Snake squeezed on to open mouth of rat jamming bottom tooth

[dzcalifornia]

Firstly, I am aware of the dangers of live feeding. I feed my other ball python f/t because I have successfully converted him. Although after this incident, I will put aside more time to try to persuade this particular ball python to convert despite previous failures.

The issue at hand: I fed my 8 month bp a larger than usual rat pup as he was due for a size upgrade. He went for the neck and ended up curling around a sort of open mouth. The bottom of the rat's jaw ended up being squeezed and the bottom tooth settled into his underside. By the time I realized this it was pretty hard to pry him off and he was already was loosening. I allowed him to finish his meal and then used a saline contact solution to rinse the area then put a triple antibiotic ointment (bacitracin, neomycin, polymyxin & no pain relief). I changed his substrate to dry paper towels (a little concerned about the humidity because if I leave the moss in he always plays around in it) and dry paper towels only.

I have attached two images (both instantly after I cleaned him) and will carefully monitor him but I would like to hear any opinions or advice if I could get some on whether I should just make a vet visit preemptively. I cannot discern the depth of the bite (if there is a way to do this without hurting him, would love advice). Thank you so much in advance for any advice. Losing sleep on this as he is one of the most playful, active and friendly bps I've ever had.

[KMG]

Looks pretty minor. I wouldn't be worried about it. Snakes are much more tough than many owners seem to believe.

[dzcalifornia]

Thank you so much! I appreciate it!

[Albert Clark]

Yep, looks minor. Snakes have their own immune system that very well handles things like this. Stay on top of your husbandry to ensure you give him the best chance to heal. I wouldn't worry to much about this and since he just ate i would wait a couple more days so as not to disturb him while he's digesting.

[the_rotten1]

The same thing happened to my pied once and he healed up just fine. Yours doesn't look too bad. I don't think you need to go unless it starts to look infected. If it swells, oozes pus, or turns colors then it might need attention, but since you've already disinfected it the snake should be fine. I cleaned the wound on my pied the same way and he healed up in a few days. After a couple of weeks you couldn't even tell where the wound was.