Scale Rot or not?

Hey guys, this is my first post ever on here so I apologize if posted it in the wrong area but I need help! So recently (10 days ago) I bought my first ball python. All I've ever had was a milksnake and a red tail. The bp I got is very young (I think 3 months) and is a female albino. Long story short I bought the snake kind of quickly because I thought I was getting a really good deal. Almost immediately after I get home from buying the snake my brother points out some brown scales near the end of her tail. I message the guy I bought it from and he reassures be its nothing and the snake probably just slithered through some poop. After gently trying to wipe of the brown scales I soon realize that its not poop but something else. It looks like its spreading up her body and I don’t know what it is. About 5 days ago I bought some betadine and I’ve been soaking her in that for 20 minutes a day. My question to you guys is do you think it is scale rot? And if so how would you guys get rid of it???

More information: she is 88 grams and hasen't eaten since I bought her. I also took the repti-bark out of her tank and replaced it with repti-carpet to lower humidity.

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Im pretty sure I uploaded that picture wrong. can you guys see it?

Providing pictures will help people to be more able to help you.

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I am not sure if that is scale rot or not as I have never personally had a snake with scale rot.. but I'm sure someone else could help you out?

Just make sure to keep the enclosure very clean, dry and put him on paper towels, but like I said I've never dealt with this before so hopefully someone more experienced can weigh in.

I am not an expert either, but I think it may be a bit more helpful if you'd take any pictures of the underbelly too (that don't look normal).

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I am not an expert either, but I think it may be a bit more helpful if you'd take any pictures of the underbelly too (that don't look normal).

I probably should of took pics of her belly when I took the other ones but honestly her belly looks perfect, all white with no brown specs.

Odd. Two things come to mind. First: did you try to wash the snake? Sometimes my white snakes roll in their own poo and get messy. Second: is she going into shed? My white snakes look pink all over just before a shed and maybe she is headed for a not so good shed. Scale rot usually is on the belly and caused by laying in a wet enclosure for long periods of time. Keep us posted.

Cant tell in that picture but do the scales look like they are lifting off the body? Kind of like flaking off. If they are smooth, its probably ok. Looking at the picture though, do you mean the little brown specks? Cause those like they go up her body in the picture and like others have said, scale rot is usually on the belly where they contact wet substrate for a long time. The big belly scales will lift up and will obviously look problematic. Just make sure you keep the snake dry like on aspen or paper towel or another dry non dusty substrate. Eco earth works good except when it dries out, it gets really dusty. I would ditch the reptile carpet as that stuff harbors bacteria like no ones business unless you swap it out every time your snakes poops/pees cause it soaks up all the liquid which you cant get out unless you wash it and use something like Novalsan or Chlorhexadine.

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Originally Posted by Kibbleswhites

Odd. Two things come to mind. First: did you try to wash the snake? Sometimes my white snakes roll in their own poo and get messy. Second: is she going into shed? My white snakes look pink all over just before a shed and maybe she is headed for a not so good shed. Scale rot usually is on the belly and caused by laying in a wet enclosure for long periods of time. Keep us posted.

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to the first question, yes I tried to wash off the brown scales but they never came of. I tried a wash cloth and a wet tooth brush neither of them worked so i've just been soaking her until her next shed. and im not sure if shes going into a shed. I just bought her a couple of weeks ago and she hasent yet.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Cant tell in that picture but do the scales look like they are lifting off the body? Kind of like flaking off. If they are smooth, its probably ok. Looking at the picture though, do you mean the little brown specks? Cause those like they go up her body in the picture and like others have said, scale rot is usually on the belly where they contact wet substrate for a long time. The big belly scales will lift up and will obviously look problematic. Just make sure you keep the snake dry like on aspen or paper towel or another dry non dusty substrate. Eco earth works good except when it dries out, it gets really dusty. I would ditch the reptile carpet as that stuff harbors bacteria like no ones business unless you swap it out every time your snakes poops/pees cause it soaks up all the liquid which you cant get out unless you wash it and use something like Novalsan or Chlorhexadine.

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The scales aren't lifting up too much but they do look different than her other scales, almost like they are little indentions in her skin. I'm scared these brown specks just might be a permanent fixture of the snake, but I guess that's better than scale rot. Hopefully they come off in her next shed.

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Originally Posted by Ana_Conda

to the first question, yes I tried to wash off the brown scales but they never came of. I tried a wash cloth and a wet tooth brush neither of them worked so i've just been soaking her until her next shed. and im not sure if shes going into a shed. I just bought her a couple of weeks ago and she hasent yet.

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So you bought her like that?