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  1. #1
    Registered User Nyxura's Avatar
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    Scale Rot, Please help :(

    I got my ball python, Job (like "jobe") not even a month ago and I've run into a problem. I've been doing research about ball pythons before I got him and I was pretty confident I was prepared for him. This is what's happened the past three weeks I've had him:

    I babysit for a lady down the road who I found out was a corn snake breeder. I got a baby corn off her and then she introduced me to a 3 year old ball python she got from a guy who rescued him from someone who kept him in a container too small for him, starved him for months at a time and then would throw in live rats too large for him and he'd have to battle it out. He already had a kink in his spine and now he's also covered in scars
    I fell in love with this poor guy the first time I saw and held him and heard his story, which by the way is why we decided to name him Job 'cause of what he'd been through. So the woman taking care of him was getting him on a proper feeding schedule and eating mice. She had him for several months and he shed once and pooped once and would instantly curl up as soon as he was held and would just stay that way. The third time I held him he finally started coming around and loosened up and looked around and let us touch under his chin and he'd nudge our fingers. Shortly after I took him home!

    The first night he did a big poop like he just couldn't hold it anymore and we were like, wow. So we cleaned it out and he seemed to be getting more content with where he was. Oh, the lady also rodents in the same room as her snakes and I'm not sure if leaving the room full of all the other snakes and rodents (rats, mice and gerbils) made any difference in how he felt. Anyways, we offered him thawed mouse and he totally refused it (he'd been on a live mouse diet with her) so she came by and gave me a young rat nearly the size of a mouse and he ate. a week later he pooped, which he has two more times since, and then we noticed his belly was turning pink. I looked it up and learned its a sign of shedding, which he then did shortly after, but he was shedding pieces. I looked up if it was normal (it really shouldn't be) and I looked up reasons why. We have a dehumidifier running constantly to keep from promoting mold in the basement and my house is pretty dry. He would sit in his water dish while he was preparing to shed and so I looked up ways to up the humidity in his tank. He has a screen top so I covered most of it with a towel. I read about moss patches you can get and dampen to help so until I get one I dampened a facecloth and put on the side with the heat pad (not right on it though). He was still soaking in his water dish and after he had been shedding for two days in pieces, I helped by soaking him and gently rubbed them off with a face cloth i put in with him, which I learned how to do from someone who posted a how-to on this site.

    Then he ate, pooped, and now we've notice his poor snake bum
    I've read about some solution I put in warm luke-warm water to soak in twice a day. What is it, and can I buy it at the exotic pet store or do I need to go to a vet? How expensive is it? Is there anything I can do until I get it? Today was Family Day and nothing was open. I called all the vets in the two closest cities. Also my kitten was hit by an idiot plowing snow with his 4-wheeler yesterday possibly dislocated his lower spine and I couldn't take him to the vet either! So now I got two very injured pets. This sucks. All I can do is pray and hope someone can give me advice for Job.

    Please help.

    (i have a pic put don't understand how to use the URL thing. don't know why its set up like that...)

  2. #2
    Registered User Nyxura's Avatar
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    Oh and I should mention that he sat in his water bowl and spilled all of it. The aspen shavings soaked it all up and spread quite a bit. So I cleaned his tank with a bleach wash, and washed his hide too because I wasn't sure if the scale rot is from bacteria or something. I put him back with just paper towel and a smaller water bowl. He was keeping his tail curled like the shavings were irritating him, but now he stretches it out normal again and the wound isn't "wet" looking anymore.

  3. #3
    Registered User anicatgirl's Avatar
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    Pics of snake and setup would help, but I will tell you what I know and hopefully someone more experienced than I will comment.

    I put foil over the top of my tank leaving about an inch on each end of the tank for air circulation. I also use this fogger http://zoomed.com/db/products/EntryD...D=2&SearchID=5 to help keep my humidity up.

    Until the scale rot heals you should put him on dry paper towels to keep from getting worse. You can use betadine to clean it, just a bit on a QTip.

    I have no personal experience with scale rot beyond my extensive reading, so hopefully someone else will help

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