Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, I recieved a 05 cb Snake from a guy who I shall not name (grrrrrrr) and found her with this on her tail. She can feel with it (I've tested it), but it is pretty firm and scabbed up. What do you think it may be? I've been told Dry Shed or a rat bite, but it seems like major damage.

put some neosporin on it if it is fresh, and if it isn't. Keep the snake on a clean substrate such as paper towels, mulch/aspen etc can get in the wound and cause infection. As for what caused it, I doubt the snake was simply chasing it's tail while it was being shipped. Probably a mouse left with it for a long time, or something along those lines.

Cole Maas

If a piece of shed is left on long enough it can cause damage to things like tails, or in the case of lizards...toes. The constriction from the dry skin will cut off the circulation and cause that part to die off. Use the neosporin. It will help heal it, if it's bite damage, and loosen any dry shed that may be there. Good luck.

Quig

do you think a bad shed could have that kind of an affect on such a young snake? I'd believe it in lizards but I've never heard of this with snakes, then again, I don't even know how pieds are graded so I guess I'm not "in the know" lol.

Cole Maas

You're right. I forgot, she said it was an '05. Musta been a brain fart . I haven't seen it happen in one so young, but have seen older tails become damaged that way. And after lookn'at the pics again, It does look like bite damage.

Quig

just said you were right and I was wrong and I would have taken your word for it lol.

Cole Maas

ROTFL!!

I'm not sure why age would make any difference??

I have seen retained shed claim the tail tip of an approx. 6 month old ball once.

That was the youngest I have ever seen, but I don't see why younger snakes would be immune from retained constriction.

Note: I'm not saying her snake has retained shed, it hard to tell whats up from the photos.

TomChambers

on the heat pad getting too hot. Especially with paper towels as a substrate, the glass aquariums transfer almost all of the heat.

If you really want to get accurate temps I'd suggest a PROEXOTICS TempGun. They're cheap and are very accurate and can be used anywhere on anything. I'm sure there are other temp guns but those are the only I have experience with.

Cole Maas

np
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

I have just found out something unfortunate. The person of whom I purchased the snake from has sold several snakes with the same affliction.

My problem with this is that that is horrible husbandry
In my opinion, they should stop breeding
And! they should not be able to sell thier snakes
My snake will be well taken care of, but still
I am appalled by the lack of care in this situation

Because I cannot believe that this could have happened so young
Every snake I see on this forum is well taken care of
And, how sad that someone would not take care of them well
Really, how hard is it to watch a mouse in the tank
Definatly take care of your animals!
Every time someone sells an inferiour snake,it damages the market
Don't buy from people you cannot trust.

Thanks.

you should definitely take it to the BOI and I would demand a refund.

Cole Maas

Can you explain that please? I'm not familiar.

the BOI(board of inquiry) is a forum that can be found at FaunaClassifieds.com There you can post information about bad sellers to give future customers a heads up. Sounds like you said someone already had a poor experience with them, there's a chance there could already be something there. It's always a good idea to research a seller unknown to you first.

Cole Maas

Please remember one thing with the BOI- It can sometimes be used as a way to bash people with false or unsubstantiated claims. I have seen good places get bashed on there and later it is just found to be a misunderstanding that they were never allowed to fix in the first place. Others however, well read as much as you can online about places. You can always enter their name into Google or Yahoo and see if anything comes up that way too.

That is one good thing about kingsnake, they do delete posts that other places may leave up. Sometimes it gets... Moderators Rule! ...other times it is really a good thing!

And remember- Never fall for the Nigerian Scam or the dreaded invisible ball morph... I am still waiting to see the one I ordered...
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

I received my InvisibBall from Chris on Friday - it is everything that I had hoped it to be!!!! A big thank you to Chris for his excellent customer services and one T-riffic ball python!!!

Invisiball: Harvey

But I am still awaiting my shipment from Mr. Smith of Nigeria - I was really hoping to have both of my $400 pieds up to breeding weight this season but the boat is apparently adrift somewhere!

Oh well

The moderators must be sleeping that a thread about the BOI is still on after this long - LOL.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

Well, I guess he just likes you better... Oh well, I will continue to wait for my invisiball... As for your pieds, you might check the next episode of 'Lost' wednesday. They have more of a chance of ending up on that island as they do your front door.

I would like to see one thread on the BOI kept out there... I am afraid that some take listings as a set in stone fact instead of one of many pitstops in a buyer's search for quality and honest breeders.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Its from a bite looks like a rat. We run a rescue and see this all the time. The snake is Very lucky they normaly have them from head all down the spine to the tail. I cant figure how some moron just leaves a live rodent in the cage and forgets about it...

Hey we should have bet on how long it takes for the message to be stumbled upon.

Brian

I am also just another victim.

So far, I've shown a couple of people and got a laugh, but no one seems to see it on the forum... Oh well.