A couple of hours ago I was mowing the lawn and hit an adult Garter snake. When I realized he was there it was too late to do anything about it. The blades ended up cutting the last four or five inches of his tail off. I had no choice but to decapitate him. I felt horrible.

But today I'm really batting a thousand. Not two hours after I hit the first one I hit a second one. This time a baby one, I'm guessing he just hatched this year.

After I saw that I hit him, I picked him up to inspect his injuries. I don't think it goes down into his guts, but it's a a decent gash, probably about the size of a dime and relatively deep, but like I said I don't see any organs or anything like that.

What can I do to help this snake? Can I cleanse the wound with hydrogen peroxide and then apply neosporin with a q-tip?

Does this snake have a chance or should I decapitate this one too? I'm familiar with snake care although I've never kept a garter snake before. I really want to help this guy out and would love to nurse him back to health. I'm assuming at such young age insects make up most of their diets.

If anyone can share any experiences with me or offer any advice I'd truly appreciate it it. I don't want this guy to die. Thanks.