rescued bp

[rubenjames]

i just rescued a female ball python that was in horrable living conditions the guy had her in a cage that looked like a chicken coop he was using dirt and sharp rock as bedding. so i bring her home and started looking at her belly and it has cuts, stuck shed and she is really dry well i was just wondering what kind of soap can i use to cleanse her with i started using chlorhexidine and non aspirin neosporin is there anything else i should do for her i have her in a homemade rack system with the humidity at 40% and 93 degrees any help would be appreciated thanks for your time

[Cameron Lamb Exotics]

I heard you can use some mild dish soap, however I hope someone else chimes in with more knowledge on that. I would also be careful on the amount of neosporin you use. I also believe betadine works better.

[rubenjames]

thank you for your reply ill try some betadine

[Slim]

Please stop using the Neosporin ASAP. It will ruin the scales which leaves a possible opening for infection. If you want to wash her I would suggest one of two methods.

First you can put a drop of baby shampoo in a bath of water no deeper than half you snake's height. Make sure the water is right at 80 degrees. A couple degrees warmer is better than a couple of degrees cooler. Water temp isn't something to mess around with and should be measured with a temp gun or other digital device. Don't just let her swim in the water. Use it to wash her down, and then get her out and dried off as quickly as practical. Most snakes do not enjoy this...yours might, most don't.

The second way to bathe your snake is to purchase some unscented baby wipes. Warm the wipes up to at least 80 degrees the best way you can (I use a heating pad), and wipe your snake down from just behind the head to the tail. This is my preferred method for bathing a snake that has crawled through it's own feces or urine. It should work in your situation.

You need to do what you can to get your humidity up into the 50%-60% range.

[rubenjames]

ok ill stop with the neosporin and i have the humidity as low as i do bcuz im not sure if she has belly rott or if she just has her belly covered in cuts ill take some pics in a bit and post them so you guys can see what im talking about thank you for your replies.

[rubenjames]

oh would green soap be to much if it is diluted alot?

[Slim]

With green soap you'd want no more than a drop in about a gallon of water.

Sounds like you might want to put this girl on paper towels until the belly clears up.

[The Serpent Merchant]

A drop of dawn dish soap in warm (water temp in the id 80's) is best

humidity in the cage isn't going to cause issues with belly rot as long as the substrate doesn't stay damp.

[rubenjames]

would it be safe to give her cephalexin that my vet prescibed for my other snake he had a cut on one of his scales but it went away so now i have what he didnt need it doesnt expire until december of this year

[rubenjames]

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