My ball python peed everywhere! Scale rot risk?

I recently adopted a 3.5ft female ball python (my 12th snake, first BP) from animal control. I have her in a Hefty 52qt tub that roughly measures 36"x17". She's currently in shed so I guess she's been drinking a lot. Well, overnight she peed inside her hot hide. There was a large clump of solid urates in the hide but the liquid urine totally saturated her newspaper lining on the warm half of the tub. She didn't move off of it and when I pulled her out this morning she was noticeably damp. The humidity spiked from 62% to 95%. Will this necessarily result in a scale rot issue? I know they're not supposed to have a moist substrate but I don't know if the 12 hours or so that she may have been wet is enough to warrant concern.

If she pees so much that it saturates everything should I change her substrate from newspaper to aspen... maybe that will absorb more?

hello, and welcome to the forum!

i'd say she's okay, but just keep an eye on her tummy and be sure her enclosure is clean so no bacteria can thrive.

if you want more absorption, then yes you should switch from paper substrate. i'd recommend Reptile Prime: SUPER great at absorbing messes and it kinda clumps like kitty litter for easy clean-up.

personally, i use Reptichip! idk how many animals you have, bc Reptichip comes with a LOT of substrate for $20, but i have 7 animals and i use it for almost all of them. :)

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Originally Posted by SouthernGraver

I recently adopted a 3.5ft female ball python (my 12th snake, first BP) from animal control. I have her in a Hefty 52qt tub that roughly measures 36"x17". She's currently in shed so I guess she's been drinking a lot. Well, overnight she peed inside her hot hide. There was a large clump of solid urates in the hide but the liquid urine totally saturated her newspaper lining on the warm half of the tub. She didn't move off of it and when I pulled her out this morning she was noticeably damp. The humidity spiked from 62% to 95%. Will this necessarily result in a scale rot issue? I know they're not supposed to have a moist substrate but I don't know if the 12 hours or so that she may have been wet is enough to warrant concern.

If she pees so much that it saturates everything should I change her substrate from newspaper to aspen... maybe that will absorb more?

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Absolutely not. Snakes Pee all the time, you cant stand over them 24/7. Only time that will cause Scale Rot is if left like that to dry week after week. Wipe her off with a wet paper towel so she doesnt stink or give her a shallow bath and your all set. If youve had 12 snakes then you know they all piss and lay in it here and there. [emoji1360]


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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This.

Wipe off the snake with a damp paper towel, clean the tub, put in clean paper, hide, and water bowl, and put snake back in home.

Oh and congrats on your new snake!

All good replies above.

As for substrate, I would switch. But not to Aspen. Aspen stinks for BPs. I use a blend of eco earth and repti-bark. Holds humidity well, retains odor, easy to spot clean and looks natural.

That’s also a reason to use deeper substrate and larger enclosures. If the snake’s pee floods the entire floor so the snake has no choice but to sit in it until you come along to clean it, it’s not going to cause immediate scale rot... but it’s still not healthy or pleasant. It’s easily prevented by providing enough substrate and enough space that the pee can soak through and the surface can stay mostly dry.