Flaky Shed Repost

I had to repost because I wasn't clear enough.
My ball python has recently been having some flaky scales coming off of his underside starting from his neck going down. It has progressively traveled towards his tail. His underside where it flakes off feels rough and the scales protrude a bit. The shed is only in each individual scale which you can peel off the thin flakes with your fingers. I've soaked him for 15 minutes everyday to try to loosen it up but it didn't work so I stopped. When you peel off the shed, the scale looks wrinkly and fleshy, it also feels like shed still attached when it's soaked. His eyes aren't blue or any signs of a shed besides a bit of pink belly. His last shed was incomplete but I took it off safely with some warm water and every piece of shed was removed. The humidity was kinda low the last 2 weeks (around 30%) since I kept my fan on. I have also kind of over handled him. Right now I keep the temperature precise on both sides. The humidity as of now is usually between 50-70. Other things that I am suspicious about are that he came with scale rot from the store so I put hydrogen peroxide with a q-tip on it and he shed it off. I am still treating the affected areas with peroxide and sometimes Hibiclens which is a kind of disinfectant without painkillers until he sheds again. His belly has been turning more pink, does that mean he will shed soon because I'm not sure if the flaky stuff counted as a shed. For those of you who can't imagine how the shed looks like, it's like a very thin piece of a clear plastic wrapper in the shape of the belly scales and the bigger scales closer to the belly.

WHY WOULD YOU PURCHASE AN ANIMAL FROM A STORE WITH SCALE ROT?

#1: Take your animal to a vet if you have not done so already.
#2: What do you mean by keeping temperatures "precise on both sides"??? There needs to be a hotspot, and a cool side. 88-90 degree hotspot, 78-80 degree cool side.

The scale rot seems to have gotten much worse.

To the viewers: WHEN YOU SEE AN UNHEALTHY ANIMAL AT A PET STORE, IT NEEDS TO BE REPORTED TO THE PROPER AUTHORITIES, NOT PURCHASED.

I did not notice it, it was my first ball python, it wasn't too bad tho. There are no brown spots on his body from scale rot or anything similar to scale rot. I meant that the temperatures for both, cool and warm sides are appropriate. The scales themselves are not falling off or smell bad. The scale rot was just the brown tinges on the tip of the scales.

Sounds like you may need to see a vet but in the mean time concentrate on your conditions as far as temps hot and cool side also your humidity for future shed. Is your ball feeding?

Feeding perfectly fine.

How are you measuring your temps? Can you put up a picture of both your snake's belly/problem scales and the enclosure it's in?

Please don't put peroxide on your snake.

Do you have pictures of this "scale rot"?

It sounds like the belly is burned to me.

The belly brown spots are gone but I do have this old picture: http://imgur.com/RxjlkCi
I am measuring with probe thermometers in the hides and 1 analog thermometer/hygrometer in the middle for ambient.
I can't give pics until I find my phone (won't take too long) but I can give a description of the enclosure.
20 gallon long tank with 1+ inch of cypress mulch for substrate (not loose enough to burrow) with an appropriate sized ZooMed UTH, 2 fake rock ExoTerra hides, 3 fake plants and a reptile safe grapevine log.
He also seems to be looking a bit duller like if he is going into shed. I will provide pics ASAP. Problem about a vet is that there are no qualified herp vets in my area, I've looked everywhere including the Herp Vet Connection.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Camel Zombie

The belly brown spots are gone but I do have this old picture: http://imgur.com/RxjlkCi
I am measuring with probe thermometers in the hides and 1 analog thermometer/hygrometer in the middle for ambient.
I can't give pics until I find my phone (won't take too long) but I can give a description of the enclosure.
20 gallon long tank with 1+ inch of cypress mulch for substrate (not loose enough to burrow) with an appropriate sized ZooMed UTH, 2 fake rock ExoTerra hides, 3 fake plants and a reptile safe grapevine log.
He also seems to be looking a bit duller like if he is going into shed. I will provide pics ASAP. Problem about a vet is that there are no qualified herp vets in my area, I've looked everywhere including the Herp Vet Connection.

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The snake looks pretty young, those brown spots could be from the healing umbilicus (belly button) on your snake. Which is completely normal.

If you aren't regulating your UTH with a thermostat (note: not a thermometer) then this could be a burn. When you say there is a pink belly, and the belly scales are flaking off, that leads me to believe it is a burn. A pink belly is also the first sign of an impending shed, but the skin doesn't come off until much later. When it does come off, it should be in one full piece.

Could you move the probe that is over the heat pad under the substrate and tell us what it reads?

Looking forward to the picture.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

The snake looks pretty young, those brown spots could be from the healing umbilicus (belly button) on your snake. Which is completely normal.

If you aren't regulating your UTH with a thermostat (note: not a thermometer) then this could be a burn. When you say there is a pink belly, and the belly scales are flaking off, that leads me to believe it is a burn. A pink belly is also the first sign of an impending shed, but the skin doesn't come off until much later. When it does come off, it should be in one full piece.

Could you move the probe that is over the heat pad under the substrate and tell us what it reads?

Looking forward to the picture.

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I keep a piece of paper towel over the glass so it covers the whole heat pad. Do you want it under that too or over?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Camel Zombie

I keep a piece of paper towel over the glass so it covers the whole heat pad. Do you want it under that too or over?

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Under would be best. Its a good idea to measure the hottest point in the cage. Even if you think your snake cant get there, it might. You are better off knowing exactly how hot it is in there. That spot could be up to 95º without harming your snake so the substrate will be around 90º.

His eyes are turning blue and his body is turning more dull and wrinkled so he is going into shed. I still can't find my phone to upload photos but I'll do it ASAP.

It's at 125.5 F after 20 minutes of leaving it there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Camel Zombie

It's at 125.5 F after 20 minutes of leaving it there.

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You should probably turn it off and use a heat lamp until you can get a thermostat. They Hydrofarm from Amazon is cheap and if you have Amazon Prime you can get it in a few days.

How do I treat it? He is about to go into shed. Will he shed it off? And if I use a heat lamp it will dry out the air causing a bad shed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You should probably turn it off and use a heat lamp until you can get a thermostat. They Hydrofarm from Amazon is cheap and if you have Amazon Prime you can get it in a few days.

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Okay, when I get the thermostat, do I put the probe on top of the substrate or right next to the glass with the heat pad?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Camel Zombie

Okay, when I get the thermostat, do I put the probe on top of the substrate or right next to the glass with the heat pad?

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Put the thermostat probe on the outside of the heat pad so the snake can't move it. You can use duct tape or electrical tape to secure it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Put the thermostat probe on the outside of the heat pad so the snake can't move it. You can use duct tape or electrical tape to secure it.

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Better yet put it in between the bottom of the tank and the UTH, if there is open air under that tank it will keep a breeze from throwing off the temps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mackynz

Better yet put it in between the bottom of the tank and the UTH, if there is open air under that tank it will keep a breeze from throwing off the temps.

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It's the ZooMed stick on type so not sure if this would be possible.

UPDATE: It was feeding day yesterday and he refused food, this is his first adult mouse (f/t). I think it is because he is about to shed but I am not too concerned about it. Should I try to feed him again today or wait till next week?

Wait until next week. Offering immediately after a refusal is only going to stress the snake out more and cause more and more refusals. It is best to just wait until the next feeding day.

It isn't a big deal if the probe is sandwiched between the UTH and the glass or not. I have all my standalone tubs set up with the thermostat probe on the outside of the heat tape and it works perfectly. Just adjust the thermostat until the temp in the tub is where you want it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Camel Zombie

It's the ZooMed stick on type so not sure if this would be possible.

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When I did it I just secured the edges of mine with some foil tape since it didn't stick as nicely.

You should be fine with it on the outside unless your room is drafty or cold and there is open air beneath the cage. Even then, as mentioned you can just tweak the temps so they match up. It's a pain to try to peel them off anyway!


And x2 to waiting to feed.

http://imgur.com/kS26UVM
http://imgur.com/tE92e7a
http://imgur.com/Fse3tGc
http://imgur.com/DwAmAag

Are the pictures for the enclosure still needed?

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Originally Posted by Inarikins

How are you measuring your temps? Can you put up a picture of both your snake's belly/problem scales and the enclosure it's in?

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http://imgur.com/kS26UVM
http://imgur.com/tE92e7a
http://imgur.com/Fse3tGc
http://imgur.com/DwAmAag

Are the pictures for the enclosure still needed?

UPDATE: He just shed today and his scales look better. The thing I am concerned about now is that he is getting these orange spots that like like popped blisters. I am afraid that this is scale rot but I started applying Hibiclens on the affected areas. I might get some betadine soon. Also could you please respond a bit faster, sorry for the rush it's just that I don't want to risk his life if it gets too serious.

It definitely sounds like you are dealing with a burn. You really need to find a vet...silver sulfadiazine would be better than betadine if you could get it, but I am pretty sure you need a prescription.

From the description and pic I don't think that's scale rot especially since you said your UTH is getting to 125F. Plus the blisters now.

I'm not sure why you keep saying it's scale rot when everything points to burn :confusd:

I'm also hoping that since you keep saying it's scale rot that you didn't put off on ordering a t-stat. The sooner you do that the sooner your little guy can start healing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mackynz

From the description and pic I don't think that's scale rot especially since you said your UTH is getting to 125F. Plus the blisters now.

I'm not sure why you keep saying it's scale rot when everything points to burn :confusd:

I'm also hoping that since you keep saying it's scale rot that you didn't put off on ordering a t-stat. The sooner you do that the sooner your little guy can start healing.

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Sorry didn't think my works correctly but I just finished ordering the Hydrofarms t-stat. I'll try to find a good herp vet ASAP.