Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone..
This is not my first snake, but it is my first ball python. It's also my first snake that's eaten live mice. I'm way against live feeding for precisely this reason, but all the same, the breeder I purchased this baby from fed him live mice, & I've been trying like heck to switch him but it's nearly impossible. Anyway today I gave him a live mouse. I didn't leave him unattended, & I made sure I was ready to jump in if anything happened. What *did* happen was that my baby caught his dinner by the back of the neck, & when he uncoiled to eat it, I saw that it had it's little teeth clamped on his body. It wasn't a big mouse & it didn't leave much of a mark or bleed, but I'm so worried about infection or something.. is there anything I should do to make sure he's ok? Should he see a vet?

Where on the body was the bite? That might make a difference in a diagnosis of your problem. I'd say the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on it. If it looks bad you can go to a vet. I've put neosporin on bites before and they healed up and my snakes usually shed shortly after that. That's how I've handled small body bites in the past.

Idiotshot

Idiotshot --
The bite was pretty high up on the body near the neck. He went right into hiding like he usually does after eating, so I haven't gotten a great look at it. I hate to bother him now in case he vomits up his dinner. It didn't look bloody or deep, so I may try the neosporin thing once he comes back out of hiding. Or.. is it a bad idea to wait?

Yeah, snakes heal really well. I would just put the neo on it and everything should be fine after a couple sheds!

Jason

J35J is right. Snakes can heal pretty fast from little bites. I would just give it a day or so and check on it then. If it's like mine, it'll be gone for the most part by then.

Idiotshot

Thanks for the replies you guys! I'm such a nervous mom. :X I'll wait it out & see how it goes.