Hey guys, I'm afriad my Ball Python has scale rot. Tell me what you think.

Hey, Tarantula/Snake owner here.


A while back a friend of the family needed a good home for her Ball Python (unsure of his age). Though I have had no prior experience with snakes I happily obliged, and up until this point all has been fine; good sheds, good eating habits and great temperament.

I went on vacation and upon returning I found my little guy had a very poor shed, huge pieces of dead/dry skin all over. His water bowl was completely empty; not nearly enough humidity and his tank was a mess, needless to say I wont be using the same house sitter from now on.

Anyways, yesterday I helped him through his shed with soaks and a warm towel and everything came off OK, though, It seems he has a case of scale rot (though, with how dry it was in the tank, I'm not ruling out a burn...or both). I have already started treating him with diluted Betadine soaks and antibacterial ointment along with putting him in a secondary clean tank with some newspaper/paper towel for substrate (until i can thoroughly clean the main tank). In the temporary tank I have a the humidity a bit lower at around 35%, temp is at 75.

I am unsure if all of it was necessary. Being new to snake ownership I thought I'd play it safe.

Here are a few pics taken shortly after a soak, I'd appreciate any help you guys can give (mainly if my current course of action id enough, or if a vet trip is in order).

http://imgur.com/a/CpApk#ZGfNKi0

I can embed if necessary.

What are you using to heat the enclosure?
If you're using a heat pad, do you have it regulated with a lamp dimmer or thermostat?
What are you using to monitor temperatures? Probed or analog thermometers or a heat gun?

75 is too low and brings the chance of him getting a respiratory infection. Keep it no lower than 78!

It looks like a burn to me, I'd be taking him to the vet.

Also, what ointment are you using. Polysporin/neosporin can make the scales mushy. I'd stick to the Betadine soaks until you can get a vet visit.

Under the tank heating pad, first thing tomorrow I will be checking to see what the temps are getting at, see if there are nay hotspots. As far as ointment goes, I am using a very thin coat of Bactracin.

Ill try to bump of the heat in the new tank, thanks for the heads up.

edit* I am using a cheapo thermometer/humidity guage that was used by the previous owners. Hopefully I can get a hold of something better in the next day or so to be sure of the temps right over the pad.

You should get a thermostat to control the uth. A good thermometer is a must but it wont stop your snake from getting burned.

Alright, any suggestions on thermostats/thermometers that will be effective but wont break the bank (hate to be that guy, especially when it comes to pets, but funds are limited)

A hydrofarm is effective, but I cant speak much about them as I use herpstats only.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZZG3S

I would suggest a herpstat, but that may be considered expensive.
http://www.spyderrobotics.com

If you don't have a thermostat, turn your heat pad off right now.

Thermostats are NOT optional, and should have been your first purchase.

The hydrofarm is easily afforded, i'll do a bit more research to see how reliable they are. For now I have unplugged the heat pad, bumped up the heat in my room (hopefully I can get the ambient temp up high enough to keep him warm). I do have a 75watt infrared I can use in place of the pad, thoughts on that?

As long as you're able to monitor the temperatures, a lamp would be fine. They do kill the humidity though.

I'm no vet, but it looks like a burn to me. I would not use the neosporin/bacatrin is said you were. That's stuff is bad for scales. Get him to a vet. I believe what you're going to get for a burn is called silvadine (something like that, can't remember) cream.

You definitely need a thermostat. You can't run heat pads unregulated. As far as they hydrofarm, it will work, but they suck. I had one on a qt tank, and hated it. Herpstats however, are awesome. That's what I'd recommend.