I think someone asked for better/more detailed pictures of Cindy's scars after her rat attack, so here they are.
The "full" story is pretty simple. Several years ago (I was...12 or 13 I think) I left a rat in with Cindy overnight. Previously, if she wasn't hungry she'd just leave it, and the next morning I'd take the rat out and wait a day or two and try again. I know better now, but at the time we didn't think that we were doing anything 'wrong'.
So, I tossed in a rat we'd just gotten from the petstore. I figure it must not have been fed that day, or something, and so it was hungry when it went in. Then I went to bed. Big huge snake vs. medium sized rat...no contest, right?
WRONG.
When I woke up, the rat had eaten Cindy's tail down to the bone in several places. The entire last 1/4th of her body had been chewed. The biggest and worst part was her tail, which had been eaten down to the spine, which was visible for several inches, with another bad spot a few inches down, that was about the size of a half dollar piece. There were numerous places where muscle was visible. It was AWFUL.
I got my mom, and we took the rat out (it was later killed) and then cleaned her off and applied some antibacterial cream left over from when someone had gotten a cut (it's been a while, I just remember that the first stuff we put on was white and we got it by prescription), and after that I put on neosporin every day.
The first shed was terrible, and she bled a little bit, but things scarred up and healed over within a year. She's completely recovered now, and doing great, as you can see in the pictures. I think she was obnoxiously shiny and pretty for these on purpose.
So. Moral of the Story: NEVER LEAVE LIVE PREY IN WITH THE SNAKE OVERNIGHT.
Where ever you see a scar, that's a wound that was down to the muscle/bone.
Tail stuff:
Spine wound 2:
Bite scars:
Can't see much but this was a fricking cool picture:
And a head shot or two 'cause she was just so darn pretty:
Thanks for looking!
~jenny
-----
"The python has, and I fib no fibs,
318 pairs of ribs.
In stating this I place reliance
On a seance with one who died for science
This figure is sworn to and attested,
He counted them while being digested."
~Ogden Nash
"If you're happy and you know it,
Bomb Iraq!
If you cannot find Osama,
Bomb Iraq!
If the terrorists are frisky,
Pakistan is looking shifty,
North Korea is too risky,
Bomb Iraq!
. She has healed up well. Sorry you had to learn the hard way.
I'm still not sure why she's been so darn shiny lately, been a few weeks since she shed. Perhaps Butters did a good job when he was in there a few days ago? lol!