Rat bit my Boa !!! What now

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/pict...&pictureid=178

this happened tonight while i was feding, i was just waondering if i can do anything myself, or do i just let it heal. Im thinking some neosporin perhaps ?? Shes shedding so i think her vision was off and she took it by the butt instead of the head. Im kinda worried now

You can go to a petstore. They usually have a wound cream for reptiles. I wouldn't use neosporin.

Offbrand neosporin is the best. Make sure it is just the antibiotics and not the painkiller. The painkiller ingredient is what you want to avoid. Also, if you have it or can get it, betadine solution bath is a good idea.

thanks for the rapid replies all. i was worried id need a vet

thats the problem you will occur often when feeling live prey. i would suggest trying a frozen thawed rat and thawing it out untill its body temp is around 85 to 90 degrees. some will take time to change over and some will not hesitate to take it. if it hesitates then just wiggle it around in front of your boa for a minute or 2 and if that doesnt work try dipping the head of the thawed prey into a small can of 79 cent chicken broth. usually that extra flavor will help. not all of the time it will but a good chance it might just dont do it every time or the snake will stop eating if it isnt dipped into it.

Bites do not occur often when feeding live :rolleyes:

Neosporin, without the pain reliever, is a good first try. At the first sign of infection, however, please take the snake to the vet. To my (albeit bad) eyes, it looks like a pretty bad bite. What size rat was it?

Hey I am sorry but you need to get that animal to a vet immediately....the white part on the top of the head is the boas skull and that pink part underneath is most likely the brain...thats a severe bite that needs to be taken care of ASAP

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Originally Posted by aaramire

Hey I am sorry but you need to get that animal to a vet immediately....the white part on the top of the head is the boas skull and that pink part underneath is most likely the brain...thats a severe bite that needs to be taken care of ASAP

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I totally agree. That's a very serious bite that needs medical attention immediately.

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Originally Posted by jim020cricket

i totally agree. That's a very serious bite that needs medical attention immediately.

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x3


When I first saw this, I wont lie, I yelled a cuss word. LOL


To those who suggested Neosporin..........If you had a whole about an eighth of your head would you put neosporin on it?

I'm going to take a nice leap of faith here in that that is in no way the brain of the snake, and neither is the white the skull. Instead, I believe the white is fatty ligament tissue, and the pink is the muscle/etc tissue encasing the skull.


I would take him to a vet anyways, it is still a fairly large wound and may need antibiotic treatment as well.

Oh, btw, brains are gray! That's why they call it your "gray matter".... :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I'm going to take a nice leap of faith here in that that is in no way the brain of the snake, and neither is the white the skull. Instead, I believe the white is fatty ligament tissue, and the pink is the muscle/etc tissue encasing the skull.


I would take him to a vet anyways, it is still a fairly large wound and may need antibiotic treatment as well.

Oh, btw, brains are gray! That's why they call it your "gray matter".... :rolleyes:

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Very true, and I too don't think it's the brains. I was agreeing with severity of the wound and the need for the vet asap.

The pic didnt work for me, hence why I suggested neosporin.

Yes that is not brain matter by any means. If that rat would have hit brain, your snake would be either dead or having some major issues right now.


Neosporin with out pain killer in it will work right now till you are able to get your snake to a vet.

Also I'd like to say that feeding live doesn't mane bite occur often. In the 3 years I've been feeding live, 1 of my snakes got bit (or more like the rats top tooth snagged my snakes side while it was trying to get away/gasp for air). Been feeding live for over 3 years now every 7 days with a number of snakes here and there. Feeding live in perfectly safe when done right and monitored.

I know this is a huge debate between people and whatever, but for the points being made here in this thread I'm going to put my two cents in.

Feeding live rats (anything above a crawler rat) is like playing russian roulette. Sure you can get lucky a hundred times, but it only takes one time to blow your brains out. I don't care how careful someone is, rats are fighters and will fight to the death if need be.

I don't condone live feeding with rats at all. Once a boa is moving up to the small rat stage, it's one in a thousand that will not eat a f/t...if that high of a percentage. So why take the added risk at all? I don't understand it at all. It's a risk, whatever way you want to put it....it's still a risk. Why do it?

I know this is going to set some people off, but frankly I don't care. This is my opinion and I feed hundreds of Boas weekly and I've never had a rat bite any of my snakes. I think I have some knowledge of what I'm talking about.

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Originally Posted by jim020cricket

Once a boa is moving up to the small rat stage, it's one in a thousand that will not eat a f/t...if that high of a percentage. So why take the added risk at all? I don't understand it at all. It's a risk, whatever way you want to put it....it's still a risk. Why do it?

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I understand we're talking red tailed boas here, and this is something else I agree with. Once a rat has some weight and size to them, they can do damage. I feed all of my bigger snakes Prekilled or Frozen/thawed and exactly for the reasons Jimi stated.

Bigger meals means bigger rats. Bigger rats are stronger, and are more of a risk in that one bite can do quite a bit of damage.

But, this being a ball python forum, most people will stand by feeding live to BP's, considering your feeding just weaned rats, and they are not only smaller, but don't have the same jaw power. It may hurt and smart, but it often does not break the skin.

Or you could just feed small rabbits the size of xxxl rats and not have to worry about all the fat content. Big Cheese Rodents and RodentPro carry rabbits of all sizes. My 8ft, 25lb boa is on one 2.5lb rabbit every 3-4 weeks. Keeps her happy and she's nice and lean(square-shaped as she should be).

I would clean the wound with some chlorhexidine, really flush it out, and pack it with a good dob of neosporin(off-brand is perfectly acceptable). You can also flush it with betadine. I don't mean dab it on, I mean FLUSH it. You want some force behind it. Get a large syringe 30cc or bigger, and a needle, 20-22g works well, suck up some betadine or chlorhexidine, and go to town. This is what the vet would do anyway.

Afterwards, after it is dry, you can get a NEW tube of super glue, put some dabs around the edges(after you have packed it with neosporin) and glue the edges shut.

I've done this with rats who have had their jugular arteries and femoral arteries SHOWING from bad fights. Close it up after cleaning, and you're gone. If it gets infected, open it back up and flush it 2-3 times a day with chlorhexidine.

Try feeding the f/t rabbits. They have ALOT more meat on their bones compared to the rats. More prey for your money and not as fatty.

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Originally Posted by jim020cricket

...I don't condone live feeding with rats at all. Once a boa is moving up to the small rat stage, it's one in a thousand that will not eat a f/t...if that high of a percentage. So why take the added risk at all? I don't understand it at all. It's a risk, whatever way you want to put it....it's still a risk. Why do it?

I know this is going to set some people off, but frankly I don't care...

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Jimi~ I agree with you 100% and is why I asked how big the rat was. However, you DO care about people and what people think and THAT is why you are putting out your experience so passionately. And while Connie has a point about this being primarily a ball python site, there is this section for boas and people ought to learn that boas and balls are very different and need different feeding strategies. Might for Right Jimi!!!! I just love it when you get all hot and bothered.... :P

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

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I would clean the wound with some chlorhexidine, really flush it out, and pack it with a good dob of neosporin(off-brand is perfectly acceptable). You can also flush it with betadine. I don't mean dab it on, I mean FLUSH it. You want some force behind it. Get a large syringe 30cc or bigger, and a needle, 20-22g works well, suck up some betadine or chlorhexidine, and go to town. This is what the vet would do anyway.

Afterwards, after it is dry, you can get a NEW tube of super glue, put some dabs around the edges(after you have packed it with neosporin) and glue the edges shut...

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I was wondering about the super glue Becky. I know that I have done this for some of my kids' boo boo's for years. Cool to know that it can also be done with other animal species.

A rat bit my boa! Sge struck him in the mouth and i think the jaw is broke on one side! Im so scared! Worried sick! What do i do? There was so much blood and it wasnt the rats!!!

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A rat bit my boa during her feeding! I think her jaw is broke! She isnt eating the rat after killing it. She is trying to aline her jaw back into place but she seems to be in alot of pain!! Im worried sick!! What do i do now???

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Without a picture I would say take it to the vet.

9 year old thread
Please take it to a reptile vet if you think its that badly injured
Without pictures we can't tell how bad it is

9 year old thread