Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im pretty sure my burm was bitten by the last rat i fed him. I usually prekill the rat but this time i just decided against it. So last week, two weeks after the rat i fed him bit him, i tried to feed him and he wouldnt eat and ran away from the rat as fast as he could. I did notice a black spot halfway down his body. It was about the size of a quarter. I thought maybe he had brushed against the screen that the light was held up on but when i felt in his cage it wasnt THAT hot. So its been a week since he is due to be fed so i started reading about what might be wrong and saw a site that had a picture of a rat bite on a snake and it said that the snake might be afraid of rats now. The picture seemed pretty similar. When i place my hand and press on the black spot the snake definately shys away from it and jumps back.

So what do i do now? My snakes afraid of its food. =(

Here's what worked with my Dumeril's boa(I know, not a burm but she's very picky).
If your snake's that skittish with food wait till at least a week overdue for feeding.
Put the snake in a rubbermaid tub(might not be possible depending on how big your Burm is). Add a dead rat. Put the top on the tub and turn off ALL lights. If this is not possible cover the tub with a blanket. Leave for an hour or two and do not disturb. If your snake's too big to safely use the rubbermaid tub, the same thing can work in the cage, if you don't have a "loose" substrate(woodchips or the like). Don't use an unattended rubbermaid with a snake large enough to be dangerous-it obviously will get out if it wants to.
Hope it heals OK and starts eating.

Shes normally not a picky eater and thats why this time when she didnt eat the rat i was like huh? She always eats just fine, usually prekilled. Shes not too large and is about 7 ft. After reading more in the last hour on rat bites to snakes, her bite doesnt seem severe. I saw some pretty traumatizing pictures on the web of what rats did to snakes and if your reading this and you feed live, open your eyes and look at some pics on the web.
Im not too concerned with the wound itself as since i first spotted the bruise, ive been applying an oitment the vet gave me a while ago for a burn. Im more concerned with the psychological damage to her. Is she going to be permanantly scared of food and not eat? I know its only been a week since her last feeding due date, but im concerned about her being overly hungry and not eating, as i should be.

Many, many years ago, I fed a reticulated python a live rat, and that rat latched on to the snake and really took a plug out of her. It wasn't a life-threatening bite, but she bled all over the place. That was one mean rat. The aftermath of that bite was that the snake never ate another rat, and only ate one other animal with fur for the remainder of the time I had her (about five years). After that, she would only eat birds. You name it -- quail, chickens, anything with feathers. But no fur. She did have a lapse in memory after about four years and ate a pre-killed rabbit, but she only did that once.

The thing to do is continue to offer your snake pre-killed rats. The Rubbermaid idea is good. I've often put stubborn feeders in a sack overnight (in their cage) with a pre-killed food item. That works as well. If your snake doesn't eat for quite a while, you may have to look at other food options. Hopefully, that won't happen. Just keep at it, and be diligent in your efforts. And don't feed your snake another live rat!

RP

I wouldnt ever feed another live rat to my snake. What do you think would be another good source of food if she never eats rats again? Are ducks ok to feed to my snake? Shes a 7 ft burmese and weighs about umm 25 lbs i guess. She looks very healthy besides the bite mark. Upon further examination of the bite looks a little bit like there might be SOME, as in a very little bit, of pus. Any suggestions besides keeping to apply this balm that the vet gave me? He gave this is case of a rat bite for free last time i saw him. Its in a small goldish tin and is kinda yellow green colored. Its thick like neosporin.

The recommendations below are quite obviously very good. I would watch the area very closely, and pay attention to what the snake is doing and how it is acting. Keep treating the area with what you have, and things should take care of themselves. I once bought a large boa constrictor from someone near my home. When I got him home, I checked him out, and noticed a scab on his head, right between his eyes. Curious, I picked at the scab, and with little effort, the scab came right off. Hanging on to the scab was a big (and I mean big) plug of pus. What was left was a gaping hole in the snake's head. Don't know what caused that injury -- I didn't ask the previous owner. I remember treating that wound, and it eventually healed. I can't remember what I used to treat it, but it something around the house (I think I used peroxide from a medicine dropper to wash the wound out). I'm not sure what this has to do with the bite to your snake, except that you may want to watch it and see if the wound reacts similarly. If it does, clean it out and make sure it doesn't get infected.

As far as alternative food sources, anything with feathers should work. I've used small ducks, quail and chickens of various sizes. Be careful with chickens grown commericially for human consumption -- they are often given hormones, steroids, etc. A 7-foot Burm could easily scarf down as many quail as you could supply. I would try appropriately sized chickens or ducks if the need arises (many years ago, I once fed a small retic an owl that flew in front of my vehicle and got stuck in the grill --- the impact obviously killed it, and the snake didn't seem to mind; wouldn't do that now, though, and I don't recommend it at all). But before I offered fowl, I would offer a small pre-killed rabbit. And if the snake refused, I would try every trick in the book to get it to eat a rabbit before I resorted to feathered food.

RP

Well, you have learned a valuable lesson that most of us have gone through at one point or another....deader is always better! One of the things you need to be concerned about is secondary infection setting in as a result of the bite(s). Rodents have long incissors and can make deep wounds with those teeth (and may carry harmful bacteria/etc.). It may not be a bad idea to seek some quality vet assistance in the event this snake needs antibiotics. For now, irrigating the affected area with betadine will work well followed by a heavy application of Silvadene, or, a triple antibiotic ointment (we have our best success with silvadene). It may take time for your snake to eat again but just be patient...and always feed dead from here on out. Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator of the Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm

Is there some sign i should look for in the wound to tell me whether or not she needs vet assistance? It just looks like a black and blue. There may be a slight bit of pus but its hard to tell.
Also is she doesnt eat rats anymore are ducks ok?

Unfortunately, if the bacteria is bloodborne, it is very difficult. Irrigate the area very thoroughly with betadyne and apply thick amounts of Silvadene (prescription only) and you should be fine. In terms of your diet, just give the snake time, h/she'll be back on rats before long (or, this might be a good time to switch to small rabbits as this will be your permanent food

While I agree with Rob that one should always feed prekilled or frozen thawed animals to their snakes, and to a lesser extent I agree that there is some mild chance of infection from a rat bite,. I must say that I have personally never seen any serious infection occur from a rat bite. I admit it CAN happen,. but I have yet to see it. I feed primarily prekilled and thawed, but I do have an ocassional snake that will only take live (if even just for a period of time) and I do ocassionaly have snakes that are bitten. But nothing (serious infection-wise) has ever developed as a result (to date). In addition to this, for most of the 80's and half of the 70's I fed mostly live food and had many snakes bitten then. But like I said,. it CAN happen I'm sure, so just keep an eye on it. And it doesn't hurt to treat it, I suppose. But I seriously doubt that you need to be worrying about a vet visit. I know that all snakes living in the wild spend a large percentage of their lives with deep gashes and punctures from teeth and claws of prey animals that they take down and they never need to go to a vet and somehow they survive, lol. So don't get paranoid,. just keep an eye on it, I'm sure it will be just fine.

>>Is there some sign i should look for in the wound to tell me whether or not she needs vet assistance? It just looks like a black and blue. There may be a slight bit of pus but its hard to tell.
>>Also is she doesnt eat rats anymore are ducks ok?
-----
"If I had 365 enemies it would only take a year out of my life to settle all scores." Mia Miselfani

The vet gave me a little tin of greenish yellow jelly like goo. Is this silvadene? If it was clear i would swear it was neosporin. He also said that it was to be applied daily if bitten by a rat.

I have no idea. I have never had to use any.

>>The vet gave me a little tin of greenish yellow jelly like goo. Is this silvadene? If it was clear i would swear it was neosporin. He also said that it was to be applied daily if bitten by a rat.
-----
"If I had 365 enemies it would only take a year out of my life to settle all scores." Mia Miselfani

I got a major sunburn this summer and was given silvadene for treatment. Rob, just curious, Why silvadene? I assumed it was just for burns but I do remember the doctor saying it would stop infection (major open blisters covering the entire top of my back.) It's good to know this for future reference (although I've yet to have to feed live to my burm) since I still have some left. Take care, Scott.

P.S. I just remembered watching that show "Ripleys believe it or not" and a woman got a very rare condition from using silvadene where her entire skin complection (sp?) turned silver. Hey, maybe this is the way to the next burm morph, LOL.
-----
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr

Silvadene is indeed a white colored cream. We have had equal success treating burns as we have with treating lacerations with this product...it really works great. We always cleanse wounds first with betadyne as a precursor to the cream. But, a triple antibiotic ointment will work just fine.

at 7 foot she should be eating several rats, not just one...so try a small rabbit i believe the rule is 1.5 time the width of mid body is how big the prey can be. just make sure to kill it first. or you can try a guinea pig but be sure to kill it, those are mean as hell, it will really mess up your snake.