New Owner- Shed or bad stuff?

[skaplan86]

Hi everybody!

This is George and I'm a bit concerned, probably because I'm a brand new snake owner and have recently realized I havent been doin a very good job (but im workin hard to fix that)! I got this guy about a 3-4 weeks ago and he seemed healthy as could be, I took him to the reptile shop that I was told to get rats from and they gave him a clean bill. Since I have gotten him I completely changed his substrate (he was on turf now I have him on reptibark) and put an UTH in. Unfortunately I know my temp and humidity levels are all out of whack though but I'm going to take care of that and get thermo hypo stuff this weekend.

What concerns me is his belly. I know it will turn pink when he begins to shed but his eyes never glazed over and he is still very active. I took him with me to the reptile shop again last week because his belly was a bit rough (looked very similar to now, but wasnt pink at the time) and the guy there said it was just him bein a bit scratched up from who knows what and nothing to worry about. Over the course of the week his belly has gotten progressively pinker and I have been waiting for more signs of shedding.

Is this a shed or is it the beginning of something worse? Let me know if you need more pics too.

[starmom]

Well, my eyes are way too awful to be able to see the pictures you've posted.
If you are worried, I would recommend a visit to your local herp vet- not a pet store!!
Also, if you could share what your current set-up is, we'd more than likely be able to suggest some environmental changes that might help your snake out

[skaplan86]

should i blow the pic's up? i might be able to salvage quality...

Right now its a 50g glass tank with an Exotera Desert Large UTH. He has one hide on the hot side and a water dish on the other. I noticed he was hiding in a corner not under his hide or anything and figured it was probably because he was uncomfortable in some way. It has cooled off here recently and I figured his new corner was because his temps were bad.

I put a 75w heat light on top and a towel on top of the screen covering about 80 % of it (the uncovered portion has the heat light). He is much more active now and hides in the correct spot and thermoregulates and such. I have a strip thermometer right near the substrate on the hot side but not directly above the UTH (and it reads like 77 which is grossly inaccurate because by touched the substrate i can feel that its warmer than 77).

The same day I put the heat light on I thought maybe the bottom was just really dry and my humidity might be low so I soaked him for about 20-30 min. I figured it couldn't hurt any. I let him run through a slightly damp washcloth a few times and then a dry towel before returning him to his cage.

Like i said its a pretty bad setup. Today my intentions are to go out and buy a thermo/hygrometer and put it on the hot side in order to at least get some accurate readings. Once I have accurate readings I will be able to get a thermostat (or at least a dimmer) in order to adjust stuff accordingly. I have been reading all the tank setup stuff and didnt want to bog everybody down asking questions that have already been answered. I think have a good grasp on how I need to get the tank set up and I just haven't had the time (or $) to get it done.

Thanks for any advice,

Sam (and George)

[ohyeahnow]

From those pics it is hard to say. A UTH without a t-stat is a scary thing. Could cause the glass to get too hot and burn the snake. While a 30-$40 t-stat will fluctuate, you would at least be able to keep the temps in a safe range. I hope you get the time and funds soon.

Getting good advice from a pet shop is like playing the lottery.

[skaplan86]

Ya... I called up the vet and they said it might be the humidity and that he cant start the shed properly so to mist the cage regularly for a few days and see if it clears up, if not bring him in. I'm happy the vet was willing to give me advice without me having to bring in the snake, kinda shows that they are more concerned with healthy animal than the money from me bringin him in.

I don't think its burn because he hasnt dug out the substrate above the UTH once I get my thermo/hygrometer set up I will know a lot more. I'll be goin out to pick that up within a couple hours.

Thanks!

[starmom]

Well, you NEED a thermostat (now) to control the heat. Without one, you're flying in the dark.
You need a thermometer and hygrometer to measure the temps and the humidity.
You need to get more hides in there because it is a large environment.

As for lack of money, I would prioritize by getting the thermostat first, along with the 12 dollar thermo/hygro unit

[butters!]

the pics are very small but it looks like it could be scale rot.are there brownish scales on the belly that kinda looked scabbed?

[skaplan86]

there are some scales that look more dried out than anything.... it looks like my humidity is way low... just put the thermo hygro in and it looks like its right around 35-40%... ima give it a few to get a solid reading, then mist to get the humidity up...

if after a day or 2 i see no improvement i will bust out the neosporin and make a vet appt.

[butters!]

definatly looks like scale rot.try warm water and anti-bacterial soap.soak for about 10 15 minutes then gently scrub the belly with your hand or a soft brush.after you clean it up real good a little bit of neosporin with out painkiller on the problem spots.try this every few days and by the next shed your snake should be clear of the infection.

[skaplan86]

thanks for takin a look... Here is some good news... The temp now is 92 degrees in on the hot side and the humidity there is just over 60%, I have been misting every 15-20 minutes for the past hour or so in order to get it up from the 40% it was at... Once I get it up to about 60-65% i am going to hopefully be able to slow down the misting to every few hours...

Still not running a thermastat because the reptile shop I went to was out of them and wont be getting in for a few days. I'm going to be closely monitoring temp though now with my new and accurate thermometer and will probably order a stat online, time to research the best ones for the best price. I might just cough it up and go for a really good one!

I guess if it is scale rot, and pretty obviously not because of too much humidity in the tank, I just need to do a better job of keeping the substrate clean ( spot clean daily instead of twice or week or so) and I will be a bit more careful the surfaces he is on when handling... Is it advisable for me to not handle him while taking care of the scale rot? Did I catch it early enough that it will be easy to get rid of?

Thanks for everything!!!

Sam (and George)