Is this scale rot?

hello!..I'm new on this forum..so i'm sorry if i'm posting wrong and if i'm killing the english grammar. :)

I recent bought a female ball python and I have seen a brown/rusty scale on her belly. Someone toled me that is healing...i'm not so sure.

anyway...i reduced the humidity...i increased the temperature...the tank is clean...and i keep the snake on paper towels....what can i do to cure her complete?

here is the scale
http://i43.tinypic.com/2q1zcps.jpg

and here is the big girl :D

http://i40.tinypic.com/9qfrbn.jpg

it looks like a minor scale rot, nothing too serious. As long as she's on paper towels and the paper towels aren't damp and the cage is clean, it should go away with the next shed.

Thank you for the quick answer.

and another thing , she keps staing in her water bowl...now i keep the water bowl jus a few hours a day...so she can just drink...and not soak....i checkt for mites and tics...and she doesn't have...

It doesn't look too bad. Probably fine by next shed. What is your humidity? Could be too low and that is why she is in water dish. What are your temps? She could also be too hot, and that is why she is soaking.

temperature is :26 celsius in the cold zone
33 celsius in the hot zone

humidity: between 50 and 60%

i mist only the walls of the terrarium and i try to keep the paper towls dry.

Please help!!

i noticed some red coloration on her belly...should i be worried?....:(

Is it red or pink, and when was the last time she shed?

Pics would help but sounds like possible shed or brun. If it is over most of her belly and pinkish then I would think shed if it is very red and patchy I would think burn but without pics it is hard to tell

What are you using to heat the cage?

When was the last time your BP shed?

Is it red right around the spot or the entire belly?

i will post pics...but i need to find some bateries.
i really have no ideea when she shed because i bought her recently...and the last owner didn't tell me...

for heat i use a heat pad

is are red'ish colour....all over her belly..

hope she hasn't major scale rot...

How is the heat pad being regulated??

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Originally Posted by rebelrachel13

How is the heat pad being regulated??

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x2

Does the heat pad have a thermostat and what are you using to measure temperature?

the heat pad is not regulated...a simple heat pad...i have always 30-33 celsius

That's your problem, they can easily get over 54 degrees when unregulated. Your BP very likely has been burned by the heat pad. You need to get a thermostat as soon as possible.

Where do you live?

Here are 2 good ones but they aren't avaliable everywhere.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZ..._bxgy_ol_img_b

http://spyderrobotics.com/

Do the thermometer that you use have probes?

Heat pads don't change the air temperature of the cage so unless you have a probed thermometer you can't tell how hot it is.

if i could i'l have heat tape...thermostat..everything...but i live in Roumania:mad:

i think...This says it all...:(

If you can't get a thermostat, then you should just get a heat lamp. An infrared heat bulb is much safer. The only issue with them is they reduce the humidity in the cage.

Unregulated heat mats can get hot enough to kill a BP and in rare cases start a fire.

I'm not sure if these are scalable to you but I have had good luck whith these bulbs:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=11147193

she is starting to shed...she has blue eyes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

That's your problem, they can easily get over 54 degrees when unregulated. Your BP very likely has been burned by the heat pad. You need to get a thermostat as soon as possible.

Where do you live?

Here are 2 good ones but they aren't avaliable everywhere.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZ..._bxgy_ol_img_b

http://spyderrobotics.com/

Do the thermometer that you use have probes?

Heat pads don't change the air temperature of the cage so unless you have a probed thermometer you can't tell how hot it is.

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Will those work on any heat mat?, I have a zoomed one and it gets way to hot iv had to stop using it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tunechi

Will those work on any heat mat?, I have a zoomed one and it gets way to hot iv had to stop using it

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Yup. I've used thermostats on zoomeds in the past.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

Not that I'm one of the more experts on here, but when Quetzal's heating pad malfuctioned he had very similar symptoms accompanying his burns. You're going to want to get the uth under control asap but also get the closest thing you can get to betadine and use it to treat the brown stuff. I used neosporin and made the unpleasent discovery that neo makes scale caps come off. The shed should help a bit as well; it only took one for Quetzal's belly to be back to normal but I jumped on it right away. Make sure you keep the enclosure clean to keep infection from settling in. Within a few weeks to a month or so, should be good as new. Just make sure your uth is controlled or you use heat lamps on a dimmer if you can't get a thermostat and that your humidity is spot on and she'll heal up nicely.

Agreed in regards to the thermostat. I attached a low wattage mat once to a tub without a thermostat to see what would happen (no snake in tub) and 2 weeks later, there was a hole burnt through the bottom of the plastic so you can imagine what would have happened if the snake was there. They can be deadly without a thermostat. I've also attached the stick on ones to the bottom of glass aquariums before and within days, they're too hot to touch with your bare hand and since snakes and often ball pythons, generally will push the substrate or paper towels out of the way and sit under it/directly on the heat source, they become extremely dangerous. Just my experience with them - i would definately recommend a thermostat. Amazon sells inexpensive hydrofarm thermostats that are great if you're just regulating one enclosure and they're only $30!

I would clean the snake and apply triple antibiotic ointment to the scales, gently rubbing against them so it gets under the scales. Clean and re-apply in the evening. Make sure your husbandry is spot on - in general - but it's super important right now while your snakes healing. Clean water daily and replace paper towels daily and as soon as there's any spoil.

Good luck!

I will second the dimmer idea. Dimmers work just fine as long as you check the temps often. Every time the temps in your house fluctuate, the heat pad temps fluctuate. You should be able to find lamp dimmers at a home improvement store in the lamp aisle. I wouldn't buy a cheap thermostat, you are better off with a dimmer. Cheap thermostats break, and when they break they let all the power through, when a dimmer breaks, it kills the power. Trust me, I learned the hard way on this one, almost lost my collection when I first started.

I just bought a thermostat. What is a good tempature to keep
It at?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tunechi

I just bought a thermostat. What is a good tempature to keep
It at?

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It depends on where the probe is.. if it's between the enclosure and the UTH then you can try setting it for the actual temperature that you want, and just monitor it with a thermometer to see if it's higher/lower. My probe is attached to the bottom of the UTH (so not between it and the glass) so I set mine for about 4 degrees lower than the temperature I want inside the enclosure.

Whichever way you end up doing it just monitor it closely at first, and then adjust it a degree or two if needed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ashleigh91

It depends on where the probe is.. if it's between the enclosure and the UTH then you can try setting it for the actual temperature that you want, and just monitor it with a thermometer to see if it's higher/lower. My probe is attached to the bottom of the UTH (so not between it and the glass) so I set mine for about 4 degrees lower than the temperature I want inside the enclosure.

Whichever way you end up doing it just monitor it closely at first, and then adjust it a degree or two if needed.

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I mean mine is under my tank and I use Eco earth so they could burrow down if they wanted so I'm asking what is a nice warm temp that will be warm but not to hot to keep it at even if he's almost right on it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tunechi

I mean mine is under my tank and I use Eco earth so they could burrow down if they wanted so I'm asking what is a nice warm temp that will be warm but not to hot to keep it at even if he's almost right on it?

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Well wait for someone with more experience to back me up here, but if it were me I'd set it in such a way that the glass is the temperature that you want.. because most of them will burrow straight down to the glass anyways..

In my opinion you don't want the temperature of the glass to get hotter than you'd be comfortable with your BP laying on it, because it's likely that it'll be laying straight on the tank anyways. Just my 2 cents.

Like I said, wait for someone else to back me up :)

I use Eco-earth and I have mine set at 91 degrees

the female finally shed...and she hasn't got that rusty scale...her belly is complete white.:D

Thank you all for the good advice.
Soon I will post pics with her and my male pastel.