Help! BP hurt :(

[ScubaRyan]

I just got my BP on Friday and today I noticed she had some aspen stuck to the bottom of her neck, I haven't handled him since I got him. Thinking that was very strange i picked her up and gently removed the aspen, this only exposed something worse.







I quickly placed her in a tub and removed all the aspen in the cage, thinking a piece must of been sharp or there was a very sharp piece on one of her logs. I replaced the aspen with newspaper and put her back in the tank.

I then noticed a piece of gorilla tape that I used inside the tank to affix the wire from the probes up on the side of the tank. The piece in the upper corner came off a little bit, without thinking i pressed it back down. A couple minutes later I thought maybe she got stuck on it and went to look at that piece of tape, and sure enough it looks like that is what happened while she was exploring sometime last night.



Humidity: 60%
Hot side: 90.5 (one spot of 91.2)
Cool Side: 80-82
Ambient Temp: 81

I waited a week and a half extra before purchasing the snake to make sure she had perfect conditions and seemed to have slipped up with using tape inside the enclosure. I have removed all pieces of tape within the enclosure as well.

She appears to be fine from the whole ordeal after removing the pieces of aspen stuck to her and was exploring the cage after I put her back in it. She is now in the warm side hide. I'm still concerned with the exposed flesh and would like to assist her the best way possible that I can before I can take her to the vet. Is there anything that I can put on the wound to prevent infection/aid in healing?

The above pictures were taken with a nikon d80 and macro lens so the wound appears much larger than it actually is, although I still feel incredibly bad it even occurred. The little piece of string was from the bag she came in that had frayed edges in it, that is no longer on her as well.

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

[Oxylepy]

Neosporin. That and liquid bandage (for eggs) are possibly the two best items to have if you own snakes.

[WingedWolfPsion]

That wound is serious enough (and placed badly enough) that I would recommend having a veterinarian look at it. For more minor wounds, you can disinfect with betadine (a type of iodine). Never use any antibiotic ointments that contain pain killers. Some antibiotics are not safe for reptiles, and the pain killers placed in them are not either.

The snake will probably be ok if the wound is cleaned and disinfected, but it's much better to be on the safe side, since it's in such a delicate area.

[Jimi_Reptile]

get her to a vet ASAP, that could easily get infected and I would not feed untill it is treated and healed to be safe. I have no further info in the subject besides bring it to a knowleageble herp veterianrian before It becomes infected.

(this is NOT one of the 1,001 uses of duct tape )

[The Beast]

I would also suggest bringing her to the vet, and it would probably be a good idea to get her off aspen and on to newspaper until that's more healed.

[RichsBallPythons]

Betadine and Polysporin are best friends for healing that area.

Till its healed FEED SMALLER PREY to keep the neck from over stretching and reopening the wound as it heals. Dont be alarmed as it will scab a bit and when the bp sheds their will be blood at times from the shed reopening the surface, nothing to worry about.

[ScubaRyan]

I would also suggest bringing her to the vet, and it would probably be a good idea to get her off aspen and on to newspaper until that's more healed.

I've already gotten her off aspen and onto newspaper. That's the first thing I did when I noticed the aspen hanging from her neck and upon removing it, I noticed the exposed flesh.

I've called for an appointment at Lake Worth's Bird & Exotic Hospital for Thursday morning (earliest available). Should I place her in some warm water to clean the wound and then put some neosporin on the wound until then? If so, would would be the best method to prevent harm to her? Get a Q-tip and put some neosporin on it and then gently rub it on the area?

[RichsBallPythons]

I've already gotten her off aspen and onto newspaper. That's the first thing I did when I noticed the aspen hanging from her neck and upon removing it, I noticed the exposed flesh.

I've called for an appointment at Lake Worth's Bird & Exotic Hospital for Thursday morning (earliest available). Should I place her in some warm water to clean the wound and then put some neosporin on the wound until then? If so, would would be the best method to prevent harm to her? Get a Q-tip and put some neosporin on it and then gently rub it on the area?

No water you want to keep it dry. Clean with what i posted with above.

[ScubaRyan]

No water you want to keep it dry. Clean with what i posted with above.

Gotcha. Would you recommend getting both and mixing them, or whichever one I can find?

[RichsBallPythons]

Gotcha. Would you recommend getting both and mixing them, or whichever one I can find?

you need both. Betadine is a disinfectant and will clean the area before applying the polysporin. Both can be found at drug stores for about $15-20 total