Please help i dont no what to do!?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Betadine is diluted 1 part betadine to 10 parts water, or whatever the instructions on the label say.

The important thing to remember with these chemicals is that you only want to apply them 1 or 2 times as they actually inhibit the wound from healing. Disinfect the wound once then keep the cage hospital clean so you don't have to continually disinfect the wound.

[martin82531]

I call BS on it only being in there for an hour.

Pics would help but id advise you to just go to a vet and SOON


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If the rat is malnourished, dehydrated and scared for multiple other reasons it can easily take less than an hour to do such damage. Although it's a sad situation the snake in question was not properly supervised during a live feed I don't see any contribution to the post by saying you call "BS".


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[Archimedes]

OP said the rat had been in there for a day already. Apparently the damage happened in the "one hour" that it went unsupervised.

[Herpenthusiast3]

That's why if I ever have to feed live to help get my BP start feeding again I stand there and mean mug the rat until my snake snatches it up. I don't want the rat coming to the snake I want the snake going to the rat. Since 99% of the time I'm feeding F/T small rats when I have to offer a live in never takes him more then 2 or 3 minutes for him to tag it. I agree with the suggestions pertaining to bringing the snake to the vet if you don't have experience with this sort of thing. That would give the snake the best fighting chance. If the snake is as mangled as you say and you don't have hands on experience with this sort of thing your probably going to lose your BP if you can't find a good herp vet or an experienced keeper nearby to lend you assistance. :/

[satomi325]

I would like to request some photos of your snake and wound site first.
It's difficult to judge the severity of the injury without a visual.

I still prefer live over f/t. You just have to be responsible and vigilant about it.

Some responsible live feeding tips:

1) Feed the appropriate size food. I like smaller and more frequent meals than larger and less often. Weanlings and small rats are safe and harmless(to some extent). They're also not as conscious to danger as an adult would be. Adult rats can pack a nasty bite and are much stronger at fighting back, which is why "smaller and more frequent" is the way to go. I feed all of my adults weaned/small rats once a week. And multiple smalls for the big girls. A live medium size would be the max appropriate size for a ball python.

2) Keep the feeder well fed and hydrated. They're less likely to see your snake as food. Hungry rats are dangerous rats. They will eat your snake if left unattended for extended periods of time. This is the reason for most snake killing incidences.

3) Don't dangle the live feeder. This puts them in panic mode. A freaked out feeder is a dangerous feeder. Gently place the feeder into your enclosure. Calm feeders are good.

4) Monitor your feedings and keep a tool, such as tongs, on hand to assist your snake in case the feeder tries to bite down. I use a chop stick to stick in the feeder's mouth if its in a bad position.

5) Don't keep the feeder in with your snake longer than 30 mins max or so. Some people have a shorter time frame. If he doesn't eat within that time frame, take out the feeder and save it for next week.

[Annarose15]

I'm sorry, but take the BP to a vet. PERIOD. Would you say "Darn, can't afford it" if your arm was mangled by a (really big!) rat, or if your dog was hit by a car? Use a credit card, set up a payment plan, whatever. Take care of the animal that you committed to when you bought it.

[Montypython696]

Any updates? It's been almost 12 hours and we're all very curious on what's going on.

[Andys-Python]

Why would you not use neosporin or peroxide - Newbee question
Thanks - Andy

[adamfritzsche]

Why would you not use neosporin or peroxide - Newbee question
Thanks - Andy

Not sure about peroxide, but as far as neosporin goes, I think the main reasons are that for one it is not sterile, and two its kind of goopy, does not absorb or evaporate, stays until wiped off.... collecting junk and harboring bacteria and stuff. I think I also remember reading that it is not good for the scales/dries them out or something to that effect.

[DooLittle]

Why would you not use neosporin or peroxide - Newbee question
Thanks - Andy

Neosporin does something to their scales, that softens them, and turns them to mush.