Is snake insurance expensive?

No, it is generally the cheapest form of pet insurance, often under $10/month per snake.

What vets treat snakes?

You must use an 'Exotic' or 'Herp' vet. Regular dog/cat vets are not trained to safely handle or treat snakes.

Does it cover live feeding injuries?

Injuries from live prey (rat bites) are usually covered as accidents. However, most vets recommend frozen/thawed feeding to prevent this common trauma.

Snake Insurance Guide: Ball Pythons, Boas & Corn Snakes

Snakes are often perceived as “zero maintenance” until they aren’t. While they don’t need vaccines, when a snake gets sick, it is often a sign of a serious environmental issue or infection that requires expensive diagnostics.

🐍 Why Insure a Snake?

1. Respiratory Infection (RI)

The “Common Cold” of snakes, but deadly. Caused by incorrect humidity or temperatures.

Signs: Wheezing, bubbling at mouth, keeping head elevated.
Treatment: Culture (swab) to find bacteria, nebulization, antibiotics.
Cost: $300 - $600.

2. Dysecdysis (Stuck Shed) & Eye Caps

If humidity is too low, skin sticks. If it cuts off circulation to the tail tip or stays on eyes, it causes blindness or necrosis.

Vet Cost: Professional removal and treatment of underlying infection. $150 - $300.

3. Stomatitis (Mouth Rot)

Infection of the gums/jaw.

Cost: Requires deep cleaning, debridement, and antibiotics. $400+.

4. Prey Trauma (Rat Bites)

Feeding live rodents is dangerous. A rat can chew a snake to the bone in minutes if the snake isn’t hungry.

Cost: Surgery to repair skin/scale damage and treat infection. $500 - $1,000.

📉 Multi-Pet Discounts for Collectives

Many snake owners don’t have just one. They have racks.

The Insurance Hack: Nationwide often offers multi-pet discounts (5-10%).
Feasibility: Insuring a collection of 50 Ball Pythons isn’t practical ($500/mo). But insuring your 2-3 “Pet Quality” or high-value breeding morphs is smart.

🔬 Inclusion Body Disease (IBD)

For Boa and Python owners, IBD is a terrifying, fatal viral disease.

Diagnosis: Requires biopsy ($300+).
Insurance Role: Insurance covers the diagnostics to figure out what is wrong, even if the disease itself isn’t curable. This protects your other animals by confirming the diagnosis so you can quarantine effectively.