cat attack :(

[snakems]

my little garter was recently apprehended by my cat unfortunately and chewed up a bit.
it was the most traumatic thing for me EVER. It sounds silly but I am so attached to my snake already. =/ .... I made myself literally physically ill I was so upset.
I came into my room to find her on the floor in blood! and a trail of blood leading to my cat in the corner hiding behind my curtain.
Now initially i thought she was dead because I have never experienced anything like this and thought for sure the snake would not survive it had been attacked by the cat. I knelt to the floor to pick her up to see if she was alive praying that she would be, and she was!
I immediately rinsed her off with warm water and tended to her wounds with betadine, which I only knew to do from looking it up online.
she really seems to be recovering amazingly, seeing as I thought she surely was going to die from this.
She has about five punctures or so all in different spots along her length, and ive been cleaning them daily and keeping her tank extra warm and clean with paper towels on the floor of it. ... the first day or two after she didnt do much moving around because she was sore from the ordeal I am assuming, but Im not a snake so this is only my guess lol I lifted her little head to her water dish and lowered it close enough for her to drink and she drank water which i thought was a good sign, but she never went to it on her own. Now she's moving around more and bathing and drinking on her own. Maybe Im making too big a deal out of this and she will be fine but I am scared because I couldnt imagine if she were to die from this, maybe from infection. I would feel so guilty!!
Just posting this for any advice anyone on here might have that may be more educated on owning garter snakes. Anything would help...

(excuse my jumbled, run on sentences Im just trying to make sure to get all the major details down & I get overexcited when I talk about it )

[crzy_kevo]

i have no experience tending snake wounds but from what i have read i think you are doing a great job at taking care of your snake

however if your snake escaped the enclosure i would look at making it more secure so this mishap won't happen again

good luck and i hope your snake pulls through

[snakems]

thank you for your input!

...yes, I take COMPLETE and total blame for this happening .... I actually left the tank open and I am STILL beating myself up for doing so.
I actually plan on releasing her back into the wild this spring because I feel like I just am not responsible enough to own a snake. As much as I enjoy having her around, I couldnt live with this happening again and I just dont trust myself.
Im still not sure if she found her way out and the cat came across her or if the cat actually got inside the tank and grabbed her.

...ugh I hate even thinking about it I love her so much!

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard and sorry to hear about your snake. Cat attacks and the puncture wounds that result from them seem to be especially difficult to treat, in part due to the infection risk, but also because of how deep a puncture wound can be and how likely it is that it will damage vital organs. I would recommend getting the snake to a vet, if it's at all possible.

[snakems]

AMAZINGLY and LUCKILY I dont think anything internal was damaged because she is no longer swollen where she was bitten and she's becoming as active as she previously was. I know its early to tell because its only been 5 or 6 days since this happened (especially considering infection wont really show up right away) but I feel like she is doing well. Im super obsessed with keeping her tank spotless and clean anyway, but now Im even more aware of it.
Mainly Im wondering if I should hold off on feeding her like I normally would because of what happened.
Like you said my worries right away were that her insides would be somehow injured by this, so I feel like feeding her may not be the right thing to do. Maybe I should hold off on it for a little while longer than normal at least for now?

[Stefan-A]

I'd rather not comment on the feeding issue. They do say that digestion diverts resources away from the immune system in snakes, but I'm definitely no veterinarian.

[snakems]

thank you for your input, its comforting at least a bit to get other's view on this. I know that a vet would prob be the only person who could tell me for sure what to do. I feel Infection is now my main concern so Im doing all that I can to make sure that doesnt happen. I can really only guess but the cat that got ahold of her is a very gentle cat and I dont think that her intent was to kill it really. Like I said this is completely my fault and I dont blame the snake or the cat, obviously if a playful, curious cat sees a little snake slithering around its going to investigate it. She doesnt have claws and when she does bite at all its very gingerly. Im hoping that was the case when she contacted the garter.

[dashnu]

I'd rather not comment on the feeding issue. They do say that digestion diverts resources away from the immune system in snakes, but I'm definitely no veterinarian.

Thats interesting to know.

[adamanteus]

I agree with Stefan..... I would hold off on the feeding until the snake is well on the way to recovery.

[snakems]

thank you