X-snake food

Question
My friend bought a rat for his snake that was a bit too big for it. He put the rat in the cage and the snake went after it several times but didnt eat it. Well, I felt really really bad for the cute little rat (cause i dont think cute things should be food!) so anyhow, I rescued the rat from being a burger. Well, the little guys tail, about an inch of it, was bitten VERY badly. It was pretty much skinned to the bone. The very tip, about 1/2" is all bone, looking like vertabre, and the other 1/2" or so is all black and the end of the bite (where his tail is normal again) is a darker red. It looks SO sore and breaks my heart. I dont know what to do, I cant really afford to take him to a vet and there is no vet that takes payments anywhere in Maine. I just want to help the little guy and save his little life from being tortured. Could I give him any sort of antibiotics or something in a SMALL SMALL dose and put antibiotics ointments on his tail? Is it ok to put neosporin on it? He's such a cute little guy and my heart aches for him. Any advice would help. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Heather

Thank you for saving the little rat from a horrible terrible death!
It was really nice of you to help him and want to give him a chance to be someones pet instead of snake food!
You should suggest to your friend a more humane method of feeding his snake and tell him to feed humanely pre killed frozen. It can be done regardless of what some people think and in fact, its safer for the snake because  sometimes a scared rat will turn around and kill the snake instead, causing a painful death by infection from deep bite wounds. In the end, nobody wins. :-(


Now, about that tail...
What your seeing is an extension of the vertebral column.  Rat tails are part of the rats vertebrae and are also bone and blood vessels and even contain a major artery which if that snake bit any deeper the rat would have bled to death.

Also,the black you see is necrotic tissue and that area is dead tissue. This area may end up drying up and falling off if the rest of the tail turns black too.  Is there an odor to the tail?

To answer your question: Yes you can use neosporin ointment several times a day gently applied, even using the kind with the pain relief in it as well. This may make it numb and provide some relief from pain.

Is he eating and drinking ok? Do you have a water bottle, cage and food for him too? Right now the only litter you should use is carefresh or shredded newspaper(never pine or cedar)and try to keep that in a shoebox so there is little he can drag his tail through and expose it to dirt and debris. Give him a little house to hide in such as a shoe box with holes for doors cut out. Also give him several paper towels so he can make a nest to sleep in. They love to cuddle and snuggle in a little house and nest, esp when they are little babies.
He needs a good diet to get strong so you can feed him lab blocks (not the yucky seed mix from pet stores, those are not nutritious for any rats, only birds eat seeds LOL!!) You can feed him low protein foods and veggies and some fruit such as melons, strawberries, apple slices, pear slices etc...never avocado though, which can be toxic to rats.
You can make him a rat mix food out of various cereals such as dry oatmeal, total cereal, rice chex, puffed rice and puffed wheat,
cheerios as a treat, and also the colored macaroni that comes in green and red (spinach and tomato) You can also make him scrambled eggs sometimes for extra protein and in this case I would do that to help get him strong.

Is he active and playful? Does he scream if you touch his tail?

Do you have any human antibiotics at home, such as liquid amoxil?
A photo of him so I can figure his age and weight may help and we can even give him childrens motrin for pain, but I need to have a general idea of his weight to dose him properly.

Anyhow, I know you already know this, but your rat really really needs to see a vet because he could die from massive infection and shock if its really as bad as it sounds. The tail needs professional treatment and possibly amputated.  

You can call Kims Ark for help!

The numbers to these Vets that may help you are from Kims Ark:
Dr. Mertz can be contacted at: (781) 251-9131 and the Tufts Vet School can be contacted at: (508) 839-5395. Dr. Kim's contact info is available through this website and at her clinic, Belle Mead Animal Hospital (908)-874-4447

Kims Ark URL is as follows:
http://www.kimsarkrescue.org/content/view/17/32/

They are in Massachusetts but they work with Maine and those areas.

Please keep me posted ok? Again thank you for giving the little rat a chance at life and becoming your pet instead of  dying a horrible death. You will bond with this little rat for life because he knows you saved him!!

good luck

Sandra