If the small scratch is not too deep or near the eye, it is always best to first clean the wound with antibacterial soap and water. Then you can apply a small amount of a triple antibiotic ointment or dab on a bit of povidone iodine ointment.
Your reptile will need to be examined by a veterinarian for proper treatment. After cleaning and disinfecting the wound, a local antibiotic is then applied to prevent or treat infections.
When in captivity, though, a rat meant as prey can easily maim or kill a ball python. To avoid this, it is usually safest to kill the rat for your snake.
Your pet snake, though, will be fine with fresh pre-killed or even frozen rodents (you'll need to thaw them first.) It's safer not to feed your snake live prey. Live rodents will be scared and can bite your snake. Even small rodent bites can cause infection that will make your snake sick.
Right After a Rat Bites: First Aid Steps
Be sure to rinse away all the soap, or it will cause irritation later. Cover the wound with a clean, dry dressing. You can put antibiotic ointment on the wound before covering it. If the injury is on a finger, remove all rings from the injured finger in case it swells.
It's when rat bite fever goes untreated that serious complications can occur. These include abscesses, which are pockets of infected fluid, often in the abdomen, and infections of the major organs, including the heart, liver, lungs and brain. About 10% of untreated cases result in death.
Rats have excellent memories. 3. Rats make lifelong bonds with their owners Ask any rat owner, and he or she will tell you: Rats recognize their owners and respond to their sight and voice. They are very social and love to hang out with human family members on the couch or on peoples' shoulders or in their laps.
Rule of thumb: Don't leave live prey with an unattended snake for more than 15 minutes at a time. So, perhaps your asking yourself, who pre-kills the rats and mice for these snakes in the wild? Well, nobody. But that's OK.
The most logical reason for the snake cuddling up to his supposed dinner is simply because he wasn't hungry. This isn't the first time a snake and rodent have become friendly. There are several videos online where the two species can get along for extended periods of time, even when hunger strikes.
What size rat? A pup or fuzzy can be left in overnight, it won't hurt the snake at that age. A bigger prey item has teeth and can hurt the snake, and at the same time the snake has presumably been eating enough to grow to a size that it's taking larger prey, so can miss a meal without too much trouble.
A live mouse or rat can cause considerable damage to a snake if left unattended. CLEANING Snakes are very easy to take care of. They leave messes in their tanks several days after they have eaten and digested their meals. Thoroughly clean the tank, replace soiled bedding, and wash all dishes and accessories.
This is the moment a rat fights, kills and eats a snake on the side of the road, in a staggering video shot in Puning, Chinese province of Guangdong, on 2nd July.
Wound flushing: Initial cleansing flush of saline or very dilute chlorhexidine (no more than 1% concentration), followed by daily flushing with saline. Bandaging: Wet-to-dry bandages are appropriate for exudative wounds. Bandages may be secured with tegaderm, vet-wrap, elasticon, and/or duct tape.
Ball pythons can eat only rats or mice for an entire lifetime, but they also love to spice up their diet in captivity and feed on other rodent species such as hamsters, gerbils, and other exotic breeds. Young ball pythons should only be fed with large crickets, fuzzy mice, and pinky mice until they grow into adults.
Some snakes seem to enjoy a light massage down the length of their body, a head stroke, belly rub, or even a chin scratch, while others do not. Every snake has a different personality and may enjoy something different but being gentle and respecting your snake's boundaries are important.
Sometimes snakes show a lot of interest in the food being presented, but don't eat. This usually means we aren't giving them what they want. Wether it be mice or rats, frozen or thawed, or any number of other items that may fall in the spectrum of snake prey such as lizards or birds.
Handle your snake at least 1-2x weekly, but no more than once daily. Snakes do not require social interaction for their mental health, but regular handling helps the snake stay tame and can be a good opportunity for exercise.
There is no hard-and-fast rule on how long you should hold your ball python; the general recommendation is to keep it under 30 minutes. When you're handling your ball python, observe its behavior carefully so that you can better understand when the time is right for them to be placed back into its terrarium.
How Often Should Your Ball Python Poop? Typically, your ball python should poop about 1 week after eating a meal. This answer is not the same for all snakes as different environments, temperatures, and foods can cause digestion to take longer in some cases.
Gentle chirps or clucks, grinding, squeaks, and hissing are a few of the vocalizations you will hear. The context usually gives you a hint about whether your rat is happy, content, upset, scared, or in pain. Often, higher-pitched, faster-tempo noises indicate a rat is disturbed.
Rat Are Social Animals
Pet rats enjoy being stroked by their owners and sometimes even enjoy a gentle massage, a scratch behind the ears, or a simple tickle. Rats have also been known to return the affection by "grooming" their owners.