Friend's Ball Has a Burn

I was told that a ball python that suffers from a burn is more than likely going to die. Is this true? I read through all of the threads concerning this matter and understand that the best thing you can do is get the ball to the vet asap, change substrate to paper towel or newspaper, leave the ball alone and apply antibiotic ointment without pain reliever in it.

However; he told me that he was told by a herper that the ball will die despite his efforts. Who has some success stories and pictures of the ball after it healed.

it depends on the severity of the burn, like u said, the vet it EXTREMELY important cause he might need antibiotics or he can get an infection, which would most likely kill him.... if the burn in more than i would say 60% of his body take him in, and if there is nothing the vet can do have him humanely uthanized, instead of slowly watching him die in a painful way.... try to get pictures up to see the damage, and i wish you all the best, and yes about what you said with the paper towels antibiotic etc..

You can't make a blanket statment like this. Too many variables. Get the snake to the vet and see what happens.

Jim Smith

I have seen more snakes on this forum SURVIVE burns then I have seen snakes die from burns.

If you catch it early and fix the poor husbandry that caused the burn, the snake should not just die. If you just let it go then it probably will.

There is a lot of factors that come into play however no one knows for sure what will happen.

The best is to take the animal to a vet ASAP and take it from there.

He is complaining about money. I just purchased the ball from him and brought it to the vet. The vet did not do much though. The vet gave me antibiotic cream and told me to use paper towel and to change it daily. He also stated that I should keep the tub very dry for the ball and to reduce the amount of traffic as much as possible. What do you guys think?

Sounds like a good plan...

Keep the burn VERY clean.

I forgot to ask him if I should rinse her or just apply the antibiotic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lesserlover

I forgot to ask him if I should rinse her or just apply the antibiotic.

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I would err on the side of caution. Wash the burn every other day with a cleanser (Chlorhexidine or Novalsan) and clean the tank and place antibiotic every day.

Thanks for all the help.