Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have always hear of it, but doesnt anyone have any experience with mice chewing on snakes? I was given an adult male ball last night (quite pretty btw), but sadly the reason I recieved him was that the last owner left a mouse in his cage for to long. He said that he thought he ate it, but apparently it hid in the bedding or something and chewed on this poor guys head. He is acting normal, but has no skin on his head, all the way down to the muscle. I have called my vet, and the only time he can see me is a week from today. So my question is, do any of you guys or gals have any experience with this? And is there anything I can do to help him (besides the obvious, keep him clean, and put topical ointment on him) speed up the healing process? Me and the little guy thank you for any extra tips we could get

If something was getting ready to eat you you would be a little more prone to bite that you normally would too! We hear stories where somwone just dumped the mouse in and left eat, but it is really szad to hear that the prior owner was actually caring correctly for the snake and just made a mistake. If you have not already done so switch to frozen thawed. I am sure there will be a debate about it, but I am looking at it as if the mouse even got a quick bite it could kill your snake without much effort. I would also take the snake to the vet, not just because of the wound but also to check its overall health. The last think you need to to take great care of it through this healing only top have it die from a parasite. Good luck and let us know how everything is going for him!
-----
Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

bathe the snake in lukewarm water and antibacterial soap to kill off any germs that could cause infection. Then apply neosporin to the wound to help it heal and stay clean. Use either paper towels or newspaper as a substrate until it heals up well, other beddings create dust that can get in the wound and make it worse.

I sold a snake to a couple about 4 months ago and told them not to feed live or watch it carefully if they did feed live. Not that it matters becasue a live mouse can still get a bite in on a snake as it is being constricted and create scarring and possible worse. Long story short, they didn't listen to a word I said and left a small rat in with a 200 gram ball python. The rat chewed a nickel size hole in the snakes side. After that, they listened to me and followed the exact advice I gave you. Their snake is doing fine now and the wound is healing up quite nicely. That being said, the wound from a rodent chewing on a snake like the event you mentioned will never completely heal.

p.s. Reapply the neosporin twice daily, and do not attempt to feed him live again until he has shed out once. Thump the mice if you can.

Cole Maas

np

Thanks Guys... Yea I feed frozen thawed religiously, but I guess we all don't, and poor guy had to suffer from it. Like I said, he is acting normal, but he has no skin on his head, that must be a marker for some kind of trait he is hiding though right? Or maybe he is a new morph of normal? The skin head ball python, might fetch a good dollar...anyway I appreciate the response, anyother opinions are highly recommended, I hate to see an innocent animal suffer from someone else's stupidity

I do not sell or use live rodents but when I explain why, people don't believe that rodents are really a serious threat to a reptile. Does anybody have photo documentation of what can happen to show these people. Sometimes shock is the only thing that will wake people up. Cost of vet bills would be nice also.

This snake had it's tail chewed off by a mouse. It is healing, but look how bad it still looks!

(I would like to point out that this snake came to me like this...)

-----
-Ohh, what a Lady-

Balls for Life, Baby!

This is the reason I use rat pups. I've never had a problem with the pups biting or chewing on any of my snakes. And if there's any that make it to small rat size, they go to one of the reptile shops for store credit.