Question about if my snake has scale rot

Hello everyone, i have just signed up for this site and it seems to have a lot of information. I wanted to ask everyone if my snake has scale rot. She had it once before and it was just a little brown spot on the tip of her tail, i had taken her to the vet and got some antibiotics that i had to give her through her mouth once a day. But yesterday my snake just shed and under the back half of her underscales there is a reddish/pinkish tint and im not sure what this is. Just to be safe i started to put neosporin on her yesterday in case it is something like scale rot. I really don't know how she could have gotten this if it is indeed scale rot. I have zoo med cypress much as a bottom layer that has been there for just a little over a month, i sp0t clean when ever there is any fecies or anything that could cause sickness. The tank is never under 80 F and the humidity is never over 60%. In fact sometimes i have problems keeping it arond 60% so i have to spray the tank down sometimes 2-3 times day. I have a heating pad taped under the tank on the hot side that she likes to lay on top of in her hide box, i have herd snakes getting burt from stuff like hot rocks but im not sure if this can happen from heating pads taped to the runderside of the tank. Any help would be great, and if you guys think i should just take her to the vet let me know, i am kinda worried about her because i have never seen sometihng like this.

Thank you!!

First, you should definitely take your snake to a vet. Usually, if you have to ask the question, the answer is yes. Even though there are a ton of really experienced people on the internet that can give you their opinion, it is impossible to properly diagnose a medical condition over the internet.

If it is scale rot I would say the following is your problem:

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Originally Posted by DrEwTiMe

In fact sometimes i have problems keeping it arond 60% so i have to spray the tank down sometimes 2-3 times day.

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I would guess that that amount of spraying is making the subtrate damp which can cause scale rot.

If it's a burn, you might need to correct the way your heating pad is set up or check it for hot spots.

Either way, a vet can identify and fix your snakes problem far better than anyone here. This is an EXCELLENT site for advice and tips about all kinds of things, but when it comes to a possible medical condition with your animal, please see a professional.

Hope this helps, and good luck getting her better!

-adam

Other than scale rot or a burn, the only other thing I could think of off the top of my head is maybe the skin is fresh from the recent shed. Sorta like if a human has a sunburn or a blister and you peel the dead skin away, the fresh skin is a pinky color. I know humans can't really be compared to snakes, but just trying to think outside of the box. ;)

Without a good photo or two, I don't think even our residents with veterinary or long-term experience wants to guess at what the problem might be. I have to agree that a vet trip is a good idea, but the first thing I would do is replace the cypress with newspaper or paper towels, because that may help with scale rot and will definitely help keep down additional irritations to the site.

I agree- take your snake to the vet. It is hard to diagnose a problem over the internet. And, as Adam said, the misting you do to keep your humidity up may be the reason for scale rot if thats what it is, and it may have caused it the last time your snake had it. And, it could be a burn or a sensitive place on your snake from a new shed. There are too many variables- take your snake to the vet.

Thanks for all of the information guys, my snake vet is not in till monday but just in case i have already had the vet give me the antiboitics that i need to enject into her mouth, its not my favorite thing to do but if it gets my girl better then its definitly nessesary. Thanks for all your help everyone!

Good luck, and let us know how she does.

once we're talking about scale rot.....

monty shed on thursday nite and i was holding him tonite and i noticed the behind his head and along psrts of the neck (the thinnest part of him) there was a lot of white coloring mixed in with the yellow it looks kinda like dry skin (scales?) whatupwiththat?

um...no one answered my post :cry:

really im worried about this whole with on the back of his neck thing
(look at previous post)[/img]

Well if you are asking if that is scale rot i can tell you probely not. I have done a lot of research on scale rot since i think that Nyxx has it but usually scale rot starts on the underscales and comes in the color of a red/pinkish or a brownish color. Not saying it only happens on the underscales but if you are seeing a white color i can tell you that its probely not scale rot.

thanks that saves me a lot of worry

but i still would love to know what this is

could it be scar tissue? i "rescued" Monty from a petco and i have no idea if he was ever attacked by a prey item before i got him

Yes, it could be scar tissue. As Drew said, scale rot generally presents as a lacy red-brown coloration at the edge of belly scales.

If it's along the neck, it's most likely retained shed (especially this time of year and being a petco snake). Scar tissue presents as raised smooth shiny patches and does not resemble dry skin.

A good soak or a humid hide will help.

-adam

ok it is now day 3 of the antiboitics as well as neosporin for my BP. Im kinda worries as the scale rot is on a 3rd of her under scales. By this i mea she has the pinkish color for about 5 inches under her body. I have been giving her the antibiotics via saringe(minus needle, don't know what they call them. It just shoots the liquid in her mouth) and coating the infected area with neosporin everyday. I have also chaned from using cypress mulch back to newspaper for the time being. What im wondering is if i will see the pinkish tint go away as it gets better or will i not know if its healed or not until the next shed(she just shed 2 days ago)?

And also i have herd many different things about using mulch, some tell me that it bette because it hold moisture better hence keeping the humidity levels better, but then others tell me that its not as clean in that it can harbor illnesses easier. What is your opinions on the use of mulch. As far as i know she Nyxx seems to like the fact that she can burrow under the fake climbs and stuff in the tank. But at the same time i think it may be why she has contracted scale rot.

Has she been seen by a vet yet?

Mulch is fine as long as it's never damp or wet. Also, frequent regular changing is necessay to keep your cage clean.

-adam

She was at the vet about a month ago when i noticed that she had a hard brown thing at the tip of her tail. I brought her in and she got a shot and the antiboitics that i have now. I was not able to take her this time to see the vet but since i know the lady that works there i had her give me more antiboitics for scale rot.


I think that since my humidity is hard to keep up(over tank heater) i may have sprayed the mulch too much and perhaps there was too much moisture and she contraced scale rot. But the thing i don't understand is how could it be too wet in there if i had to keep spraying it to keep the humidity up. Specially on the hot side where there is the UTH and the heat lamp, so it seems that the mulch was always dry. But it has to be sometihng since she has scale rot now. Im kinda stumped, not to mention worried in hopes that she will make it through this.

Her attitude has not changed so much she is still the same great snake so she seems to be dealing ok with it but one can never be sure.

So you're guessing that the spots you're seeing now are scale rot?

Kinda, im not just taking a stab in the dark. the same brown hardish tip at her tail is there again coupled with the pinkish/some brown underscales. I talked to the vet today and he told me that it sounds like scale rot. He told me there is no need to be charged for another visit when i have already aquired the antiboitics. And as i am a broke college kid and these visits are not cheap i didn't take her back in. Do you think i should take her in anyway?

i was thinking about it and i decided to take her back in for a visit just to be sure there everything is ok. So i took her in and they gave me chlorihexadim(sp?) and told me to soak her in a 1:10 solution with this stuff and water. I also have Baytril which i give to her oraliy for 3 weeks.

But i was worried about this soaking thing, the vet told me that i have soak her for 15 mins everyday in this stuff, and i am pretty worried that this will stress her out. what do you guys think? The antibiotica orally once a day is not so bad because its quick and painless but hope this soaking will not cause her too much stress. But he said its scale rot.

I think it would be helpful for everyone if someone could post a picture of an example of scale rot and mites, so everyone has a reference, and doesn't get lost trying to explain it in words. And if anyone does, just don't post a really gross picture, I don't want to see a snake whose skin is peeling or anything, just like a begining case. Thanks!

Mites look like a round black dot about 1/3rd the size of an adult flea or a little smaller than that and greyish-brown that moves around on your animal. Many cameras won't be able to take recognizable pics of them. Scale rot, on the other hand, is pretty easy to see, as long as your snake is relatively still. If there is a lacy edge to any scale that you would describe as being brownish or reddish in color, chances are good it's the beginning stage of scale rot.

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Originally Posted by DrEwTiMe

But i was worried about this soaking thing, the vet told me that i have soak her for 15 mins everyday in this stuff, and i am pretty worried that this will stress her out. what do you guys think? The antibiotica orally once a day is not so bad because its quick and painless but hope this soaking will not cause her too much stress. But he said its scale rot.

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I think that the pain and discomfort caused by your snakes infected scales are already causing stress ... the soaking isn't going to make things much more stressful than that. Just remember to not make the water too deep, just deep enough to come up half the height of your snakes body. That way the snake can rest naturally instread of having to tread water.

Did you talk to your vet about your concerns? If not, I am sure you could call and get him on the phone just to hear his thoughts. At this point I am sure that he would tell you that the most important thing it to get your snake healthy and then the stress will go away.

-adam

ya i called him up and talked to him about this stuff but he says pretty much the same thing you did adam. Which makes sense im just really worried about my girl. I never make the water too deep, i hvae to make the solution 1:10 and with the amount i have it barly get to half her body so she can just lay there in it.

But since my snake got sick its making me think that i am not doing stuff right. I am having a really hard time keeping the right humidity in the room tthat my snake is in. I have read on these boards that the over the tank heaters make the tanks really dry and hard to keep the humidity. What are some ways that i can still heat the tank without usint the dry over tank heaters, i have a undertank heater but i don't think that alone will b able to sustain the temp that is needed for the snake to be healty. specially on the cold side where the heater does not reach. I will not mist the tank anymore because i think that since i was having problems with humidity i may have been over misting making the tank too wet or something. Im going to buy a humidifier like someone had posted on here that is connected to a air pump. But any other suggestions would be really helpful, thank you.

Don't take it too hard .... I have 200+ ball pythons and sometimes one will get sick, that's just the way life goes. The important thing is to learn from it and fix it.

Here's what I suggest ...

1. Build/buy a humid hide ... there is an article on this site and some posts about how to build them, and KLG@NERD sells an awesome one if you are not handy at building stuff (like me).

2. Talk to Matt (aka justcage) about an affordable way to set up your enclosure with undertank heat. Some flexwatt and a thermostat or maybe a rheostat at first and thermostat later. I know money doesn't grow on trees, but I'm sure Matt will work with you do get you set up with what you can afford and maybe leave room to upgrade in the future.

Keep takin care of your girl, she WILL get better! Keep us posted on how things are going.

-adam

Humidifier in the do it yourself section is also a good choice. Its easy to make and works well.
I use one for my red eyed tree frogs and it raises my humidity from 50 to 65. (I also spray them once a day to get to 75, but you wont need to for bps)
good luck!

Thanks adam, i know this is life but i can't help feel guilty since i am responcable for her care. So when she gets something like this, since she can't help her conditions its my fault.

As for the steps i am taking now, on top of her soaking and antibiotics i am going to pick up a Tropicaire humidifier with an air pump for the humidity. Im hoping with the humidifier i can use the over tank heater still. but we will see.

Im going to use come clear contact tape so that i can close the cage off more then the elements in the room(have just the open screen right now)

And form what i have been hearing i should buy a thermostat so that i can monitor the UTH temp so that my baby does ot get thermal burns.

Also im going to build the humid hide like you suggested and use someting other then wood so there is not as much of a chance of mold growing. Also that plastic type stuff is easier to clean over and over.

I will keep everyone posted on Nyxx's condition, thanks for your concern.

I think i will send Matt a PM later when i get back form dinner.

Sounds like you have a good plan there :)

Got it! Let me know what ya think Andrew...
-Matt