Need help with my ball python!

Hello. Ok We need some help. Me and my Fiancee LOVE snakes. So we thought our first pet together would be a BP. We went and got one from PETCO. Along with that we got a 30 gallon tank with a felt flooring, a combo water bowl/Hideout and a wood arch. We used a 50 watt bulb with a medium heat pad under his hidehole.

Everything was going great.

So when our neighbor was getting rid of a large tank we jumped on the chance. Disinfected it and put him in it to give him much more room to grow (it's a 100 gallon tank)

That was until my sister said she had to get rid of one of her BPs. A full grown one named Garcon that was blind (per her) in one eye. That eye was constantly milky and had a hard time tracking food if on that side of him (otherwise perfect health, good appetite, great sheds etc.). So when all was said and done, we took the BP and brought him home. We moved our juvenile back into the smaller one and the adult into the large tank. He was using chips but we changed him to our felt since it was easier maintenance.

My sister only used the heat pad and said belly heat was the only thing that was important, as long as temperature was ok, so we tried it. Again...everything was going great...until 2 weeks ago...

We noticed a little pink on his belly....Didn't really think to think much of it...new owners, thought it was just coloring of skin....it took a week to go from pink, to brown to some sores and really ugly.....What the???? His shedding is spotty (and even our juvenile has never shed fully in one piece, always in pieces) So we went to a local Exotic animal store.....He took us to the back to show us a snake they were healing from someone who put their BP in with a heat rock and burned her completely....It looked like an extreme version of what my snake had but they had already nursed it back to health by giving it Iodine baths daily and disinfecting the tank every time they bathed him....That snake is (just found out today) for sale because after 3 months of the treatment, it is fully recovered....

So off we go...We buy some iodine and fully soak him for 20 min a day in it. We then put him in the tub and rub the excess loose skin off (not yanking, just light rubbing to help get what's detached and just stuck on. While we do that, we are disinfecting with rubbing alcohol and letting it air out. Disinfecting his bowl, his hiding hole, his tank, and rotating his felt with one that's been drying from being cleaned the night before...

The skin is REALLY ugly and brown/pink on his belly.....He still eats well and the WEIRD THING IS, since we have started iodine treatments, his eye has cleared up....now both eyes look normal.....

The juvenile has a little pink on his belly, so we are going to jump on the treatments right away but doing everything we can to avoid cross contamination.....

What else can we do??? We really want to see him be healthy, and we love owning them...We just want to make sure we are doing all we can....It's just REALLY ugly...and I don't know what even caused all of this......

HELP US!

I'm guessing it's burns from the heat pads. Are you using thermostats on them? Make sure you are checking the cage temperature with a IR temperature gun and some thermometers as well. Also while you're at it might want to pick something up to measure humidity since ball pythons enjoy a bit of humidity.

Check the temps on the uth. Take out the bulb. A baby ball python does not need a 100 gallon tank nor does an adult

Oh...Throw this in there....We were told it was better to go from a bulb to a ceramic heat emitter. So, I know he doesn't NEED it, but it was free...So should we get him into something smaller? Or would it work out? Both now are on a ceramic heat emitter......the larger one being 150watt. The smaller one being 100 watt.

While it could be burns, I would think a normal heat pad going through a tank and felt wouldn't give burns, would it? Should I change to a thicker substrate? Maybe go with a couple inches of bark?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by _superman_

Oh...Throw this in there....We were told it was better to go from a bulb to a ceramic heat emitter. So, I know he doesn't NEED it, but it was free...So should we get him into something smaller? Or would it work out? Both now are on a ceramic heat emitter......the larger one being 150watt. The smaller one being 100 watt.

While it could be burns, I would think a normal heat pad going through a tank and felt wouldn't give burns, would it? Should I change to a thicker substrate? Maybe go with a couple inches of bark?

---

The heat pads should be going through a thermostat. A thermostat is a device that just turns the pad off if it gets over a certain temp. A cheaper one like this should be just fine for your need ls and you can get them on Amazon or at a pet store

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...f8fcaecb33.jpg

You are right in that a ceramic bulb is better than regular but you should always be checking heat. I use the following heat gun I bought on Amazon for less than $20

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...99899c7546.jpg

And you can use this to take temps of your enclosure. Talking the regularly and adjusting the thermostat should keep you from burning the baby in the future. Either heat source would work as long as they also have a cooler side of the cage and as long as you keep the humidity under control

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by _superman_

While it could be burns, I would think a normal heat pad going through a tank and felt wouldn't give burns, would it? Should I change to a thicker substrate? Maybe go with a couple inches of bark?

---

Your snake already answered that question for you there I think.
Heat source needs to be regulated and husbandry should be corrected for both animals.

http://www.pitontheprowl.com/husbandry.html
Or
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

First mistake was the 30 gallons tank, the second is the 100 gallons tank, if you keep your hatchling in those you will FAIL.

I would downgrade asap in something no bigger that a 6 to 12 quarts tub, (stress + health issue can be a bad combination) if the animal is under is under 200 grams use a 6 quarts tub, the 30 gallons tank will be perfect when he is an adult the other one will be nearly impossible to maintain temp wise.

When you say iodine please tell me you mean pividone or betadine, and are not using pure iodine which would be like pouring salt on a wound?

You want your animal healthy I would suggest based on the description to take you snake to a QUALIFIED herp vet to be assessed, in some cases anti-biotics maybe required additionally you will likely be prescribed silver sulfadiazine.

UNPLUG your UTH, get a thermometer get a thermostat and please READ the caresheet you will find here.

Roger. Unplugged the heater. Will go buy a digital thermometer today. The strip thermometer we have shows the tank sits around 90 in the warm side. We have a cool side, but no thermometer there.

Didn't know how exact is has to be. We were told by the pet store they were simple and low maintenance.

Now that we know, we can fix it.

Thank you guys. Will get this figured it.

And yes. 10% povidone... Diluted into a small bucket which he sits in for 20 min

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by _superman_

The strip thermometer we have shows the tank sits around 90 in the warm side.

---

Stuck to the side of the tank?
That would be measuring ambient temperatures, not surface.