If the joint capsule was punctured, you could easily get a nasty infection; it wouldn’t hurt to get it checked out if it’s not clearing up. When Zith nailed me (a 6 foot boa), he hit one of my finger joints, and unfortunately he also hit my ring finger, had to have my ring cut off at the ER because my finger swelled up so badly so fast (I tried to get the ring off as soon as I got the snake off but it was already too late). But I called the emergency vet for advice – figured they’d know more than a human doctor – and she was the one who warned me about infection and broken-off teeth.
Have you tried thawing prekilled rodents and then dipping them in chicken broth? That one worked like a charm for us, when Zith would get particularly fussy about eating. The stupid boa absolutely refused to eat rats until he was so big he couldn’t really properly constrict mice any more, but a nice application of chicken broth did the trick.
It’s refreshing to hear how many others have been bitten, though – after being the evening’s amusement at the ER, not to mention my office the next day, I was beginning to wonder if I was the only person ever to have put my hand in the wrong place at the wrong time!