Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)

[ember]

I have taken in a yearling female ball python that has seriously the worst scale rot I have ever personally seen. She was bought from a HORRIBLE shop here in town by a dad and his 5 year old son, first time pet owners. They have only had her three weeks, and the last week she has been in a vet office (a CLUELESS vet that has been treating this as a "burn as result from using an under tank heater". They were using a UTH made for reptiles and used in the proper way... The vet blamed them and the family has been heart broken. They did not know that ball pythons were not supposed to have brown flaky bellies when they bought her, and they brought her into the vet because her "belly was splitting open". In person it is really easy to tell that it is scale rot. The inner lining is covered in a white cream (hence the distorted appearance in the photo). The history is not clear, so there may be burned tissue there as well, but there is OBVIOUS scale rot.

She has, for the last week, been getting daily baytril injections and topical burn cream, and daily soaks...

So, what should I be treating her with topically?
Should I continue with the full run of baytril?
I have her on paper towel right now (in the laundry room, quarantined) with a heat lamp...
No more daily soaking... What should I be doing, though?
I am serious, this is BAD scale rot. She also has a lot of retained shed....
Her back end is stiff and she is not moving it.
She was tube fed while at the vet... I am upset that through all of this, the vet was force feeding her (she is not under weight or noticeably dehydrated).

How do I keep this snake alive long enough for her to recover?

[juddb]

Oh my god thats horrible, i had a rescue and she had burns on her belly but nothing like that, i put triple a ointment on her a few times got her in a tub in one of my racks and shes doing fine now, that was a few months of quarantine though. But wow thats gonna take a while to heal up i imagine, good luck.

[Rascal]

Wow, I feel really sorry for your snake.

If a vet prescribed antibiotic shots, I would give them to her until the rot goes away. This is a war here, don't let up.

Heres a segment taken from this snake care page:
http://www.redtailboas.com/instant/instant.html

Belly Rot/Scale Rot

"Clean the entire affected area by swabbing with a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water solution.

Must be thorough to treat the entire area because the damaged tissue could be in multiple places.

Apply Polysporin or Neosporin to the affected areas twice a day and work it in and under the scales.

Immediately clean the enclosure thoroughly. Raise ambient temperature to 88-90 degrees.

Consult your veterinarian as soon as possible, antibiotic injections may be required.

Scale Rot (Neocrotic Dermatitis) appears as enlarged, discolored (rust or reddish-brown), fluid filled scales.

Possible ulceration and breakdown of the skin and underlying tissue. Generally appears on the ventral scales (belly), and can be in one long continuous area or in separate spots. This is a bacterial infection that can be caused by damp substrate, inadequate temperatures, and dirty enclosures. Bad cases will also have blisters, and will require draining by your vet. Serious cases are life-threatening.

You must keep your boa warm and dry during the recovery process. If your boa tends to soak in the water bowl, it may be necessary to remove the larger bowl and replace it with a very small dish that would not allow soaking but still provide drinking water."


I really hope this helps, good luck caring for your snake.

[ember]

Thanks for the info

I have her quarantined in a closed off laundry room. It is low traffic, too. I have been using gloves when handling her or any of her stuff, and then throwing the gloves away and washing my hands in hot water with antibacterial soap. I don't want to risk anything in case there is more going on that husbandry issues causing infection and rot. She may make it... lord knows we have a few that I was sure I would end up putting to sleep or that I would wake up to find dead... but she very well may NOT make it. It does not look promising, that is for sure!

[Rascal]

Tough life.

[chris B]

UGH thats bad, But I wish you the best of luck for a full recovery.

[Vomitore]

Holy crap! Wow that poor lil BP. I hope it'll recover.

[SatanicIntention]

NO peroxide, it can actually inhibit healing, and doesn't do anything for cleaning. I would do either chlorhexidine soaks or betadine, and using some gauze, scrub(lightly of course) the belly scales so the dead ones come off(debriding).

The Baytril is fine as I'm sure she needs it. I would just keep her warm and dry(normal humidity, but dry substrate).

I just can't see how her poor belly got that way in 3 weeks...

[adizziedoll]

NO peroxide, it can actually inhibit healing, and doesn't do anything for cleaning

Just wondering where you have heard this from?

[SatanicIntention]

As a vet tech, we learn these things from the beginning. Peroxide might be good for cleaning your child's scraped knee(even if there are better alternatives), but for a massive infection that could turn septic if not kept up with, you need to use something appropriate for the situation. Peroxide damages newly formed tissue, and inhibits healing. I prefer the chlorhexidine or betadine because they are actually disinfectants and won't generally harm healing wounds.