Guys...I'm really worried...Scale rot?? Infected burn?? Please help!!

Kudos to you for getting to the vet and having the bp receive professional and definitive care. Who knows what someone else in the same situation would have done. All is well that ends well. Now it's the treatment and rehabilitation that is important. I hope that it all goes smoothly and she recovers and returns to the quality of life she is used to. Stay in peace and not pieces. Good luck. :gj:

It was not 'stubbornness' that kept me from removing her from the UTH. I was told by PROFESSIONALS AKA VETERINARIANS that she would be fine as long as I kept the UTH temp at 90 degrees, kept her environment clean, and treated with neosporin, all of which I did. The vet I saw yesterday said that her wound got so bad because of an infection secondary to the burn. As a fourth year vet student myself (small animal; don't even try me on the exotics field.) I tend to follow the advice of a veterinarian a bit more closely than that of others. I'm not trying to be rude but if I were stubborn, I would not have gone straight to the vet in the first place, ordered a regulator for the pad and paid out the you-know-what for it to be expedited, nor would I have even come here asking for advice. Perhaps invest in a dictionary to define the word 'stubborn' in future....I highly doubt a 'stubborn' snake owner would be willing to shell out almost 400$ in vet bills and other equipment within two weeks for one snake. Don't try me on my level of care and attention for my precious animals.. This thread is closed. ::drops mic::

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Originally Posted by RaeDee

I'm not trying to be rude but if I were stubborn, I would not have gone straight to the vet in the first place, ordered a regulator for the pad and paid out the you-know-what for it to be expedited, nor would I have even come here asking for advice.

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Just for giggles I went on amazon and looked up how much 1 day shipping would be for a Hydrofarm thermostat. It's 4$. You ordered a simple rheostat on 4-29. What kind of expedited shipping did you get that takes a week to be delivered? Now that maybe less because I have prime but did what you order cost much more than 40$?

Your snake was burned by an unregulated UTH, you allowed it to remain unregulated, the burn got worse and has gotten infected. Now you're stubbornly trying to justify your lack of action on the cause of the problem in the past week by pointing out your futile attempts at treating it.

I feel bad for your snake having to recover from something avoidable but certainly not for you being insulted. As a fourth year vet student no appeal to authority makes your opinion/actions beyond reproach. Especially when you're making major mistakes (like no thermostat) that should have been covered in any moderately decent care sheet.

And we all told you that sitting a thermometer on top of a heat pad does not keep it at 90 degrees, so no, you weren't doing what we (or the vet) told you to do. Keeping it at 90 would have required immediately putting it on a thermostat, which you didn't do. I'm willing to bet that your vet would never have told you to leave an unregulated thermostat on.

If you really want to get on a soapbox about how precious your animals are to you then do more research before you get the next one and you'll find out how to safely set them up. Yes, putting a snake on an unregulated UTH is a common and forgivable beginner mistake, but only if someone is willing to admit that they messed up and should have done better. I want what is best for your snake (don't really care if your feelings get hurt or not) but the fact is that you have not handled this situation the best way it could have been.

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Originally Posted by RaeDee

I was told by PROFESSIONALS AKA VETERINARIANS that she would be fine as long as I kept the UTH temp at 90 degrees...

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So after the first vet visit did you unplug the UTH or did it continue to run unregulated?

BTW a lamp dimmer does the same job as a rheostat, this one is from Lowes but Home Depot should also carry them, so you could have had a fix for your UTH a week ago for $15. They are a short-term solution until you get a thermostat. http://www.lowes.com/pd_70717-539-TT...ductId=3189447

Vets specialize.
My vet WONT touch reptiles because that is not her primary care and she admits to not knowing enough about them.
Not saying I know everything about anything but its funny when I get calls from her.

First of all, I never said I didn't make a mistake as I quite obviously did. Secondly, I saw an exotics vet. A SPECIALIST. I clearly misunderstood his instructions and I take full responsibility for that. However, I've been on a lot of forum sites related to many different subjects and I have never ever seen such condescending responses to someone who was reaching out for help. A few of you have been kind but the vast majority of responses and messages I've gotten since joining have been unbelievably insulting/condescending to the point of feeling bullied. So maybe next time a newbie who made a mistake comes round, try to be a little gentler. Yes I got defensive earlier and I apologize for that but I do try to do everything I can for my animals and I do hours and hours of research before I invest in a new one. I made a mistake. Now I'm doing everything in my power to correct that mistake. So can we please leave it at that? I feel bad enough as it is without a hoard of strangers shaming me for something I did wrong. :(

I'm sure everyone, you included, is frustrated. For me personally it was rather upsetting that I, along with several other people, had told you to immediately turn the uth off. You didn't do it and a few days later I come back and see the snake with an even worse burn than before. Really frustrating as an outside observer who gave you good advice that you didn't follow. It was sort of like why did you even bother to ask?

As for you I can certainly see how some of the comments would seem insensitive and even provoking, but I'm confident that the posters have the best interest of your snake in mind. Harsh yes, but the comments didn't seem to get through the last time so there is a sort of urgency to impress upon you the need for proper care.

When I first got into the hobby some of the terms were very confusing. I did a lot of reading myself, but unfortunately sometimes you don't learn things before you experience them. Chuck this one up to experience, learn from it and get on the ball to make sure you don't do it again. I believe that you have a promising start and I look forward to seeing your BP's progress as she heals. Best of luck.

I won't be using the UTH anymore. The heat lamp is working really well and I think it'll be safer for her in the long run. Im going to work really extra hard to make sure I never have to post a problem on here again. This has been stressful and yes, frustrating. Thank you Asherah for your kindness.

As long as the temps and humidity is good there is no reason you can't use the lamp long term. :) I hope you will post again in the future. There is helpful advice here even if it is frustrating getting it! lol You are welcome as well.