There are a number of ways a snake can be injured; a sharp corner on a hide or other decoration, rubbing their head or nose on the side of the cage or the screen top, a bite from live prey, or an encounter with other animals or objects while outside of their home. I believe that about 98-99% of all external injuries are preventable. Accidents can and do happen though and with superficial or minor scraps the snake should recover with nothing to show for the ordeal but a scar.

Washing off the wound with luke warm water and treating with neosporin or polysporin will help prevent infection while the snake heals. Usually the injured snake will shed multiple times in quick succession to speed the healing process. I would also highly recommend replacing the cage substrate with newsprint or paper towels to prevent small pieces or dust from getting into the wound. It is also important to remove any object you suspect might have been responsible for the injury or, if it is a cause of an escaped snake that was found injured, secure the lid or any openings to prevent repeat escapes.

Nose and or head rubbing is a bit harder to address, as the snake will tend to continue the harmful behavior. Typically, moving the snake to a larger cage will help reduce the amount of rubbing and will give the snake more room to roam, though depnding on the snake in question it may or may not help. If the snake is rubbing on a screen top lid, it may be best to consider switching to a different type of cage - one that has glass doors or moving into a tupperware based rack system. This is just a suggestion though and not a guarenteed solution for all cases.

For rodent bites and severe wounds it is best to take the snake to a qualified reptile/exotic pet vet to be treated.

Photo of a suspected rub wound on the head of a snow corn:

Photo of the same snake as above, after shed on 10/21/07. You can see how the smaller wound, on the tip of the nose, has completely healed, leaving nothing but a scar. The larger wound, in the middle of the head, has become considerably smaller, with a ring of scar tissue surrounding it. Notice that the original scab was removed during the shedding process:

Pictures of the wound two days after shed, notice the newly formed scab (taken on 10/23/07):

It's been several weeks since I last posted updated images of the snow, and he is once more getting close to shedding for us. Here's a picture of his head wound after several more treatments with Polysporin/Neosporin. Keep in mind, the snake is coming out of the 'blue' or 'out of shed' in this photo.

When we purchased Folly, our big male California Kingsnake, he was already a good five years old and covered with numerous scars. Some of those scars were from prey bites and others were from heavy decorations in the tank where the snake was kept. There was also one huge scar that appeared to be either the result of a large burn or one of the rocks in the tank falling onto the snake. You can see the extensive scarring in the picture below:

The wounds that we have dealt with here at T and J's have mostly been small wounds that were easy to care for on our own. For more serious wounds, or infected wounds, it is always best to take the animal to a qualified Vet so that it can be treated appropriately.

Thank you,