Mouse bit his mouth!

**Pareeeee** · 12-01-13, 03:57 PM

SO...I was feeding Boaz (my Rosy) today and I think the mouse bit inside his mouth. First of all - no, he will NOT eat frozen/thawed. I only was able to get him to eat f/t once, and that was by tricking him with a live one I was holding beside it and he struck the frozen one by accident...every time I try to feed him f/t he goes off food for months and months as if to punish me for having the audacity to offer it.

Now I THINK it bit him, anyway. It was hard to tell, he was constricting and it looked as if the blood was coming from the mouse's mouth, but I think it was trickling from Boaz's mouth into the mouse's. He didn't eat it (no surprise, he has always been a problem feeder, eating less than 20 meals a year).

Anyway, I took a look inside his mouth - opened it with the handle of a q-tip - and it looked dark around where his tongue is. It's hard to tell because his tongue is dark.

What do I do, what do I need to watch for and should I take a photo for you guys? (I don't want to stress him any more than needed)

TeaNinja · 12-01-13, 04:12 PM

iunno about snakes, but human mouth wounds heal really fast :P i took my snakes off of live as soon as i could cuz i never wanted to deal with them getting bit or euthanasia of the feeders or anything. i dislike killing things =/

**Pareeeee** · 12-01-13, 04:16 PM

Yeah, I've tried on multiple occasions to get him off live and he just *won't*. I hate having to buy and house live mice, not to mention the harm they can cause. It's a true annoyance. I think the people lied to me about him being a "great feeder". From the moment I bought him it's been a struggle. Pickiest snake in the WORLD. Which sucks cause he's such a sweet natured fellow. Puts up with anything.

Jim Smith · 12-01-13, 04:32 PM

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. I'm not sure what you can do for his wound (assuming he even has one), other than keep an eye on it and treat appropriately if you see any signs of infection. That said, in the future, is there any way you could "stun" the prey before giving it to him. Perhaps a strong finger thump on the head and then present it to your snake. That way it would still be alive but much less likely to harm your snake. I know that it is distasteful for many people to euthanize prey animals, but the way I look at it, it can't be too comforting to the mouse to be constricted and swallowed live either so perhaps euthanasia is a lot less "stressful", at least for the mouse/rat. Just a thought...

formica · 12-01-13, 04:38 PM

blood will often come from a rodents mouth/nose (and the other end sometimes) when being constricted, even from frozen ones.

Watch out for swelling, if there is no bleeding in the mouth now, that will be the first obvious sign of a cut/abrasion, if there is swelling, then keep an eye out for infection and get a vet's opinion - I have no idea how good snake saliva is at keeping its mouth clean in the way human saliva does, but a cut that isnt obvious, is anything to panic about

Terranaut · 12-02-13, 05:35 AM

No swelling , no bleeding, no hunger strike = no worries
Unless any of these happen a vet will just tell you to keep an eye on it and watch for the above. I would just wait until next feeding before doing anything. A gash in the snakes mouth would be obvious and not just a dark area. So even if it is cut it must be minimal by your description. My guess is you have nothing to worry about.

Edit: so yes I agree with the above.