My ball python has scraped his scales off!

Wow.....that is pretty gnarly! He does not look ok at all. Still eating? Your snake is a tough sucker. I'd be to the vet like yesterday. That is bad! Best of luck, hope he heals up.

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Originally Posted by lucianocook

Hello everyone im VERY new to this site so i do not know if this is the right place to post.
I am sorry if it is not.

any way my 5 month old baby bumblebee ball python was showing signs of shedding he didnt shed for 2 monthes because he sopped eating for 1,

the other day i found him with bits of skin torn of and still hanging there, today i found him with smooth 'cuts'? down his back one was showing signs of bleeding only a tiny bit but the other one is white what is he doing and why is he doing this i am starting to really worry. these scrapes or cuts are not deep it looks more split .

I NEED SOME ADVICE NO WHERE ON THE INTERNET CAN I FIND A SOLUTION

is he rubbing himself to hard and hurting himself?

he has been placed in a smooth rub with paper towls and a water bowl.

ANY ADVICE IS MUCH APPRECIATED.

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Wow! This is a very serious condition! A vet visit is what bumblebee and you need right now. Most vets can work with you on the fees especially in a emergency. That wound is extremely suspicious for possible bacteria and or fungal spores, maybe both! Don't wait. Call this one in as a emergency! The wounds look very suspicious. Glad to hear he's still feeding. He needs the nutrition. What a beautiful morph! He's going to need professional intervention for this one buddy! Good luck and stay in peace and not pieces. A.C.:gj:

That looks like a burn to me, not a rub. The scales would've sloughed off when as he shed ... is he able to get up against a hot spot? A light? If he can touch it, he will burn himself.

I would definitely clean it off very gently with water, then rub in Bacitracin (or the generic equivalent... it's with the Neosporin and is an antibiotic cream. DON'T use Neosporin as it has a numbing agent that isn't recommended). Repeat this twice a day until he sheds the burns. And I would get him away from anything that will burn, bite, or scrape him. Put him down to a bare bones set up until that is cleaned up!

This is all, of course, if you for some reason can't get to a vet. Because that's the best option :)

You're asking how to use betadine... It's not a bad thing that you don't know that sort of thing, but it highlights that you don't really have wound-care experience. I think a vet visit would be really helpful in keeping that from getting infected.

This looks more like it got chewed unless you've found all the missing flesh.

That's one heck of a scrape. I would not just sit around and assume he will recover, this little guy needs to be taken care of right away. A ball python breeder is not a vet, and just because your friend said he'll be fine doesn't make it true.

A vet will give you the proper medication right away and show you how to mix and apply it. Even if he is eating and doing the tongue thing now, you could find his skin infected and rotting tomorrow. Are you willing to risk the life of your snake?

How bout a old pic before you took it apart?

What heat sources are you using?

Do you feed live?

Man.... I am surprised that this snake isn't in shock.

:sigh2: I still think vet. Unless you sit and constantly watch him to watch for anything wrong, 8 or 10 hours at work or school is long enough for things to worsen or even for him to expire.

Think of how quickly an infection can hit a human being and turn them from slightly uncomfortable to needing an ICU bed. Now apply that to a creature a fraction that size; it is not any stretch of the imagination to believe your snake can go from tongue flicking and feeding to expired during the short time span of a single overnight.

Vet, asap. Gorgeous snake, no need to risk it's life on optimism. It's obvious you care, do the right thing.

I was thinking that it looks more like a burn then anything else. I wouldn't wait on the vet he may act like he is ok right now but an infection can set up really fast and if it gets into his blood stream he may not make it. I wouldn't take any chances with him no matter what a breeder told u