# mouse bites



## Chilobrachys (Jan 16, 2009)

I was feeding my rainbow boa a live mouse (usually i feed frozen) and he got bit.  He ate the mouse and seems fine, but I'm worried about infection. How do i treat it, is it possible to use triple antibiotic ointment?


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## RoachGirlRen (Jan 16, 2009)

Whenever you have a puncture it is good to flush the heck out of the wound then apply an anti-bacterial of some sort. I am a fan of a betadine flush and some SSD creme or Animax ointment, but even warm water and neosporin is better than nothing (generally you ought to consult a vet about any injury and its treatment, but I believe neosporin is considered acceptable). Also, if you have to feed live next time, try to stun the bugger to prevent this from happening. A solid whack to the head against a counter is usually sufficient. Hope your snake recovers well!


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## Boanerges (Jan 16, 2009)

I agree, clean the wound and use something like neosporen or triple antibiotic etc until it heals. Be careful not to get it in her eyes or mouth. Make sure her cage is stays very clean while she has the wound. If the condition worsens take her to the vet. But you should be just fine.


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## MizM (Jan 17, 2009)

And, learn from this! I never feed live, ever. No matter how big and tough the snake, mice and rats have nasty bites. I've also noticed that when I bring home pre-killed rats, my snake invariably get mites. Stick with frozen, always.

Hope your snakie gets better soon!


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## Craig (Jan 17, 2009)

Animax ointment would be not good to put in a snake's mouth. He will need injectable antibiotics. These injuries frequently turn into abscesses.


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## MizM (Jan 18, 2009)

Chilobrachys said:


> I was feeding my rainbow boa a live mouse (usually i feed frozen) and he got bit.  He ate the mouse and seems fine, but I'm worried about infection. How do i treat it, is it possible to use triple antibiotic ointment?


Where, exactly, was he bitten?


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## RoachGirlRen (Jan 18, 2009)

Craig: The location of the bite was not specified; since the owner was interested in triple antibiotic ointment, I assumed that the location was not in/on the mouth. Good point though; where _is_ the bite?


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## Craig (Jan 19, 2009)

Sorry, for some reason I assumed that the bite was in the mouth. I have no idea why. I kind of read that in a hurry.


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## ballpython2 (Jan 23, 2009)

Chilobrachys said:


> I was feeding my rainbow boa a live mouse (usually i feed frozen) and he got bit.  He ate the mouse and seems fine, but I'm worried about infection. How do i treat it, is it possible to use triple antibiotic ointment?


It actually depends on how bad the  the bite is.  

when you see a mouse bite a snake  some times they are just latchin on cause its the closet thing to rat's/mouse's mouth.

Even when there is blood unless its gooshing out a small bite wound usually heals its self and the snake  automatically goes into shed mode.

however if its a big hole or a good size gash then yes you need medical attention for it even if you  take of it your self.

I always feed live (just because its what I choose) and my snakes have been doing just fine on them.  the only one of my snakes that i feed pre killed is my kingsnake because even though its a very aggressive eater its blind so it takes forever to kill the mice so i just do it for him.

But like the old saying goes to each his own....


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## JohnEDove (Jan 23, 2009)

Many many years ago I always fed live, everyone did, it was believed that snakes would not eat dead animals back then. I frequently cringed as one of my beautiful animals would be bitten by their dieing prey, but I have to admit I never had one seriously injured though a few did get scars.
Then somewhere along the way people studied the issue and learned that there was no need to expose our animals to the risk of scars or death from rodent attack. I’ll grant that it is up to the individual on how they choose to feed their animals just as it was up to the person who is responsible for the injuries to the snake featured in the story at the following link.
http://www.beginnersreptiles.com/LiveFeed.html


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## ballpython2 (Jan 23, 2009)

JohnEDove said:


> Many many years ago I always fed live, everyone did, it was believed that snakes would not eat dead animals back then. I frequently cringed as one of my beautiful animals would be bitten by their dieing prey, but I have to admit I never had one seriously injured though a few did get scars.
> Then somewhere along the way people studied the issue and learned that there was no need to expose our animals to the risk of scars or death from rodent attack. I’ll grant that it is up to the individual on how they choose to feed their animals just as it was up to the person who is responsible for the injuries to the snake featured in the story at the following link.
> http://www.beginnersreptiles.com/LiveFeed.html


Hasnt this picture been around for the longest time? and i think if its not this one than its the other one and people have said that this incident happen because the person wasnt supervising the snake and it wasnt hungry so it got bit.

I have seen many snake videos of live feeding and i witness live feeding all the time I have never seen a snake actually go for live face first (meaning it launches its face into to the prey's face. I always see my snakes and snakes in videos launch their self onto the stomachs, butts, or backsides of their prey to avoid getting bitten anywhere on the head like this.

Also if you notice it says "When I received her, she had 2 huge lumps on her head. They were rat bites that healed over and led to infection."

This wouldnt have happened if the person who had the snakes initially took the snake to the vet immediately as she noticed  the snake  needed medical attention. so these pictures also show that immediate medical help wasnt givin right away and probably/maybe not until a week later or so...

also it says "Her owner thought it was fine to throw live rats in with her."  this sounds like the UNEDUCATED owner throw in more than one rat at a time and they just basically ate the snake alive...well fought with it...but thats just how i precieve it


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## skippy (Jan 23, 2009)

when i had my queensland carpet i would dangle a live rat and she would snatch it out of my hand(head shots only) if hungry and if not she wouldn't move. on the other hand, when i had my black throat, i cracked those mices heads on the windowsill every time because he wouldn't bother to kill them. he just knocked 'em back alive! 

i think it has to do with the particular animal and how it's fed rather than to feed f/t all the time. i wouldn't leave the mouse in the enclosure with the animal but if a live one is offered on tongs or held by the tail so a good strike is assured i see no problem.


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## equuskat (Jan 23, 2009)

When a snake grabs the back or rear of a live prey item and constricts, the rat has the freedom to use its mouth and will bite into the snake as the snake is constricting on it.  This causes scars on MANY snakes.  It's actually preferable for a snake to bite the face of the prey, but they rarely do.  Their vision isn't phenomenal - they just bite without real specific aim.  This is how most bites happen.  

Supervision may not matter.  Mice and rats are QUICK, and if the snake doesn't attack right away and the prey item gets spooked, it may sink it's teeth in before the person supervising can do anything about it.  If the rodent starts to bite AS THE SNAKE CONSTRICTS, there is very little that can be done.  

No, immediate medical help wasn't given - but it shouldn't have had to have been given.  PREVENTION IS THE BEST CURE.  If you're willing to take your pet to the vet, great, but I'm not willing to put my pet in danger.  

Lots of times those little bites that happen as the snake constricts are not too big of a deal, but sometimes they can and do get infected, which as we've seen, is a big fat problem for snakes.



I feed live prey, but I knock it senseless first...heh  Not dead, but rendered harmless.  Sometimes I feed f/t too.


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## equuskat (Jan 23, 2009)

Oh and to answer the question, just washing the wound with antibacterial soap and water is fine, and the ointment would be an extra precaution.  That stuff's pretty harmless as long as it's not being ingested.  Just don't overdo it.


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