Little guy got a small cut. Should I take him to the vet?

[TigerTeeth420]

Hi everyone, thanks in advance for your help!
Recently I gave Remi a new toy. It was actually a dog toy that I hung up in his tank with some fishing line. He absolutely loves this toy and for the first few weeks he had no issues with it at all. Last night he managed to get tangled up in the fishing line and got squeezed by his own weight. Luckily I found him and got him free.

He seems totally fine, he has a little damage to his scales and one very small spot where I see what I think is muscle (First picture is a closeup). THe injury is very small, about the size of a single scale.

I've taken the toy down and after he heals up I'm going to try to find a new way to hang it safely.

The injury seems very small to me but I just wanted to check with people who know a little better. Does this look like something I need to take him to a vet for? Or clean in any way? I've been keeping his tank as clean as possible but is there anything else I should do?

Also if anyone has ideas for how to more safely hang this toy, that'd be awesome too.

Thanks!

[TigerTeeth420]

Also here he is playing on his toy!

[Bogertophis]

Get the fishing line out of there. You're lucky it's not much worse.

While he's healing, the safest thing in terms of preventing infection is to change the substrate for a while to clean white paper towels (& so you can watch for bleeding or other discharge).

What I'd do: Clean (gently wipe over the wounds) several times a day with a soft pad saturated with a weak* solution of povidone-iodine (aka "Betadine") to kill germs. *Weak means it looks (in color) like weak tea. Also, it's a good idea to buy Vetericyn ointment for reptiles (see Petco or other online sources) & apply topically while it's healing up. (If you don't know, Vetericyn is a water based ointment that's much better for snake's skin than using any sort of Vaseline-petroleum jelly based products that are made for human skin.)

Only if this seems to get worse (bleeds, oozes, swells, etc) would I take him to a vet, but if you'd feel better doing so right away, that's up to you. It's truly impossible for us (online) to see the minute details that the trained eyes of your vet might catch, & there's always the chance that this is worse than I think. (Also, I'm assuming this was new & "clean" fishing line- not used or something that laid around in your garage collecting germs for a while?)

If you choose to see a vet, make sure they're qualified & experienced with reptiles. This may help: https://members.arav.org/search/custom.asp?id=3661

[TigerTeeth420]

Thank you for such detailed help! I'm going to run out and get that supplies.
Yes the fishing line was clean. I thought it would be a good way to hang something in the tank but clearly was not my best plan. I think I'll try to figure out some safer enrichment ideas in the future.
I really appreciate your help!

[Armiyana]

Bogertophis is absolutely right about getting that fishing line out. That could actually be the reason he has this 'scratch' if he caught himself up in it at night when you were sleeping. At first my thought was it looked like he scrapped himself on something sharp, but it could have been the string.

I would double check for anything that he can wedge into with a sharp edge. I'd also be careful about his toy. If he grows too much too soon he could get stuck in the loops. Or maybe after a big meal =0
Cutting animals out of toys safely is always a harrowing experience. It's something that happens far too often all things considered...

I agree with all of the medical stuff above too. If anything looks swollen or irritated more than it is now, a vet check is best

[TigerTeeth420]

Yeah it absolutely was what he scratched himself on. I didn't take a picture because I was focused on helping him.

I found him with his tail around the toy and his head on the ground wrapped around his fake hollowed out log. He'd managed to knock the fake log over kinda on top of himself and the fishing line was wrapped too tightly about halfway up his body.

Fishing line is definitely not as safe as I thought it was!

[Bogertophis]

Thank you for such detailed help! I'm going to run out and get that supplies.
Yes the fishing line was clean. I thought it would be a good way to hang something in the tank but clearly was not my best plan. I think I'll try to figure out some safer enrichment ideas in the future.
I really appreciate your help!

Anything like fishing line (such as dental floss, & sewing thread) can cut thru tissues like a razor if the animal is unlucky. I sometimes watch online vet shows, & I've seen them do surgery to remove dental floss that someone's cat decided was edible. The vet made a point of saying how that could have cut right thru his internal organs- lucky cat to get a quick diagnosis & surgery- they couldn't just pull it out, so great was the risk that it was caught on tissues. Whether internal or external, fishing line & similar things can cut right thru the body of an animal if it gets hung up just "right". You were lucky...your snake was lucky too.

If you want to hang something, use thick yarn or soft thick rope. And make sure no loops are small enough for a snake to get stuck in- (remember they "gain girth" after eating) same goes for any sort of cage furniture they sell for snakes to hide in & crawl thru. Do not use things sold for tropical fish either; those "castles" & such usually have razor sharp edges left inside that don't seem to impact fish, but a snake that's squishing inside to hide will get sliced & dice. And a fair # of snakes get stuck in those fake "skulls" used for decoration. You can't trust pet stores to do your thinking for you- it's up to us as "snarents" (snake parents). When in doubt, don't buy it.

And while I'm thinking of it, also NEVER use any kind of tape in a snake's enclosure...never. Ask me (later) how I know-