Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just a few scaled near his neck are "crusty". There are other isolated scales that appear similar (maybe 4 other single scales on his belly).

I'm a newbie ball python owner...so I could use some direction on this...it look like dry scales, but could it possibly be a burn? He does not have an undertank heater...just top down light...humidity is 40-50% depending on the time of day...

He shed about a month ago.

Thanks,

Vicki

I'm sorry...I uploaded the thumbnail instead, and I don't know how to edit a post...so here is the bigger pic...

n/p

Or is there something I can do myself? Will it get worse? Could it kill him?

Geez, I try to keep him really clean--now belly rot?
I just changed his substrate a few days ago....it was about two weeks old when I changed it...I never leave his waste in there...should I be doing a full substrate cleaning everytime he poops, instead of spot cleaning it. By the way, I use Aspen.

spot cleaning is fine. Do you feed him live? It looks like it could be a bite wound. It should clear up after a shed or two, but to avoid infection you could put Betadine or Neosporin on it daily. I don't think you have to worry about it unless it gets worse.

Chad

BREATHE...

It does look like a touch of scale rot to me. The thing about scale rot is , that it is usually a secondary infection, caused by a stressed out immunsystem.

You will have to go over your husbandry, and find out what could be causing it, as a first step.

Aspen can be fine, but a touch dry...Personally, I use cocoanut fiber, the stuff you buy in a block and it expands to a good sized amount of dirt when adding water. Its easy to clean and holds humidity really well. You can just spot clean it and once the year, completely change it out.

How big is your cage? Do you have hides in there? You HAVE to have hides, at least one on each end of the cage...(warm and cool) You don't want your snake having to choose between security and thermoregulation.

Do you really monitor the heat? Not just with a basic thermometer in the tank, but you should also check what the ground temperature is on either side of the tank. The warm side should be around 90 to 95 degrees on the ground...the cold one around 80 to 85.

Does your BP eat well? If so, then there probably isn't an issue with internal parasites, but it is a good idea to take a fecal sample to a vet regardless...to make sure there is nothing going on inside of him.

You should clean the spot daily with Betadine and put some Neosporing on it (the kind without pain relief). While you are treating him, put him on newspaper or papertowl.

Once you have your husbandry correct and there are no internal problems with the snake, he should be A OK.

Any more questions, don't hesitant to ask....everyone started out someday, and asking questions is the only way to find out how you can fix or improve your snakes habitat.

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reps-r-us

You just have a bulb. Do you have ANY clue as to how hot it is? Or what the temps are?

If not you NEED a UTH, ball pythons digest using belly heat.

Get a UTH hook it up to a lamp dimmer(found at wal-mart, home depot, or lowes) and put the temps where they are supposed to be, 90-95 degrees hotside, and 80-85 cool side.

Lights usually do nothing but dry the area out.

Get a digital thermometer (found at wal-mart, home depot, or lowes, the stick on ones suck) with a probe and put the probe right over the UTH (the uth being on the outside, the probe on the inside over the uth).
belly rot is actually usually called scale rot.

It usually comes with bad husbandry, to damp, left in it's own filth.

Using aspen it is not always easy to see when they JUST pee, no urate stone. I use aspen now and plan on changing it over to news paper just because I can't always tell when they pee, and I don't like the thought of having them live in their own stuff.

Get a humidity gauge, usually found at pet stores, it's a little round dial.

How many hides do you have
what size is the snake
what size is the cage
can the snake soak in the water bowl?
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose, 1.0 red blood

Ok, I hope I remember all the questions.

I have three hides for him in a 20L cage (two upside down flower pots, and a carved out piece of drift wood)...I have a mesh top, with a glass lid covering about 3/4 of it to keep humidity in. I have a humidity guage in there...and an airpump (like you use in a fish tank)with a tube circulating fresh air. (seemed like a good idea to me---is it useless?) Humidity is between 40 and 50%, depending on the time of day. Usually it's higher in the daytime. His cage is in front of a window to keep daytime temps up.

I do monitor the aspen for dampness by hand, and never let the substrate go for more than two weeks without changing it. My vet recommended Aspen...what are your thoughts on it?

He has two water dishes, one is too small to soak in, one is a larger dog bowl that I keep about 1/4 full---and he does soak from time to time in there.

I have a heat lamp on a thermostat---and the gradient is 80 on the cool side during the day, 85-90 on the hot side. At night, the temp falls on the cool side to 75, the warm side falls to 80.

I have a UTH attached to the bottom of the tank, but it gets too hot to leave on when I'm gone to work. I turn it on for a few hours at night and always when I'm feeding him. I have two thermometers, one on the hot side, one on the cool side.

He is eating very well now. I had problems at first, but after he finally started eating, he has kept eating.

I do feed him live, but not active live. I knock out the mouse before I feed him. He usually has it down in under 5 minutes--I always watch him eat, and the mouse never struggles, so I don't think it's a mouse wound. I feed him once a week. I always try two mice--but usually he only takes one.

He has shed once since I've had him. It was a perfect shed. He looks like he may be getting ready for another shed.

Once he started eating, he's gained about 20 grams. He's eaten four times, which means he only started eating a month ago.

I used some neosporin on the sore tonight...how long should I keep it up? A few days like I'd treat a cut on my hand? Longer?

Thank you all for the advice...really, I appreciate it so much.

Vicki