HELP! I think my ball might have scale rot

I was browsing around reading up and I came across an article on scale rot. This made me really upset when I noticed it but my ball has some pinkish coloring on his belly. I also noticed he had a single scale that is a dark red. I took some pictures and I just really hope this means he might be about to shed. His last shed was August 10th.

I have Douglas fir bedding in now and it was changed right after his last shed. I have noticed that the humidity has been some what higher recently which worried me more. I was going to switch to aspen soon but now I am thinking, from what I read, I might want to put newspaper in to help lower the humidity.

I constantly check for waste and he always has fresh water.

Here are the pictures, I tried my best but they are not great. The first belly shot I edited some color scales and contrast to help bring out the color so its some what exaggerated. The original picture with no editing follows it.

2 pictures of the strange scale I found on him:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2630/...3da2928c4b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2480/...363070c0b7.jpg

His belly edited to bring out colors:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3458/...3ff39f25e7.jpg

The original picture:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/...ec14af7f7b.jpg

scale rot 99% of the time is on the underside of the snake. From the looks of it, it just looks like a out of place colored scale. I have my female albino who has one scale that is tinted brown. Just keep eye on it but to me not scale rot

If you notice brownish scales on the belly then its time to look at the husbandry. For now keep him on newspaper or paper towel. Just for a precaution

How often does your snake typically shed? From the looks of it I would say your snake is at the beginning stages of a new shed. I would not be overly concerned about it just keep a close eye on it.

I have only had him for about 2 months, and he's my first. His first shed was August 10th about a month after I got him. So I'm thinking he will probably shed roughly once a month. I think I just read that article and got paranoid because I don't want anything bad to happen to Archy.

A pink belly is a sign of an upcoming shed.

Nothing is wrong with your snake :) no worries!

Hi,

Hopefully it is just an upcoming shed.

Have you double checked that funny coloured scale to make sure it isn't a tick? I can't see clearly ehough from the pic to say one way or the other.


dr del

what are temps on warm side and cool side? tank size? can u take a clearer pic of the brown spec to me it looks like a tick

Okay so Archy started hanging out in his water dish today so I'm pretty sure now its a shed!

His tank is a 20 gallon long 30X12X12. The cool side of his tank stays at about 84 and his basking area around 93. I will try and get a better picture of the scale and post it in a bit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Hopefully it is just an upcoming shed.

Have you double checked that funny coloured scale to make sure it isn't a tick? I can't see clearly ehough from the pic to say one way or the other.


dr del

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Yea i agree, it looks like a blood filled tick...

I got out my old camera that is better at close ups...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3424/...ca211a0a87.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2544/...c622ae1a67.jpg



I was also wondering, when I got Archy from the pet store he had these on him...are they scars?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/...6900092cdd.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/...6e75431632.jpg



Poor Archy, I hope he is okay. He wanted to say hello

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/...434c6a39ca.jpg


If this is a tick what should I do? Do I need to take him to the vet? Or is it just like a tick on a person?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hermeticcharm

I got out my old camera that is better at close ups...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3424/...ca211a0a87.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2544/...c622ae1a67.jpg

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looks like tick ewww

That is a tick. I have no experience removing ticks, hopefully someone else can chime in.

That is definitely a tick.

Tick removal is nothing fancy... grab it with two fingers and yank it off in a quick motion. They come right out (with no lingering parts remaining). After removing the tick, smash it with something (you'll hear it pop) or drop it in a little vial of rubbing alcohol until it's dead.

Thoroughly check the rest of the snake for other ticks. They can blend well to the untrained eye and can also get under the subcaudal scales and disappear pretty well.

If your snake has ticks there is a 95% chance that it is an import. This suggests that the scars it has are remnants of what it means to be a ball python in the wild.

Yup it's a tick. Colin said one great way to remove them another way is to place a layer of petrolium jelly over it and sometimes they will back out. A third way is to twist it while pulling it out. Other than that like Robin said make sure you look ove the entire snake top to bottom and from every thinkable angle. Is thinkable a word? Anyways just make sure that it has no others on it, lightly lift the belly scales to make sure none are under them and rub the snake from tail to head on its back and sides you should be able to feel them that way. Good luck.

Tom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ColinWeaver

If your snake has ticks there is a 95% chance that it is an import. This suggests that the scars it has are remnants of what it means to be a ball python in the wild.

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to add to that, a lot of the pet stores (the ones ive been to) have WC snakes. so yes, definately do a COMPLETE scale check. definately agree with colin.

It's definitely a tick. I'd suggest using tweezers instead of your fingers to get it out, and try to grab it as far up the body towards the head as possible - you don't want to go squeezing the contents of the tick's gut into Archy. It's not a good idea to go touching it with your bare fingers for the simple reason that it's a tick and it carries what are most likely obscure West African diseases that you have no immunity to.

Have you taken your snake for a vet check? You should always get a new snake vet checked, to make sure they're healthy and have no parasites. They'll do a test called a fecal flotation, you just take them your snake's poop and they check for creepy crawlies like worms. Definitely put it on your to do list, since you've got a BP who's most likely wild caught.

I got the tick out and let Archy crawl around on me for a bit while I checked the rest of his scales. I havn't found any more but I will definitely keep an eye out. I am trying to find a Vet that is open right now but I will probably have to wait until after the holiday weekend.

do u hav pics of the tick outside of its host?! i wanna see but i dont want to at the same time ><

I burned it immediately to avoid losing it. I did try and grab my camera to share with the forum but the memory card was missing and the internal was full.

For anyone else that might have this problem in the future I used a pair of tweezers and wedged them under the butt-end of the tick as close to the head as I could get and then pulled it out. Archy of course did not like it much but he was brave and stuck it out.

A tick and scars adding up to what is probably a recently imported wild caught ball python. :(

How's the snake settling in for you otherwise as far as eating and so forth. Personally with these indicators I'd have a fecal float done then if there's indication of internal parasites as well you could take the snake in then for a full going over by the vet. However, if you are unsure or there are any other worrisome issues, get the snake seen (and the fecal done as well of course).

Yeah that looks like a tick.

Quote:

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Ticks are most heavily seen in wild caught animals. Often 20 or more can be spotted on any import. Luckily, they are fairly easy to remove. But you must exercise caution. One way is to cover the ticks in Vaseline or Neosporin. This supposedly suffocates them or causes them to release. After applying let it sit for 10 minutes, then with tweezers try and slowly pull them off. Another method would be to burn them off with a hot piece of metal. Simply heat up something like a paper clip, or use a hot match stick and poke the tick. It will instantly cause them to release.

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http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=46

EDIT

Wow there was a whole second page ~_~ Yeah I guess this was covered.