scale rot :-( HELP ASAP, vet havent helped

[snyper93]

First off im going to say im a VERY good owner. his tank is kept clean, temps and humidity are reasonable, hes handled very often. so please dont tell me he has this problem because im a poor owner. NOW hes only had this for about 3 weeks TOPS. hes 10 years old and hes never had a single health issue until now. almost 3 weeks ago i noticed a light brown tinge on the tips of his bottom scales. didnt think much of it since he was due for a shed. the next week he shed. after he shed i noticed there was some dark brown skin clumps on his belly. i just assumed this was dead skin from the shed that had absorbed color from the fresh bark bedding(which ive used since day 1) and higher moisture levels in the tank. the next day i went to clean his tank and feed him. not only did he refuse to eat(which he never does), he bit me which he never has before, but he smelled awful. so i took him out. the whole bottom of his belly was chunking off. i took him to the vet 2 days later. until i could get him to the vet i was using polysporin and betadine on his belly. the vet gave me some soaking antibiotics and oral antibiotics. im now cleaning and steralizing his tank 2x a day and putting fresh paper towels down each time. the vet told me ther was some kind of bacteria, or fungus, or something in the bedding that i used this time.

HOWEVER hes now worse than ever. i came home tonight and there was blood trails on the paper towels, the spot where he was laying was bloody, and dark in color like hes pussing or peed and was laying in it. he bit me again. he has so many bloody sores on his belly, still smells awful, and the skin looks bad.

What should i do? hes going back to a NEW VET tomorrow but i dont know what else can be done. i cant lose him, hes my buddy :-( he spends more time with me then he does in his 55g tank

[angllady2]

Wow, that sounds awfully serious.

One question, how do you heat his tank ? And how is the heat regulated ? Just in case it might be a burn. That seems to have gotten very bad very quickly. Scale rot is usually caused by excessive moisture, do you have a way to measure the humidity in his tank? Do you mist the bark ?

For now don't let it get wet if you can help it. The moisture is only going to irritate it more. Try to keep him as dry as possible. You can use the polysporin if he'll tolerate it. It is very good you are going to a new vet, he's going to need a lot of help to recover.

I wish you all the best. Try not to give up hope. I've seen pictures of some horrible things here, and usually the snakes make it through with good care.

Gale

[snyper93]

Wow, that sounds awfully serious.

One question, how do you heat his tank ? And how is the heat regulated ? Just in case it might be a burn. That seems to have gotten very bad very quickly. Scale rot is usually caused by excessive moisture, do you have a way to measure the humidity in his tank? Do you mist the bark ?

For now don't let it get wet if you can help it. The moisture is only going to irritate it more. Try to keep him as dry as possible. You can use the polysporin if he'll tolerate it. It is very good you are going to a new vet, he's going to need a lot of help to recover.

I wish you all the best. Try not to give up hope. I've seen pictures of some horrible things here, and usually the snakes make it through with good care.

Gale

Gale, thanks for the advice, first off I normally mist the tank.1-2x a day. I have foliage in there and a good size waterbowl. Assuming both of these help humidity. He never has wrinkled eyes or shedding issues so I've never adjusted my humidity.

However you say don't let him get wet. The one medication he's on requires to.be mixed 2tbsp. To 1/2 gallon of water and he's suppose to sit in the water for 30 minutes. Could this be causing the problem to worsen. He's also on a oral antibiotic clyndamyicin. Otherwise his tank.stays dry. His heat source was coming from an under tank heating pad and heat bulb but since its gotten miserably hot out(I don't use AC during the day) I stopped using the heat lamp

[The Serpent Merchant]

Does your heating pad have a thermostat? If not chances are your BP has been burned and doesn't have belly rot (which would explain why the treatment isn't working)

Check out this thread on cage heating:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...04#post1845904

The caresheet might be helpful as well:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

A quick note. Oil based ointments such as neosporin should not be used on ball pythons as they will turn the scales into mush. Water based products like Betadine are much safer.

Do you have anything telling you the hot side/cool side temperatures and or humidity? If so what are you using and what are your current readings?

[DooLittle]

I think like others have said, we need more info, and/or some pictures to help determine your problem. What are hot and cold side temps? How is heat controlled? Hopefully your little guy gets sorted out right! It doesn't sound like he is comfortable. I would make sure to keep him on dry papertowels for the time being.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

[mackynz]

x3 for more info.

I didn't think scale rot got that bad that quick. A burn would though.

[snyper93]

Alrighty lets see what i can come up with here. AS OF RIGHT NOW, the total tank temp stays at room temperature. because i dont use AC during the day and it gets into the upper 80s, low 90s and humid in my apartment, during the night i use AC and it gets into the mid 70s and 50-60 humidity. He does have a heat pad under his tank that ive used for all 10 years ive had him, so if it is a burn it has to be because something is wrong with that heating pad. I DO NOT use a heat lamp right now because I feel it gets warm enough without it. but he does still have a light. I havent been using his heating pad either for the past week because the vet told me not to. (again i dont fully trust this vet) he always sheds nicely, and never has wrinkled eyes, i Use Repti bark bedding and have for the 10 years ive owned him. ive always def him live mice because he wont even go near a frozen thawed no matter what. he eats 2-3 mice every saturday(hasnt eaten in almost 3 weeks.) ive never had a single problem with him, ive even taken him to the vet for check ups and they say he looks fantastic. and everything checks out

If it was a burn and not scale rot, wouldnt the meds still help him, not make him worse? i just checked the tank where the heating pads is, and its barely warm, i cant see how that could burn anything. im not saying anyone is wrong im just trying to make sense of the situation. how he could go from perfectly fine to practically on his death bed in a week :-( :-(

HOW HE LOOKED BEFORE THE VET
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6-23215319.jpg

HOW HE LOOKS NOW
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...7-02221428.jpg

[Don]

I would take out the reptile bark and go with paper towels for awhile. I've never used repti bark, but it can't be helping. It does look more like a burn to me. I would also look quickly for a good reptile vet in your area.

[mackynz]

Oh my god that poor animal.
Are you using a thermostat? That looks like a burn to me.

[angllady2]

Good grief, that poor baby!

I do not know the situation entirely. But I will hit on a few points. It is entirely possible his heat mat went haywire, they do not last indefinitely and if it is 10 years old, it could need replacing.

You say the heat pad felt barely warm to you, but since your body temp is around 98, if it's warm to you, it's hot enough to burn him.

Burns need different treatment than scale rot. You wouldn't treat a severe burn on yourself with the same medicine you'd treat athlete's foot with.

I'm hesitant to recommend you continue the soaks, I am NOT a vet, but it seems to me keeping it dry is a better idea.

I still think you should see a different vet. The one you went to said it could be fungus, bacteria, or something else, but did no cultures or tests to find out what it might be ? I'd want a vet to tell me exactly what that is, what caused it, and how to treat it.

If that is a burn, which I suspect it is, it can easily get that bad that fast. Ever had a really bad burn, or seen pictures of one ? They go from looking not so serious to looking like death in a few days as the skin blisters and peels away. Keep your appointment with the new vet, and please let us know how he's doing.

Also, whether or not you do replace the heat mat, if you do not already have one, invest in a thermostat to control it. Some mats claim they only reach a certain temperature, but they are not always accurate, and can easily burn a snake.

Gale