HELP !!! Skin issue

Hi, I have recently got a new Ball Python, He is in the tank on his own and is about 7months old. I got home from work last night to abit of his skin cut and scaleless. Its hard to describe but the skin looks very raw. I went through his tank looking for things that could have caused it and Theres nothing sharp at all in his tank, nothing too hot- The heat lamp we have was actually turned off all day while I was at work and the heat mat isn't hot enough to damage his skin. I cant find anything that it could be but more besides the point How can I help him now ? Is there anything I should be doing so that it doesn't get infected ? Im really worried about him and want to give him the care he needs :( !! Please help me !! :'( :confusd::snake::tears:

Scale rot? It's hard to help without pictures.

It's not skin rot its like a fresh wound sort of thing with a tiny tiny bit of blood.
I cant figure out how to put a picture on here :( !!

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...62c8117ab6.jpg figured out how to add a picture hope this helps :(


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http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...bde850a6c6.jpg


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It doesn't look like a burn- there are plenty pictures of those on here. I've seen similar-looking injuries on dogs before, and for them that's a cut. Like "oops I slipped with the scissors while clipping knots". Obviously snakes don't have fur to knot, but if there's anything with sharp corners or ridges in his tank I'd recommend removing it.

Are you feeding him live? Is there anyone in the house that might have tried to feed him while you were out?

I'm pretty new at this myself so of course I'm no expert, it could very well be something else entirely. Either way I'd recommend a vet visit, that looks like it would be painful and easily re-injured.

Not fed him yet I've actually only had him since Saturday and he didn't have it before. I didn't think it was a burn either. It looked like a fresh cut but I could not put my finger on what it was that could have caused it. Although he has a metal cage round his light which could have caused it. Thankyou :)


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Ouch!
That area needs to stretch considerably when he eats.

Can you rule out other people handling him? You might want a lock on the cage.
What is the decor? Do you have one of those hides that the snake can crawl up and get stuck in?

Well no one else would even touch him they're terrified of him so! I know it's a bad area isn't it :( he doesn't have anything he could get particularly stuck in but he loved going behind the polystyrene background we had (until I removed it yesterday) as it was abit sticky behind but I couldn't find any traces of skin on there when I removed it. I have took anything remotely sharp out now


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If you're afraid he'll burn himself on the light if you remove the cage, maybe get a hot glue gun and coat the sharpest parts in the glue? (That would only work if the light is not keeping the cage hot, though.) If you get ready to do that, make sure you have a small tub set up with bedding, heat, and water to put him in temporarily- give the glue a couple hours to get good and dry, just in case, before you put him back. You don't want fumes giving your little guy respiratory issues or anything.

I've also seen several people recommend using paper towels or newspaper for bedding for an injured snake. So you don't have to worry about aspen shavings or anything getting in the wound.

Is he in a tank with a screen lid? Almost looks like he could have pushed a screen lid up just enough to get his head stuck then scratched like that pulling his head back out.

Thankyou I will do this ! The light isn't actually that hot so it should be ok! Yeah well last night I actually changed his bedding from aspen to newspaper so it wouldn't irritate him! Thankyou


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No but he has a cage round his light which has springs on maybe he got his head stuck in there :(


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whats his hide made of? I worry about this happening on the wood in my tank, but have to remind myself in the wild they deal with these things.

He could of just go stuck shoving himself down the side of something. Did you find the missing scales?

His hide is made of wood. He has 2 wooden ones (made for snakes) yeah that's true actually !
We haven't found the missing scales anywhere or any blood. I'm going to have another proper look when I'm home from work


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one of the first thing my ball python did was sit ontop of his wooden hideand then shove his head right down the back between the hide and glass - could be something like that I guess, Try not to worry, maybe just use kitchen towel as substrate for now and make sure everything is disenfected. He should be fine.

I really think we need to see pics of the setup. Can you post some? There has to be something in there that has hurt the snake. Is the screen locked down? It sort of does look like what someone said above, that he got his head out and hurt it when pulling back in.

For now, that looks like a pretty bad laceration. I can't tell how deep that is, but it might require stitches to heal properly. I would look around for a qualified reptile vet in your area, and give them a call. Even if it does not need stitches you need to be able to keep that clean so it does not get infected and a vet can tell you what kind of solution you should use to clean it.

I've seen snakes heal from some pretty deep lacerations, but if the skin is not aligned well or the area is very large, they can re-open the wound every time they eat / shed. It takes a while for new skin to be as elastic and tough enough to stand up to all the stretching. Since it is right in the area where he needs his skin to stretch to eat, you may have to feed him smaller prey than normal on a more frequent basis so the injury can heal as quickly as possible.

About the light, even if it has a 'cage' around it, I'm not sure why it is even in his tank. I've seen this type of set up for large lizards and tortoises, but usually this is a custom build cage. What kind of tank/cage is he in? Just trying to see if we can help with a safer alternative for the light. If it is a custom build, maybe some of the DIY people can chime in too.

Pics of the tank and light in question?