» Site Navigation
1 members and 729 guests
Most users ever online was 47,180, 07-16-2025 at 05:30 PM.
» Today's Birthdays
» Stats
Members: 75,905
Threads: 249,107
Posts: 2,572,121
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
|
-
WTH is this?
At the expense of possibly getting bashed again, I'd like to post a health-related question in regards to my corn snake out of concern for her, not myself.
Cheesecake is an ultramel motley so usually she has a nice red and yellow color. I thought motleys were supposed to have clear bellies, and her upper 1/3 IS clear--but for months the bottom third has been steadily turning yellow.
Now this month about a day after she shed, something odd is happening. Nobody, not the vet OR the breeder we bought her from, has ANY clue what the heck this is.
Her scales in some spots are turning gray and white and black and disappearing. They look red and inflamed and painful, and when you touch them she just about jumps out of your hand--which she usually doesn't do, so I strongly suspect the areas are painful. :/
As per the vet she is on .06 mg of an antibiotic every other day for 10 doses (20 days). She doesn't appear to be getting worse (maybe a tiny bit, but today is only dose two) but certainly isn't getting any better at all.
How long until the antibiotics work? I have some pictures but they're blurry and out of focus. I don't want to touch her and risk hurting her for the sake of the clarity of a photo. :(
Her belly is fine. The odd spots are only in patches on the lower 1/3 of her tail, a little bit above her cloaca and then downward, on her sides.
When should the antibiotics start working?
Thanks...
Shellie
-
Re: WTH is this?
Hi,
Without the pics we are guessing to be honest.
It could be a burn or scale rot or some kind of fungal infection.
Did the vet take any swabs of the area to try and find out what is causing it?
Can you tell us what substrate etc you are using and how moist it is and what kind of heat you use and how it is controlled?
Did the vet give you any information as to what he thought was causing it?
He may have put her on anti-biotics simply to prevent infection while the area heals. Did he suggest a non-particulate substrate like paper towels and any cream or ointments to apply to the area?
dr del
-
with out pics hard to say but it sounds like scale rot. good luck
-
Sounds like scale rot. Which is caused from excess soaking or maybe water spilled in the tank... I had the same thing happen a long time ago to a lesser degree... To heal a corn snake will shed quicker, give her the meds and as long as she's eating okay she should be fine.
-
She was on Aspen which I had been spot cleaning. What I have since learned from the vet is that bacteria still remains. Here I was thinking I was doing ok by taking out hunks of Aspen where her droppings and urates had been and I actually wasn't doing good enough.
She had a heat mat that was not supposed to reach over 100 degrees or so ever but I just noticed she keeps burrowing under her aspen. She burrows under her newspaper. She won't stop, so I had to unplug her heat mat a few days ago because she is probably going to get burned, even with a thermostat I am concerned (and one is on the way!) because she is right up against it.
We put her on newspaper as substrate.
I have some new pictures and I will repost the old ones here. The vet had no clue what it could be and said it wasn't scale rot. No culture was taken.
I also took EVERYTHING out of her tank and disinfected it twice. I could not ever find chlorhexadine or whatever it is called so before we bought the Zoo Med "Wipe Out" solution I had been using water (a month ago and before that, we got it this month) to clean tanks. What the heck is that chlorhexadine stuff and do I still need it if I have wipe out?
I replaced her hide with a home-made one that is easier to clean and replaced her water bowl with a new one. I change her newspaper daily.
:/
Pictures coming in a minute.
(and I checked her--the places that are gray look like scabs. there are no scales left. This happened overnight, I kid you not, the day after she shed...)
-
-
Also, she won't eat right now, not surprising....but usually she's a little piggy when it comes to food. :(
-
It looks like a burn to me, i understand it's not always easy to take good photos.
-
Oh, and she kept going under her water bowl (burrowing under her Aspen), where she would pee and spill water. I tried to clean it up as fast as I can notice it but she still sometimes laid in it for a few minutes or more before I was able to find her urates or urine. :( She won't stop burrowing even under newspaper. Urgh!
-
I'm new here but my suggestion is instead of having your mat under the tank put it on the side and make her a hide out of cardboard like a 12 pack soda box something thin and have the back up against the Heat mat i read that from some forum when doing a little research on snakes but make sure the hide is attached to the glass somehow so he cant move it and hit the glass directly hope it helps :D
-
Do you have a thermostat of any kind?
Chlorhexidine is one of many chemical disinfectants. It is easy to use and relatively not toxic (it kills germs and bacteria and viruses no it is somewhat toxic to kill things.) and is unlikely to harm you or reptiles in general. A local vet may carry the 2% or 4% Chlorhexidine. The 4∞ is surgical scrub and 2 is a general use many would recommend a dilution of 1:24 for the 2% and 1:48 for the 4% it is a spray on wait and use product (I rinse out water bowls but cage stuff I just spray it on wait 20 min and whip out any extra)
However bleach also works well but it IS toxic to your snake so careful rinsing is required. Vinegar is also a decent disinfectant as well household pickling wiped on straight and left for 20 min kills a wide variety of nastys as well, rinse it off carefully but it isn't quite as unpleasant as bleach.
There is also new studies being done on bleach vinegar mixes but I have only read them in passing so you would have to look it up yourself acidified bleach.
A proportional thermostat eliminates the concern about burrowing, the heated surface stays at the temp you have set. (helix/herpstat). It is hard to tell from the photos but it could be a burn, better images would help try having the snake smaller in the frame and crop in on it after just a suggestion.
-
Re: WTH is this?
Spot cleaning is good. However the substrate should be totally replaced every 1 1/2 to 3 months depending on how messy your snake is.
-
Re: WTH is this?
Not the best of pictures but it could be fungal, ask your vet to do an impression smear and a culture then send it out to the lab, this will let both of you know how to treat appropriately, based on that picture and the missing scales she will have a scar and always be sensitive in that area. In the mean time go to the home depot and get a $7.00 light dimmer and use that until your thermostat comes, in fact the light dimmer is all I use for my corns and kings, it works just fine and it’s only $ 7.00.
-
-
-
Someone suggested applying a powder for Athlete's foot for Cheesecake since it may be fungal....but something about that sounds weird. Is that a good idea? :/ I'm sketched out on that one. Not all fungal infections are the same...what kinds do snakes get?
-
Re: WTH is this?
If it were me, I would change her substrate to newspaper or paper towels, hook up a digital thermostat to her UTH, and give her whatever meds the vet decided to give her. Good luck.
-
She's on newspaper, the UTH is off while the thermostat is in the mail (thanks zina!), and we have an infrared light on a dimmer switch above her tank for now. :(
-
Re: WTH is this?
Is there any way that she can be climbing to the top of the tank? I've had corns go in between the screen top and the edge of the tank and get minor burns from that if the lamp is hot, or maybe is there anything in the tank that can get very hot..?
Goodluck,
Mike H.:snake:
-
The only thing that got hot could have been the heat mat. I never see her climbing--she's always down in the substrate burrowed. She has little tunnel systems leading to every nook and cranny of her tank. It is fascinating to see, and she always makes the same ones.
I'm worried maybe she burrowed down into the substrate where the heat mat was. >:/
She'll never stop. I'm gonna have to get Astro turf or something...ugh.
-
....does it look like a burn to you? :(
-
It is still hard to tell but maybe it could also be an infection of some kind. With the history of a hot uth and burrowing I'd guess (it is a guess) a burn. You might try polysporin (regular MAKE SURE it does not have PAIN KILLERS in it!!!) it would work for a burn and as it is a topical antibiotic it might do a little bit to help scale rot (certainly not the treatment of choice but...) Keep the area dry in case. This is my best guess. Have you given thought to a vet?
good luck!
Alex
-
Re: WTH is this?
Wouldn't a vet have recognized a burn? Or scale rot? And if he rules out those two issues, why would he not test for a fungal infection or at least try a fungal treatment to see if it helped?
If your vet, who holds the snake in his hands and looks at it with his own eyes, can't tell what it is, how in the world will any of our guesses help? It's been suggested that you have the vet TEST for a fungal infection. Yet you keep asking for a new diagnosis? As if maybe someone guessing something simple to treat will suddenly make this a simple matter?
You don't need a heat mat with a corn snake. You just need to keep the ambient temps around 75-80...which can be done quite easily with an overhead lamp if the room its in is cooler than that. I'd ditch the mat entirely and get a simple bulb, or a space heater to warm that area of the room. (Which would be helpful for your other snakes as well, if they're in the same general area).
Without a heat mat, you don't have to worry about him burrowing under his substrate, whatever it is. Astroturf is even worse for holding onto and cultivating excess bacteria than aspen is. We've used aspen for seven years with our gopher snake (who is also a burrower), with the spot-cleaning method...and have never had a single health issue. I do agree that keeping a snake with skin issues on paper is BEST...but I don't believe the aspen was the culprit unless it had gotten particularly wet and nasty for long periods of time.
I do hope you figure it out. It looks like a burn to me, but that is not an accurate guess at all because all we have to go on is a few pictures and none of us are vets. Keep up the antibiotics, but I would HIGHLY recommend that you follow Derek's advice and have the vet do some culture tests. I would NOT suggest treating the matter with human anti-fungal powders or creams. You don't know how those might affect the snake.
I also recommend, again, that you ditch the heat mat entirely and simply warm the entire cage to 75-80 degrees.
I'm sorry I can't give some definitive answer or any simple home-remedy treatments. Maybe just removing the potential burn source and allowing the area to heal on its own will be enough. I hope so.
-
It looks like an old, healed burn. Or an injury, perhaps from live food left too long unattended. Whatever the cause, it looks healed. If it's not oozing or open, I'd leave it be. If you keep it, use a heat lamp or heat the room as has been recommended.
Have you considered goldfish? Guppies? Chia pets?
-
She eats F/T pinkies, 2 every week. :( So she's never been attacked.
I just don't know. :tears:
-
JLC, I'm sorry if it keeps seeming like I want answers from you guys. I know it is guessing, ok? I UNDERSTAND THAT.
It just makes me feel better I guess when I can talk it out.
My bad. I won't ask any more questions I guess.
I just think it's weird that I'm trying to ask questions, even ones that cannot be answered here, and I get in trouble.
Shouldn't the people that DON'T ask those questions get in trouble?
I can't win. I can't.
I know none of you are vets. I know there isn't a home remedy. I'm not an idiot. I swear.
I was just trying to calm my nerves a little. I'm scared silly.
Also, I'm sorry I was a complete noob and didn't ask the vet to do a culture. Completely my fault, though I trusted his knowledge that the antibiotics help.
I guess I just don't want anymore help from anyone on BP.net ? If that makes it better....:confuzd:
I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
So all in all, no, Judy, I don't want a new diagnosis, though I didn't mean for it to sound like I was asking for one. If I can't trust a vet then obviously I can't trust anyone on here, right? :(
I'll keep my concerns to myself next time.
Sorry.
-
Re: WTH is this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilomn
It looks like an old, healed burn. Or an injury, perhaps from live food left too long unattended. Whatever the cause, it looks healed. If it's not oozing or open, I'd leave it be. If you keep it, use a heat lamp or heat the room as has been recommended.
Have you considered goldfish? Guppies? Chia pets?
No, not any of those. Just my snakes...
-
Not all vets are good with reptiles. Even if they say they are, they may not be.
Try telling people you're not really looking for answers, that you're just upset and looking for comfort or whatever it is that you're looking for.
Communication for you needs to be improved. What people see, me anyway, may not be what you think you're projecting.
-
....o rly?
I had no idea. Srsly. :D
I thought it would be rather evident to most people on here that I was asking for opinions. Lol, I never said an official diagnosis.
In fact I think I mostly said, "What COULD this be?"
Sadly, there's a difference that I guess isn't being seen....
-
(if I wanted a diagnosis online, why would I have wasted money at the vet?)
-
Re: WTH is this?
Good grief people! I thought that BP.net was a community of people, both pros and newbs, that were happy to come together and help each other when someone was in need. Or perhaps the logo ("The friendliest online community for ALL your herping needs!") needs to be changed to... friendliest as long as you're a pro? This person came to all of us for help and suggestions. She specified that she has taken her Corn to the vet and that he/she wasn't sure what was wrong.....and you basically attack her for hoping that even just one of you might have a better idea and some suggestions to help her treat it?!? Seriously, get over yourselves. If you can't give some good suggestions and seriously can't say anything positive or nice....news flash....don't say anything at all. Get off your high horses, just because you are more knowledgeable does not make you a better person worthy of putting someone who needs help down.
Shelliebear, from looking at the pictures, it does look similar to a burn to me, but I am not a vet and can not say that for sure. However, I think if you did get some neosporin (the kind without pain relief) and put it on the spots, it would help. It certainly won't harm your Corn. Also, I'd move from newspaper to white paper towels for a bit. This makes it easier to see any leaking fluid that may be coming from the area, etc., and will help keep the inks (which can be harmful itself to the wounds) off of the area.
While your vet may be a reptile vet, it almost sounds like he/she isn't a very skilled one. You might want to do some fishing around for a better herp vet, one that is more knowledgeable on ailments concerning snakes. I really and truthfully hope that your Corn gets well soon and that the problem heals quickly. Best of luck!
-
Re: WTH is this?
I've seen plenty of opinions and suggestions trying to help you and your snake in this thread...I'm surprised they were even willing to help you that much. I think it's your people skills that really need the help. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but if you create a bad name for yourself here...Good luck getting ANY help from these people.
P.s. Without seeing it in person...I would say it looks like a burn to me (just my opinion...not a diagnosis). I would keep the heat matt away from the snake/cage, keep the cage clean, and wait until the next shed. It should begin to clear up. My Mojo male had burn from a malfunctioning T-Stat a while back. After a shed or two he was back to normal. If it gets any worse, I would go see a new vet.
Good luck
-
I'm not TRYING to make a bad name for myself....REALLY??? Nobody has read this thread, or the other one I posted, it seems.
>.<
I'm lost.....
-
...ok, so one person understood I was asking for opinions and not a diagnosis....thanks Becca....:(
-
Re: WTH is this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilomn
Have you considered goldfish? Guppies? Chia pets?
Really??
There are a lot of newbies here, and we are here for help and a common interest.
Nice to know "I" can think about what to type and use good judgment on line and sound like the hind end of a bully after eating a bean and cheese.:gj:
-
Re: WTH is this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by shelliebear
...ok, so one person understood I was asking for opinions and not a diagnosis....thanks Becca....:(
I knew what you were asking for...Hence I gave a suggestion. Again...Good luck to you and your snake.
-
Re: WTH is this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by demjor19
I knew what you were asking for...Hence I gave a suggestion. Again...Good luck to you and your snake.
x2
-
Re: WTH is this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl
Nice to know "I" can think about eating cheese.:gj:
Indeed it is. Do you have any other skills you'd like to share with the rest of the class?
-
I actually missed in my last post that you had already been to the vet. The problem that I have personally is that until last month for the last year the nearest vet with ANY reptile experience was 2000 km away. The vet I used to take my old dog to is actually terrified of snakes and is incapable to looking at or offering any useful information at all. Until recently a vet that has a small amount of experience with snakes (actually he is a bird guy but something is better than nothing.) arrived the community in my area have had to solve our own problems medication had to be bought over the counter for the most part. I bring this up partially to defend my previous post (which sucks that I feel the need to..)
Shelliebear you are young and I totally understand why you have come looking for help and opinions here. I am sorry that you have been bashed. I don't have any answers for you at all. Assuming your vet has experience with snakes he/she must know what a burn looks like and scale rot. I have no idea what is wrong with your snake. It really looks like burn damage to me but the images are not stellar and it is hard to tell. I am going to PM you with a link that I was given by the old vet whom moved away 2 years ago.
Alex
-
thank you for the opinions and suggestions. i appreciate them. i'm sorry to those who gave them to me and I forgot to address my thanks to you.
:oops:
-
I'm going to give her the 3rd dose (6th day) of antibiotics real quick. :( Crossing my fingers, hope she looks better, but she probably won't so I'm not going to get all my hopes up.
-
Really? You shouldn't expect it to look better on 2-3 doses of antibiotics. Snakes(reptiles) have slow metabolisms, which is why they can eat once a week rather than requiring calories every day. It will take a lot of time to look different and with surface issues, it may very well NOT look any better until a shed, depending on what it is.
Your vet is either an idiot or not. If the vet said it's not a burn, nor a case of scale rot, but gave you antibiotics without doing a culture, they are either seeing something no one here sees in the slightly blurry photos(which trust me, I know it's difficult to get clear shots, try from farther away, no hopes really) or they are a dog/cat vet and don't know what a burn or scale rot looks like.
Give the anitbiotics or get a 2nd opinion from a better vet. It COULD be a ton of things, the most commonly seen ones being burns and scale rot. If it's some rare thing other than those two, then only testing to see by a lab will be able to tell for sure. Call your vet(after the holiday now) and ask if they can do a culture to see what it is for sure. If they act like they don't know about culturing, call a different vet until you find one that can give you accurate diagnosis.
In the meantime.. the melodramatic cries of "I'll just leave!" "No one loves me!" and "I guess I won't ask for help!" (in multiple threads)after people have made this a FOUR PAGE thread offering ideas and opinions is really just plain whiny. People offered ideas, said you should keep the snake in a clean warm cage and continue the antibiotics. JLC offered you VERY good advice about heating the cage safely and about treating the snake. Instead of realizing the help, you have to whine about the idea that someone pointed out that you're ignoring the offers of help and advice totally. "No one has any ideas?" posted after a ton of opinions offered up is ridiculous. People don't want to post just to see their post. If you're ALREADY ignoring the advice, there's not a lot of reason to post ANOTHER comment of "treat with the vet antibiotics, leave it on newspaper or paper towels or see another vet".
Not trying to be harsh, mind you. But look over your posting history. I can see you're enjoying people "attacking you" or "bashing you" so you can rush off to tell everyone about how you're just a poor girl trying her best with your pets and everyone is against you. If that's what you want, then just go do that without cluttering up a friendly helpful site and making the people who DO help folks a lot start to feel bitter and used by noobs who spit on their efforts to help. Think how the people feel that have posted trying to give you advice, then see you wailing about no help, about how everyone just attacks you and all the other junk. How do you think that makes THEM feel? How do you think it's going to be when a noob with an actual problem shows up to ask for advice and gets crickets chirping because the experianced keepers finally had enough of the emo whining and fussing when they DID try to offer advice?
Read the thread.. read all the advice and help offered to you.. read the sympathy about your snake being hurt that all these folks have tried to help you. If you still don't give a poo about the folks trying to help you out with your snake, then don't expect people to give a poo about your 'butthurt' over someone telling you off over your behavior.
-
any new about your baby corn It might be fungal there is a corn place to go for all your corny needs. http://www.cornsnakes.com
-
id try a diffrent vet good luck
-
Cheesecake is doing a lot better.
Anyway, at the date of my last post in this thread Cheesecake did indeed look quite a bit better--her open sores had scabbed over so they could heal, instead of getting rubbed raw on things in her tank.
she finished the antibiotic and looks a lot better. she also shed once. She's looking pretty good to me.
|
