feeding live prey. this way IF something does go wrong, you are there to witness it. often there isn't much you can do as the snake will kill and eat a prey item even if it has been bitten - but by watching you will know if there is a problem and you can get medical attention to the bite wound if needed.

i've seen the odd mouse try to bite my snakes when feeding, but they've never even left a mark on the snake... mind you, i've only been doing this for a year now so that's only 52 feedings. (per snake)

thanks alot, it leave any marks or anything. and he seems fine, hes being himself normal i mean.

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Originally Posted by juddb

thanks alot, it leave any marks or anything. and he seems fine, hes being himself normal i mean.

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That's good. :D Keep a really close eye on him for his next feeds. I love how some balls don't get fazed by anything. One of my Pip's first feedings, he hit the tongs quite hard instead of the mouse as I was placing it in his container. My first thought was that he was going to go off his feed, but it tried again and got it that time. Though now he no longer likes to go for the mouse until I have laid it down and pulled the tongs away.

Keep us posted!