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Wounds inflicted on snakes

S

scottrussell

New member
I know a breeder that has an 05 ball python that has cuts/wounds on it's lip and two holes/bites on its side and tail. he mentioned that "he should probably do it a favor and put it out of it's misery". i don't think he would have a problem just giving it to me if he's going to do that, but i was wondering if theres any way these wounds can be healed by itself. are there any websites or info online dealing with what kinds of things you can use to wash and disinfect the wounds? is there any chance this snake could survive?
 
It depends on how bad the bites are. If you won't take it to a vet, you can try washing the area with betadine scrub or chlorhexidrine dilute. Chlorhexidrine is not toxic so probably safer for use on the mouth area. Wounds can be treated with neosporin ointment. The snake should be placed on paper towels to keep dirt and substrate out of the wounds until they heal. If the wounds are deep, you really should take the animal to the vet for assessment and possible anti-biotics.
 
well vet isn't out of the question; but i was going to make it a nice cozy sterile home and not disturb it and try not to stress it out so it can heal. the bites are deep enough that it's obvious, the skin is kind of pink/purple but i wouldn't say it's awfully deep. i'm actually more worried about this snake not wanting to eat on top of the wounds, because that can heal but it's doomed if it wont eat (it could very well be eating though)
 
I suspect it's not eating because it's not feeling well. Balls are notorious for being finicky eaters so it's not unusual for them to not want to eat. I would give it time to heal without bothering it more than necessary and then once it's body has healed, try offering a small f/t mouse of appropriate size in the viv after lights are out. Then leave it alone again. Make sure the temps and humidity are where they should be. The snake will probably shed before it wants to eat although it's possible that it will eat before. Usually once they heal from an injury they shed to remove the damaged skin.
 
that's good. the snake was really not skinny at all, so i'll have a month or two before i start worrying about her starving to death. i'm going to call the breeder right now and see if it's feeding and if he's going to get rid of it.
 
the guy just emailed me and told me the wounds happened on wednesday and she had been feeding fine prior to that; AND that i have have her. i also found some more info about snake injuries here:
http://repticzone.com/forums/BallPython/messages/685509.html

it's about scale rot, not bites but i think the method of care is similar.
does anyone know of any articles that were written about this or anything more official? thanks
 
well i got her today, i set her up in a 10gallon tank today with most of the top screen covered in plastic to keep humidity up. i layered the bottom of the tank with paper towels and made sure they were kinda moist and scrunched up a bunch of moist paper towels and put a hide in there just so theres a lot of security so she wont be stressed. i had her out when i was setting the tank up and she'll go from being calm to almost freaking out and moving around and even struck once. she's probably like 1.5 feet long...as big as my corn but ball pythons are soooo much more muscular it's really amazing how strong they are! i wiped a little bacitracin on her side wounds but i didn't dare to put any on her mouth yet, she definately wouldn't allow me too. i also notice a little bit of damage past her vent, i'm not sure if its going to affect anything..i hope not.
 
That is very good of you to take her in! Please keep us posted and maybe take some pictures once she is feeling better. Good luck and I hope she heals well!!!
 
It would be a great idea if you took a before and after shot so that you can gauge how far she has come.
 
I had an adult male super tiger retic bite himself at feeding time. The wounds were below the vent and about an inch deep. I used betadine intially followed by twice daily applications of neosporin.
He is fine now and with each shed the scar is less noticeable. hope this helps.
Good luck! :cheers:
 
one thing about this snake is that it STINKS! i'm keeping her on paper towels with a UTH and making sure theres plenty of moisture, i have other paper towels crunched up in the cage which i drop some water on and the UTH helps create some good humidity. i also have like 3/4 of the lid covered with plastic to keep moisture in. she sort of poops/pees every day. no solid waste but enough to put a black spot on the paper towels. i've been spot changing it daily but it still REEEKS and i know all the humidity isn't helping the stench at all. i think every 4-5 days im gonna take out all the paper towels and wipe the bottom and sides with a little bleach water; but is there anything else to keep the smell down?
OH and in another update i got a little bit of bacitracin onto her face today which is where the bites are worse. so hopefully if i keep applying it daily and making sure the cage is nice and clean she'll shed soon. she doesn't look like she's going to shed at all but she should on account of the wounds. if she sheds i'm going to offer a small freshly killed mouse in about a week. i know they can hold out months without food but it couldn't hurt to try once...just to find out if there even IS an issue with feeding...
 
MegF. said:
Make sure the smell isn't from infected wounds. Necrotic tissue smells terrible.
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Obviously my experience is from working with human wounds rather than reptiles, but any wound that starts to stink is going to get me worried, but it may just be the dead tissue breaking down before the wound bed can start healing. That stage of a deep wound does smell, as the white blood cells attack the dead stuff and pus is formed, but is only really an issue if the infection spreads into surrounding tissue or the blood stream. (as I said, I only know HUMAN wounds, so I may be way off) I wish you luck and hope your snake heals well
 
Good on you for giving the poor snake a 2nd chance at life. I'd be worried about the smell too...can't be a good sign really...
 
I'd have to second the nercifying tissue smell; sounds like a probable a possible vet run for the meds, then with a minimal amount of disruption I would focus on not stressing the snake; just let it sit and calmly heal.

For what it's worth I know of many balls that have gone for as long as 6 months without eating [straight time- no brumation involved, some as young as 4 or 5 months] so your new patient might just have a good chance with this.

I, for one, will be wishing you well.
 
schilsound said:
I'd have to second the nercifying tissue smell; sounds like a probable a possible vet run for the meds, then with a minimal amount of disruption I would focus on not stressing the snake; just let it sit and calmly heal.
Click to expand...

i've not really dealt with a vet before, but is it possible for them diagnose and prescribe some medicine if that's the problem? or is it more like you have to set up an appointment and pay like 100 dollars for them to look at your snake and then just as much for medicine?

on another note, i cleaned the tank today so i'll see if the smell comes back as bad as it was. when i had her out today i smelled her and she wasn't eminating with stink, just smelled like a snake. oh and i guess her wounds are totally scabbed up because the biggest one is kind of peeling off...probably from just cruising around. is it better for it to fall off or should i secure it with a band aid or something? haha sounds funny but is really similar to the other guy on this board with the BP with the ruptured eyes.
 
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