Help!!!

Hello! I am a relatively new owner of my first ball python, his name is Darwin and he is a fire/bee, almost 11 months old and I've had him since the Toronto Breeders Expo in September.

I need help because ive noticed that a third of his belly has been getting really red, at first i thought it was his substrate (reptibark) because all of his belly was slightly red during shed (darker than the normal pink) but after his last shed on october 29th only 1 /3 of him is red...but its getting darker. I then thought it might be his heating pad so i turned it down, but now im noticing that some of his scales are also crispy...I'm really scared and would like help identifying it and some advice on what to do next (can I use peroxide, ointment etc because I've seen conflicting yes' and no's all over this and other sites)

I have plenty of pictures but no idea how or where to upload them, advice is appreciated!

I suppose its worth noting that before owning him I worked with exotics including ball pythons but I have never seen this before

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

Here are pictures!
His belly just looks a little red from the sides but you can't see anything: http://imgur.com/yFGw2LJ

Until you flip him over: http://imgur.com/X6B0k7u

http://imgur.com/CH9vT6t

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Thank you! I ended up using imgur!

What were your hot spot temps and how/where are you measuring them?

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I then thought it might be his heating pad so i turned it down,

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Do you own a thermostat?

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can I use peroxide

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NO, peroxide does not promote the re-growth of new tissue and should not be applied on a snake that suffers a burn.

If you are dealing with a burn depending on the extent, you will need to switch your substrate to clean paper towel, clean the burned area with betadine, and apply silver sulfadiazine and it might require anti-biotic treatment.

That's another thing, so throughout September the hot spot temps ranged from about 92C to 98C and then I went home for reading week (im a university student in Canada and we get a week off for thanksgiving), i took him home and all was well, then i brought him back and went about my routine as normal but when i checked the temp they were like 102 - 108C and i had everything as I always have with the heat pad regulator but for some reason its screwy, so i turned it down and checked a few hours later and it still said about 102-106 in some places and 85 - 90 in others (this is all only the hot side, the middle and edges of the heating pad) so for some reason its super inconsistent, so i moved my heat lamp to accommodate and turned the heating pad down again because 106 is nuts!!

I use a heat gun to check temperatures because that what everybody at the CRBE, including the breeder i got him from, suggested i use.

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yeah as i mentioned i do use a thermostat, and okay thanks! I have a lab to get to but i will reply to any other messages asap

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I always have with the heat pad regulator but for some reason its screwy

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IF it is screwy this means you need a RELIABLE thermostat and need to get rid of this one, a reliable thermostat regulates your temps with little to no fluctuation. and prevent over heating.....the current one obviously does not.

Are you measuring in Celsius or Fahrenheit? 90C would be way too high.

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Originally Posted by SiXandSeven8ths

Are you measuring in Celsius or Fahrenheit? 90C would be way too high.

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He mentioned some temps in the 100's so I'm sure he means F that said 106F or whatever it was is still far too high ...


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The problem is that I don't know if its the thermostat or the pad that may be screwy if anything, it just happened recently so I'm still trying to figure that out, the temperature is in Fahrenheit, sorry i said "C" that's the Canadian in me. I know that 106 is way too high which is why I am trying re-adjust it.

Is there any chance this is scale rot? I'm only asking because the red colour seems so strange, but the humidity has been around 50 - 55 during non-shed
and around 60 - 70 during shed...which doesn't seem like the conditions that would start scale rot.

Or can I confirm that the marks are burns? If I can figure out for sure what the issue is than I can hopefully fix it asap. If needed I can get some better quality pictures.


Also, Deborah where can i find "betadine, silver sulfadiazine and potential anti-biotic treatments"?

Sorry for the late response as I had class.

I'm other an expert, but because of the super high temps, I'd guess burn. Please replace the thermostat. Ours glitched and we caught it before it went past 95 and then broke completely.
Try calling Shoppers Drug Mart or IDA for the meds.

Until you get your thermostat situation straight unplug the UTH. Also you are talking about a thermostat, which regulates the heat pad and keeps it at a constant temperature, versus a thermometer, which merely reads temperature, right? Many people mistake the two.

Betadine you can find at a drug store.

Silvadene (silver sulfadiazine) and antibiotics are available from a vet.

Bcr229 are you saying i should just straight up unplug the heating mat? I have a heat gun that I use instead of a thermometer because it's more accurate for measuring the surface temp of the floor under his hide, and I have the thermostat that is supposed to regulate the temperature of his heating mat. I also have the heating lamp that I use to add additional air temperature of the cool side because my room is sometimes cold (roomies mess with our temp) so I need to keep it at around 75, but it shouldn't effect the temp overall and cause burns so I know it's not the lamp (sometimes I place it over the water bowl for additional humidity during shed)

If anybody wants a picture of my set up or clearer pictures of Darwin I can get them, just let me know!

And thank you for the information on the treatments. Would you recommend I take him straight to the vet or wait to see if the betadine, decrease in temp and a few days helps? The only reason Im hesitant to take him is that his behavior seems absolutely normal, he's still eating etc

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Originally Posted by Elle_Ohh_Elle

Bcr229 are you saying i should just straight up unplug the heating mat? I have a heat gun that I use instead of a thermometer because it's more accurate for measuring the surface temp of the floor under his hide, and I have the thermostat that is supposed to regulate the temperature of his heating mat.

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If your thermostat is malfunctioning and letting the heat pad run wide open then it will continue to burn your snake, which is why I suggested unplugging it.

Do you have a cover on your tank to keep heat and humidity inside of it?

Okay so I have an update, I adjusted the heating pad yesterday and monitored it every hour since and it seems to be at a constant 88 - 94, I will continue to monitor it but I think it's okay.

The top of my cage is wire mesh, but I cover it with a thick towel to retain humidity and heat, it's worked this far.

I also removed his substrate and replaced it with paper towel, ,now I just have to find betadine but here in Canada it's apparently not sold at Walmart or shoppers drug mart so I have to figure out where to get it.

Betadine is a brand name. Povidone iodine is the product, you may find it under a different label.

So thanks to my boyfriends amazing mother, I was able to get betadine and silver sulfadiazine. I soaked Darwin in a solution of warm water and betadine for about 15 minutes, dried him off and gently rubbed some cream on his belly. Then I changed his paper towels and put him away for the night...hopefully things will start getting better soon.

You mentioned adjusting the mat - you found a thermostat?

Also, I'm not Canada too - where did you find the betadine and liver sulfadiazine?

I always had a thermostat, I unplugged it for a few hours and plugged it back in and then monitored it until I was confident that it was working properly before moving Darwin into it from my holding tank

And I got the betadine and providine from my boyfriends mom that works as a nurse, so I also got it at a discount. But you could probably get it from a pharmacy is what I'm thinking!

Also, how often should I soaked him in the betadine solution and how often should I re-apply the cream? Daily?

Okay so small update, I soaked him in the betadine solution and applied the cream again today so that makes twice that I've done it.

Im concerned because I tried to feed him today and he refused it, I've also noticed that his eyes are starting to get cloudy...the only issue is that he just shed on October 29th...somebody please help!?

For reference he is 11 months on the 10th and as far as I've seen, he only sheds once a month.

No need to be concerned over one refused meal. The snake is most likely going into shed from having damage done from the burn. Just keep doing what you are doing but try not to mess with the snake more then you have to.

Thank you so much! I don't mean to over react I'm just concerned :(