Brown House Snake Wounded By Cat

The following story about a brown house snake was submitted by Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in South Africa.

An adult brown house snake (Boaedon capensis) was rushed to us by the Roodepoort SPCA, after this snake had an encounter with a domestic cat.

We immediately administered subcutaneous fluids and an opioid pain killer. We then applied F10 ointment to all the wounds. Thankfully they were all superficial. It is crucial to ensure that wounds from cat bites are kept clean and treated carefully, as cat bites can often become infected.

The snake was tube-fed with EmerAid IC Carnivore while recuperating. Even though reptiles can survive without food for long periods of time, the energy demands on their bodies due to their injuries and the stress of captivity makes keeping up their caloric requirements a necessity.

The wounds healed, and we were happy with his general condition and weight gain. He was released into a safe habitat.