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A rat got my BRB in the eye with it's claw. What do I do? The eye is white now for lack of a better way to put it.

Wrestler,
...Snake's eyes can sustain some minor injuries and do well and clear up after one or two shed cycles. They are often opaque white looking after an injury. They can easily become infected. I would apply an antibiotic eye ointment and take the snake to the vet if it does not start improving rapidly.
Good luck,
Jeff

>>A rat got my BRB in the eye with it's claw. What do I do? The eye is white now for lack of a better way to put it.

hey Jeff thanks for the reply. Loafers is my first snake so I'm still on a huge learning curve. Love having him though. My friend moved out to the west coast after graduation and didn't want to drive from VA to CA just to keep him so Loafers was gifted to me. This site is great for finding out info. I get paid tomorrow so I'll get Loafer's to the vet and have his eye looked at. Just outta curiousity, how do I give eye drops or put cream on a snake's eye??? Any tips for handeling? He gets held every now and then but can be a mean little bastard.

-Wrestler

Enjoy the eye candy

Wrestler,
...If you get a chance post a PIC of the snake's eye. Sometimes a scratched eye is not serious enough to warrant a vet visit. I apply antibiotic ointment with a Q-tip.......Okay, to be perfectly honest I often apply antibiotic ointment with my fingertip. LOL. I am not sure if there are any antibiotic eye ointments available over the counter. Perhaps one of our posters here who is a Vet Tech can educate us on the subject of eye infections and antibiotic ointments.

...Snakes are not mean. They strike and bite to defend themselves when they feel threatened. If you handle them without retreating from them when they strike they soon learn that striking does not get you to leave them alone. Regular calm handling will also teach the snake that you are not a threat.
Good luck,
Jeff

>>hey Jeff thanks for the reply. Loafers is my first snake so I'm still on a huge learning curve. Love having him though. My friend moved out to the west coast after graduation and didn't want to drive from VA to CA just to keep him so Loafers was gifted to me. This site is great for finding out info. I get paid tomorrow so I'll get Loafer's to the vet and have his eye looked at. Just outta curiousity, how do I give eye drops or put cream on a snake's eye??? Any tips for handeling? He gets held every now and then but can be a mean little bastard.
>>
>>-Wrestler
>>
>>Enjoy the eye candy
>>

I would post a pic of the eye but my ex girlfriend ran off with my camera when we split. Wish Loafers had bit her lol. I'm just going to take him to the vet either tomorrow or Friday to get it checked out. Better safe then sorry.

Jeff covered the treatment well but didn't mention the preventative measures.

First and foremost, feeding live prey will always come with risks to the predator. The little rat does not want to die and will fight for it's life. Duh, almost always loses but can quite often leave it's mark.

I raise my own feeders and therefore don't go the rat-sicle route. But I still whack my rats before feeding. Even if not dead, only stunned, is still better than alert and ready to defend itself. Two methods I use:

Small rats, while holding the tail fairly close to the body, pin the neck. I use large forceps but pen, screwdriver or other rod will do. Then sharply lift and rotate the body up and over the head. When done right, you'll hear the neck break (crackle). Don't pull away from the body very much or you can skin the tail.

Med/large rats. Grab the tail, spin/swing the rat backwards so that either the back of the neck hits a abrupt edge or the back of the skull hits a hard surface. Be forwarned, hitting the skull hard enough can cause bleeding through the nose...messy!

Both methods leave the rat incapacitated and usually in spasms.

I know this is not a pleasant subject or experience, but IMO, is a necessary one. Dead rats don't bite or claw at your snake.
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Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife
0.2 kids
4.12 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 Het for Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Hypo (possible super)
1.0 BCI albino het stripe
1.0 BCI salmon hypo
0.1 BCI ghost

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats