Belly Rot?

My spider balls belly isn't looking right. Her scales are wrinkled and look like their shedding but she just had a complete shed and it was intact, not flakey. There are a couple of discolored spots too. The substrate in her tank is dry, not wet, not damp. http://img.tapatalk.com/aefea512-7872-4aa9.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefea512-7890-1076.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefea512-78b9-7cef.jpg
Can anybody tell me what this is and how do I help her? I just lost my job and don't have money for a vet :,(


*MissMishyyy*

What are you using to heat the cage?

Are you using an uth? If so is it controlled with a thermostat or rheostat/light dimmer?

I have a UTH. It's a Zoomed one. It doesn't have anything for me to control its temp.
She is on aspen bedding.
She is eating like normal but she's not moving around much which isn't like her. she is a cruiser.


*MissMishyyy*

The UTH is too hot and is burning your snake. If you don't regulate your UTH it can easily kill your snake. You need to either get a thermostat or stop using the UTH and get a heat lamp.

This is a good cheap thermostat.

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

I just unplugged the heat mat. I will get her the thermostat. I feel so bad that I caused her pain. I didn't know they got hot enough to burn them. :( is there anything I can do to treat her burns? I don't want it to turn into rot.


*MissMishyyy*

Well the burn in the picture doesn't look too bad. I would put here on paper towel substrate and keep her cage hospital clean. Your BP doesn't look to be in too bad of shape so I would just keep n eye on her for now.

She will still need a heat source while you get a thermostat (unless you can get one today... but don't bother with the thermostats sold in pet stores they are a waste of money), a heat lamp or even the UTH can be used. (you can use a lamp dimmer to manually control the UTH)

You can soak your BP in a warm bath (water temp in the mid 80's) with diluted betadine solution. (you can get betadine in most drug stores. Do Not use any creams that are oil based like noesporin, they do more harm than good.

I agree that it's not bad yet. It isn't very red and hasn't begun to blister. It will go away on its own. Just keep the enclosure very clean. A betadine soak is ok to ensure no bad bacteria but there is no broken or open skin/scales so it will be fine. You caught it in time.


----> Signature <----
*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"

yeah, that's a simple case of skin dehydration, due to overheating of course. Ur UTH can get over 130 degrees if it isn't properly regulated. Its a good thing you caught it before it got WAY worse :gj:

She already has a heat lamp. I as far as the betadine, what's the ratio and how long do I soak her? I will get a thermostat before I put the UTH back on.
I handle her every day (except after feed day of course) I noticed her belly didn't look quite right two days ago but I wasn't sure. When i looked today it was definately not to be ignored. I love my ball and ive put alot of time and love into nursing her. (her previous owner starved her almost to death. ) it's been a long road. I definitely don't want her to be harmed.


*MissMishyyy*

I believe the ratio it 1:10 (betadine:water) you want the water to be a light tea color. 5-10 minutes is enough. if your BP was in worse shape I would say longer, but the betadine baths are just a preventative measure at this point.

Besides that I would hold off on handling her except when needed to check her and things like that.

Your on the road to recover now, it might take a week or so but there shouldn't be any permeant damage.

a bps house shouldnt be wet, should it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by omnibus2

a bps house shouldnt be wet, should it?

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no, the substrate should not be wet to the touch. the humidity requirements are only 40%-60% normally (higher during shed) and these humidity levels do not create a damp environment.

I'm not gonna lie, humidity has been a huge problem for me. I can never get it to stay more than 10% so I give her a moist hide with damp moss. When she was in shed she used it a lot and her shed was perfect so that's what I've been sticking with.


*MissMishyyy*

What are you using to measure humidity? and what is the Wattage of the heat bulb you are using? I find it hard to believe that the humidity is really that low.

It's a round Zilla dial. She's still declining. Her belly is looking better but she's not moving around much and even with a full pool and a moist hide she still looks dehydrated. There is a wet towel on the top and I'm misting constantly but it doesn't seem to be working. She's so lethargic. I love my snake and I've done tons of research. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to. She went from being in great shape to a sudden decline in less than a week. :,( I don't know what else to do. No open sores. Her belly actually looks better but she's obvi still dehydrated. Should I still try to feed her on feeding day?


*MissMishyyy*

Can you post a picture?

The dial type hydrometers don't work very well. You would be much better of with one of these:

They cost $12 @ Walmart and measure 2 temperatures and humidity

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/photo-3.jpg

My first thought was a burn. Looks like everyone has been there already though. I haven't had a deyhdrated one before, so not sure what to tell you about that. :(

http://img.tapatalk.com/aee2412b-400e-74c0.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/aee2412b-401d-865c.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/aee2412b-402c-4e2f.jpg

This is a pic of her before she got sick for comparison
http://img.tapatalk.com/aee2412b-40a8-0d72.jpg


I am positive she is dehydrated. I just threw a wet towel over her tank and misted like crazy. I put her in her water bowl to soak (but she went right out) I put her in her wet hide and she went right out of that too. Im going to Walmart to buy the thermometer right now. If she won't stay in her wet places, should I put a lid on the bucket and make her soak for 15 mins or so?

I just don't get it, she always has a big pool and a wet hide. Why would she let herself deteriorate like this? If she's thirsty there is ALWAYS plenty of fresh clean water. :(


*MissMishyyy*

She really doesn't look all that dehydrated to me. Some BP's just look like that before a shed.

Forcing her to soak is not a good plan and has the potential to make a good shed turn into a bad one.

Just keep her humidity between 60%-80% and provide a water dish. It is very rare to see some BP's drink. they get most of their water from eating rodents.

Her skin is dry and like crunchy. The other thing is she shed 3weeks ago. It shouldnt be shed time already again?


*MissMishyyy*

it could be, and the burn might be helping it alone. defiantly looks like she is going into shed almost like she should have already got rid of the old scales.

If you're keeping it too moist the skin will start to look almost wrinkly and crunchy.. That's the very beginning of scare rot. I'd suggest stopping what you're doing. Keep her clean and DRY.. Raise the humidity by putting the bowl on the hot side and keeping a wet towel on top in needed. She's staying in a moist environment and it's doing more harm than good.


----> Signature <----
*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"

Before I found her like this she was in a dry environment. As in like no humidity dry. I followed a tip from someone and got the humidity up where it should be now. She's definitely not in a wet environment unless shes in the moist hide and even there it's damp moss But she's not using it.


*MissMishyyy*

Lol that snake is gonna be the death of me. I just took a look at her and she's halfway done a perfect shed. You were right. Guess its just nerve wracking for me bc she's my first and I don't want her hurt. She's looking all bright and pretty again. Oi! :)


*MissMishyyy*

Yeah, BP's really know how to scare the living daylight out of us humans

Lol im going through every little help thread, and it seems that they do want to scare us to death, lol. At least theres lots of info, pics, and nice people out there for us n00bs

Actually, in those last few pictures, it looks like she's about to shed any second. Those wrinkles are the shed skin, not her current skin. Hopefully she'll start rubbing it off soon and will look pretty.

Glad you caught the burn this soon. :)

EDIT: Whoops! I just saw that you said she's shedding now!! Post pics of the finished result, she's a pretty snake!!! ;)

They will shed more often if they have an injury or skin issue. That's normal.


----> Signature <----
*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"

She's still going at it. I'll post pics when she's done. You guys have no idea. I've been in hysterics all day thinking something was horribly wrong with her. I swear she must be laughing at me. You guys are awesome tho! Thank you for all the help and advise!!!!!!


*MissMishyyy*

After her shed http://img.tapatalk.com/aefc3c89-1ea0-ed25.jpg

good looking belly
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefc3c89-1ed6-e22b.jpg




*MissMishyyy*

Glad she is alright!

She is such a pretty girl. I am not usually a fan of the high whites, but that paired with the very reduced black is very nice on her.

Yeeeeeeey. Glad shes doing better

Yeah I think she would make beautiful babies with an albino but she can't be bred :(


*MissMishyyy*

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mishy

Yeah I think she would make beautiful babies with an albino but she can't be bred :(


*MissMishyyy*

---

Why not?

Before I owned her, her owner starved her almost to death. She was so sick and skinny, she was three feet long and about as fat as a corn snake. Her body was legit a triangle. I was told that due to this trauma in her younger years, breeding would kill her.
*note: as you can see by my pictures she has recovered beautifully. She is still a little small but is a fantastic eater and has been steadily gaining weight since I got her.


*MissMishyyy*

interesting. Not sure I totally buy into that but better safe than sorry right?

Well I mean personally I don't quite understand that myself. If she got up to a good weight (1500+) then I would think it shouldn't matter so long as she's healthy but yeah I just don't know enough about breeding to know if the neglect would make a difference in her breeding abilities.


*MissMishyyy*

She will produce just fine when you get her up to the proper size.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

She will produce just fine when you get her up to the proper size.

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I agree ^^

We have seen many rescued females that were starved go on to produce babies. I've never actually heard of one that couldn't produce due to malnutrition early on. My only advice on that is just to make sure she is at a good weight before trying. If she turns out to be an on/off feeder, I'd wait to breed until she is at least 1500-1600 grams. Maybe more. Just to ensure she doesn't lose too much weight. In reality though, the ones that were starved early on usually stay good eaters their entire life. With the exception of the breeding fast of course.


----> Signature <----
*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"

As far as right now, that snake eats like a champ!!! She is a beast when it comes to feed day. I feed her one small rat every 6 days and she's always waiting for the next one. I need to get myself a scale so I can weigh her. I know she's still way to small to even think about it but I would like to know. She's getting pretty long (over 3feet now) she's in a 45breeder and is longer than it when she stretches out. If/when I do breed her I want to breed her to an albino :) I have a thing for them and I think albino spiders (especially if the high contrast showed) would just be adorable. Soooo gotta learn the genetics first tho. :)


*MissMishyyy*

Well if you want to learn genetics this is the place to start:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basic-Genetics

And if you are interested in Albino Spiders you should know that it is a 2 step process:

Genetic Wizard 3.0 calculations by
http://www.worldofballpythons.com/gfx/logo.png

then you need to breed a spider het albino back to an albino

Genetic Wizard 3.0 calculations by
http://www.worldofballpythons.com/gfx/logo.png

That site has soooo just been bookmarked :) two questions.
1. Will her babies inherit her wobble and if so is that an issue to be concerned with?
2. What other morphs bred to a female spider makes cool babies?


*MissMishyyy*

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mishy

That site has soooo just been bookmarked :) two questions.
1. Will her babies inherit her wobble and if so is that an issue to be concerned with?
2. What other morphs bred to a female spider makes cool babies?


*MissMishyyy*

---

1. only the babies that carry the spider gene*

*They won't get Her wobble... but their own version of the wobble. anything with the spider genes will have some form of wobble

2. pretty much anything in my opinion

Spider x pastel = bee
Spider x lesser = lesser bee
Spider x fire = fire spider
Spider x axanthic** = axanthic Spider (my personal favorite)
Spider x Pied** = Spied

(**is recessive so it is a 2 step like with albinos)

Just look up these morphs and drool at the images that come up.

Another fun thing is to play with the genetic wizard to see the odds of producing something and dreaming (also has lots of great information and pictures)

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/wizard/

The site also has a list of pretty much every morph:

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs/

I really like the lesser bee! :) and I still like the albino too! Damn you guys are gonna turn me into a ball hoarder ^_^



*MissMishyyy*