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i got the black rat snake this after noon, a friend had the snake, she got it from a friend. neither of them really knew how to care for a snake.
to make a long story short the first owners cat got to the snake, he has a wound looks to be a scratch on his side, this is a baby rat snake, does any one know of the best way to treat the snake til i can get him to a vet on monday morning?
so far i have came up with some iodine diluted with hydrogen peroxide , and some neosporin after cleaning.
also i have some wound healing aide on hand........which would be better?
right now the snake is in a 5 gallon tank, with a uth, and a basking light.... and news paper for his substrate.

Cleaning the wound with hydrogen peroxide and then applying Neosporin should do the trick if the wound is not bleeding or deep. Make sure that there is no loose material on the bottom of the cage that could contaminate the wound. Using ugly newspaper will work fine in the bottom of the cage for now. If there is no sign of infection, the snake should heal on its own. Make sure the snake was clean water to drink, but not to soak in. Snakes like to void in water, and getting that into the wound would not be good.

If you see any swelling or discharge from the wound, you need to get it to a vet right away. Make sure that you take it to a vet that works with snakes, most vets don't. It is not part of a vet's normal training.

Good luck,

Rick

i dont see any swelling, nor is he bleeding.
but the snake seems weak and he is refusing to eat.
i am trying to get ahold of the original owner to see if i can get more info on what happened and when was the last time the snake ate.

ok i spoke to her and heres what happened, the snake was in a plastic "shoe box", her son evidently did close the top securely, the snake got out, their cat was the one who found the snake, she put the snake back into the box and never actually checked him for wounds they only saw the one.
after checking him over i found about 5 puncture wounds, one by his neck, 2 mid ways of his body, and 2 towards his tail.......i am getting ready to take the snake and have him put down i dont see that he will get any better being he went 2 days with out any kind of treatment, and today he is looking pretty bad, he seems very weak. thanx for your advice though.
and i will be back being i do intend on getting a black rat snake, from a good breeder.

A basking light and a UTH is to much for a 5 gallon tank.What are the temps in there?If your using anything bigger than a 15 watt bulb your gonna cook the little guy.One small UTH will be more than enough for your rat...Paul

i had the basking light, there so if i need to look in the tank at the snake to see how he was looking i would have good lighting. the temp in the warmer side of the tank was 82 degrees, 70 in the cooler side.

One thing. Don't dilute peroxide, it will make it essentially useless. The only way it can be diluted is if you have absoutely pure H2O. You don't. That's very expensive lab grade water. when you put the peroxide in with water, it reacts and what would be killing bacteria in the wound is now reacting prematurely and won't do any help. dont pour it straight on before consulting a vet, but putting it on diluted with tap water will make it useless.
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Chondros and colubrids... my 2 favorite types of snakes!

"Life is hard. Life is harder if you're stupid." - John Wayne

DOnt give up on the little guy yet. It takes more than a few days to turn around from a wound. Continue cleaning with betadine, im not so sure about the hydrogin peroxide but if the others think its ok maybe it is. I would call a vet and check with them to see what they think you should clean with. Keep the wound clean and the snake destressed. Did the previous "owners" say if the snake has ever eaten anything while in their care, if so, what was he eating? Give him a few days to regain his strength. Do a tugor test (gently pinch the skin and make a tent and release it...if it "snaps" back into place the snake is well hydrated, if it takes longer than about 2seconds he is dehydrated) to determine hyrdration. If he is dehydrated give him some warm water soaks. Give him several days before attempting to feed and then go from there. I have seen baby snakes with some nasty wounds pull through, dont give up on him yet
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