Help, I think my snake is burning herself!??

I recently picked up my ball python after being gone for a week, and I noticed that her belly looked brown and the scales had wrinkled and dried. I took her to see a snake expert at a local store, and he said it looked like a burn. I started treating it with Vetericyn 2-3 times a day, and switched her from a mat to forest floor cypress mulch bedding to give more of a buffer between her and her heating pad, and it seemed to be helping for a few days, but now I have noticed that more of her "healthy" scales have been getting a pink color in the last couple days? I'm planning on a vet visit in the next couple days but I don't know what top do in the mean time....I don't want my baby to be in pain or worse :(:tears:

First off, do you have a thermostat hooked up to the heat source? This could be why your snake got burned. Maybe you could post some pics of the burn?!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The slight pink might be because your snakes going to shed very soon....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Buying a thermostat is no easy feat for me, as i need to fight with my dad to buy anything for my snake's habitat- but I'm trying to push to get one within the week. Here is a pictue of what her scales looked like when I first discovered the problem
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/U-...w=w444-h789-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/U-...w=w444-h789-no
Here is a picture of her burn the day I discovered the problem.

Also, she just went through a shed? I don't know if ball pythons can shed multiple times back to back (this is my first snake)

Unplug your uth right now if you don't have it regulated. Only use a heat bulb at this point. You must regulate your uth. It is. It an option. Unplug or get a thermostat. I would say a vet asap!

Sadly this was completely preventable.

If you use a UTH you MUST have a thermostat to provide proper temperatures, which are part of proper husbandry and will also prevent burns.

Burns can become costly to treat as they can become infected not to mention painful for the animal.

Quote:

---

buffer between her and her heating pad

---

BP will burrow therefore a "buffer is useless. Right now you MUST unplug this UTH IMMIDIATELY and replace the bedding with clean dry paper towel.

Quote:

---

Buying a thermostat is no easy feat for me, as i need to fight with my dad to buy anything for my snake's habitat

---

Food for the thoughts, pet ownership comes with great responsibilities and the animal becomes a burden )financial or other), as a responsible owner you may have to face the fact that the animal may be better of with a new owner that can provide for it's needs.

Oh gosh, this hurts my heart !!!

The snake isn't burning itself. You are. I know that sounds harsh. But it is what it is.

Not having a thermostat is not an option. If you or your dad cannot or will not buy what is the very basic of need, then please just don't get the animal. It isn't fair to it, and yes, it is suffering from quite a bit of pain. That is a pretty bad burn.

You will now have to turn off the UTH, or risk deeper damage. The sad thing is, then it will probably get to cold. Also not ideal, but preferable to roasting that poor animal.

For its sake, buy everything needed FIRST, then the animal. If its not possible to do that, do not get that animal until you can.

There is simply nothing we can tell you and nothing you can do until you fix the husbandry and THEN also treat this poor animals wounds. Get the setup right, and then try to get some Silvadene creme. It works wonders on burns. You will need to keep the tank extremely clean, keep the snake on paper towels that are CLEAN at all times. The last thing you (or the snake) needs is infection.

There are some low cost thermostats that would work for now and would be better then nothing. Petstores, Amazon should carry them. I think they can be found in the twenty something dollar range.

Wow, your snake basically got cooked, and is in a lot of pain already.

See if you can get a dimmer(I think from home depot??), I heard they're cheap, like $10 and will work until you can get a proper thermostat. Very short term solution and if your room temps fluctuate a lot it will have to be messed with quite a bit, but better than nothing?

And please if you can't properly care for the animal, financial wise, rehome it to someone who can!

okay, thank you guys.

I confirmed with my dad that we are getting a thermostat asap tomorrow, and booking an appointment with a good vet.

UTH is unplugged, and I'm currently switching her to paper towels instead of bedding, I'll plug it back in as soon as the thermostat is plugged in.

Awesome, thanks for trying to fix this asap !!

Ask the Vet for Silvadene. It has been proven to work great for these cases !! And please stick around...We will help you to get your setup as perfect as it can get, even at a low cost to begin with.
A thermostat is simply the one thing one cannot do without...there is no getting around it. As you have learned the hard way.

See if you can get something to measure the temps as well. Those stick on round thermometers are worth less and a waste of money. Walmart and Hardware stores have digital thermometers with probes. This way you can make sure your heat is right, on top of the UTH (inside the enclosure) I've seen thermometers like that for around $10. Its another good investment, esp. since you will have to monitor temperatures religiously.

You can still fix this, this is a pretty severe case, but I've seen worse being turned around. Most important thing is to fix everything up asap and then work on keeping it sterile and treated. You can do it ;)

Okay, thank you so so so much!

New shopping list-

Thermostat, digital thermometers, silvadene, vet appointment.

I feel so terrible for letting things get so out of hand, and I'm really grateful I'm able to get advice on the best options for my snake. Definitely keeping this thread open as I redo her tank and help her heal.

There is MUCH you can do to make a tank work better !!

Tanks aren't ideal, but they CAN be made to work. Most important right now is to get your baby all healed up. SO husbandry needs to be spot on. Then you can come back and we can all discuss how to give the baby a bit more privacy (which they love)

In tanks you want to get a substrate that holds humidity well without molding. But for right now, you want to stick to paper towels, so that you can keep your baby as clean and sterile as possible. Once the wound is healed up well, you can change to a substrate that will help with humidity.

Cheap things that improve a tank are to "black out" sides and back. And also cover the top. You can tape black construction paper on the outside of the tank, on the sides and back. Cover the top with a wet towel (helping that humidity). Make sure you have hides inside as well. By doing all that you create lots of privacy for your baby and it won't feel so exposed. The Vet visits and treatments will cause some stress, but that can't be avoided right now.

Returning it to a nice and private, darkish, enclosure in between all that can help your baby to relax.

Keep us up to date and don't hesitate to ask questions. If you have some about the setup, try to post in "Ball Python - Husbandry" you might get more people seeing it and answering..

Omg poor noodle. Something everyone else forgot to ask, where is the heat pad located? If it's inside the enclosure remove it immediately. Get it put on a thermostat and mount it under the tank with spacers as it is designed to be used. Get digital thermometers and hygrometers. Get an ir temp gun. These are musts, even if you have to do months worth of chores to pay your dad back these are simply required and not negotiable.

Wishing the noodle a healthy and speedy recovery.

Sent from my LG-M151 using Tapatalk

you've received excellent advice already so i'll just wish you luck and i'm hoping to see a full recovery from your noodle.

keep us posted! [emoji3]

Ouch - I feel so bad for the poor baby. Here is a link to a fairly cheap thermostat that will work good for you until you can afford an expensive one.

https://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-Contro.../dp/B000NZZG3S

Best of luck to you.

The Jump Start thermostats are pretty good, should be 20 ish on Amazon

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

The Jump Start thermostats are pretty good, should be 20 ish on Amazon

---

Seconding this! I use one and they work great!

Research people before buying a pet. Anyways glad it got sorted out.:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

The Jump Start thermostats are pretty good, should be 20 ish on Amazon

---

I third this.

Glad he's on the way to a proper enviornment and the professional care for his injuries. Please keep us abreast of what the vet findings are and the treatment regimen. ;)

ouch! poor, poor baby. :'(

sounds like u got the info u needed and you're now taking the steps in the right direction. god speed. i wish u and your pet all the best.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Newbie39

Research people before buying a pet. Anyways glad it got sorted out.:)

---

wat? lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ax01

wat? lol

---

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I always found researching the animal is best before purchase. But I suppose researching people is helpful too. ;)

#everyonesacomedian

Good luck on your baby, OP. Keep us posted!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Newbie39

Research people before buying a pet. Anyways glad it got sorted out.:)

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ax01

wat? lol

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hilabeans

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I always found researching the animal is best before purchase. But I suppose researching people is helpful too. ;)

#everyonesacomedian

Good luck on your baby, OP. Keep us posted!

---

i think we should start a BOI on potential customers/pet owners. u know, a forum where pet stores, breeders, etc. can research people before we sell to them. i wanna who's a good keeper, who's a bad keeper. who has a thermostat and who doesn't, etc.

:gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ax01

ouch! poor, poor baby. :'(

sounds like u got the info u needed and you're now taking the steps in the right direction. god speed. i wish u and your pet all the best.



wat? lol

---

Lol I meant research, people. Like research before purchase. Lol my dumbass moment for the day :O

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Newbie39

Research people before buying a pet. Anyways glad it got sorted out.:)

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ax01

wat? lol

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Newbie39

Lol I meant research, people. Like research before purchase. Lol my dumbass moment for the day :O

---

u have these moments everyday? well then, i look forward to tomorrow. :D

Edit: i'm feeling sassy today!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ax01

u have these moments everyday? well then, i look forward to tomorrow. :D

Edit: i'm feeling sassy today!

---

Nice lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Newbie39

Lol I meant research, people. Like research before purchase. Lol my dumbass moment for the day :O

---

The power of proper punctuation! (don't say that out loud or you'll have spittle on your keyboard - hehe.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hilabeans

The power of proper punctuation! (don't say that out loud or you'll have spittle on your keyboard - hehe.)

---

[emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay! Update on the redo of the tank. She's on paper towels, nice and clean, got a new UTH, the thermostat is installed, I invested in thermometers for both the warm and cool sides of the tank, and I found a vet that treats Ball pythons in my area- I'm making an appointment and hopefully taking her in today or on Saturday. :oops:

Also, it turns out that my old UTH had badly malfunctioned. Really glad that I replaced it now. Yikes.
She's much happier now, and has perked up now that she's being kept at the right temperature and had a snack. :snake:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/X-...=w1920-h924-no


This is her current setup for her recovery, my next step (Besides the vet) is putting a backing on the back and sides of the tank so she has more privacy. That should be done later today!

Thank you guys for your help thus far, Basilisk will be a much happier noodle soon :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MinoBeri

Okay! Update on the redo of the tank. She's on paper towels, nice and clean, got a new UTH, the thermostat is installed, I invested in thermometers for both the warm and cool sides of the tank, and I found a vet that treats Ball pythons in my area- I'm making an appointment and hopefully taking her in today or on Saturday. :oops:

Also, it turns out that my old UTH had badly malfunctioned. Really glad that I replaced it now. Yikes.
She's much happier now, and has perked up now that she's being kept at the right temperature and had a snack. :snake:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/X-...=w1920-h924-no


This is her current setup for her recovery, my next step (Besides the vet) is putting a backing on the back and sides of the tank so she has more privacy. That should be done later today!

Thank you guys for your help thus far, Basilisk will be a much happier noodle soon :)

---

so so so so proud of you. you're obviously dedicated to your baby and seeing your changes makes me happy. [emoji3]

is this a temporary setup? beeps like to have two identical hides so they can regulate at ease and not have to choose security over regulation.

you're well on your way. keep the updates coming. :gj:

Getting the husbandry correct takes some investment, time and tinkering... it seems like a bunch of work at first. once your setup is good (temperature control, humidity control, hiding spots, feeding, etc.). then it becomes like clockwork and caring for the snake is easy.

You've come to the right place. Your homework is to read through the Husbandry section of the forum for 20 minutes daily, minimum. I leaned a ginormous amount reading pages and pages from the husbandry forum section.

Good job.

Yep, this is a temporary setup. She'll be getting a bigger tank in the next year or so, and a second hide in the next couple weeks. I did my research right this time, and I'm gonna use this site to make sure I'm doing the best I possible can to keep her healthy and happy!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MinoBeri

Yep, this is a temporary setup. She'll be getting a bigger tank in the next year or so, and a second hide in the next couple weeks. I did my research right this time, and I'm gonna use this site to make sure I'm doing the best I possible can to keep her healthy and happy!

---

you've done amazing already. keep reading up, PLEASE ask questions, and keep us posted on both of your progress.

we're here for you both. [emoji4]

Way too go! Man, if I hadn’t found this place, I would have one unhappy beep on my hands! Research is sooo important, and there’s nowhere better to learn than here!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I booked a vet appointment, sadly the soonest they could see me was next week on Friday..but i'm keeping the paper towels clean and making sure that they are switched out frequently, and spraying her burn with Vetericyn twice a day.

Does Vetericyn work effectively? :confusd: It was recommended to me by another snake owner, and he said it keeps bacteria out of the wound? But I don't think it's doing much
(It's only been a week tho)

Vetericyn is an antiseptic that works well on snakes because unlike Triple or Neosporin it's a water-based gel rather than a petroleum-based ointment. The ointments can cause scales to slough off.

You can get silvadine online at https://www.mountainside-medical.com/ without a prescription and it will likely show up before the vet appointment if you order tonight. It will be cheaper from there than from the vet as well.

Great job! Keep us updated on the recovery!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bcr229

Vetericyn is an antiseptic that works well on snakes because unlike Triple or Neosporin it's a water-based gel rather than a petroleum-based ointment. The ointments can cause scales to slough off.

---

So should i keep using it until the vet takes a look at her? (I'm still planning on taking her just in case there are other issues I don't know about, but i'm planning on using the link, thank you!))

I got everything set up, and she's fine during the day (curled up in her warm hide), but at night she occasionally makes these kinda-hissing sounds (It sounds like she's sighing) when she goes into her warm hide, or just refuses to go inside her hide and tries to find ways out of her tank instead.

I have the thermostat set to keep her warm side around 87-88 degrees Fahrenheit. It that too cold? (maybe that's why she sighs/hisses at night?...I know they're nocturnal, so maybe this is normal?)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MinoBeri

I got everything set up, and she's fine during the day (curled up in her warm hide), but at night she occasionally makes these kinda-hissing sounds (It sounds like she's sighing) when she goes into her warm hide, or just refuses to go inside her hide and tries to find ways out of her tank instead.

I have the thermostat set to keep her warm side around 87-88 degrees Fahrenheit. It that too cold? (maybe that's why she sighs/hisses at night?...I know they're nocturnal, so maybe this is normal?)

---

Normally i'd say that it's a little low but because he's recovering from a burn so you want a slightly lower surface temp. The hissing could be due to pain but hisses don't sound like sighs. Have the vet check for a respiratory infection when you go in.

Sent from my LG-M151 using Tapatalk

Agreeing with the others who replied to this post, you need to turn off the heat pad immediately. Heating pads are bad for snakes simply because they are not regulated. Chances are, you snake stayed in that spot because it was so uncomfortable anywhere else in its habitat. Snakes are docile and shy creatures, which means they need a lot of places to hide. Sadly, in your case, your snake would rather burn than risk being left in plain sight. Therefore, your snake will need more hides, branches, plants, and general husbandry equipment (a heat bulb instead of a pad, thermometers, and hygrometers). Husbandry is the most important part of snake care. Without proper husbandry, your snake will die.

All that being said, you need to seek veterinary attention IMMEDIATELY. Your snake is in A LOT of pain.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by toriwixom

Agreeing with the others who replied to this post, you need to turn off the heat pad immediately. Heating pads are bad for snakes simply because they are not regulated. Chances are, you snake stayed in that spot because it was so uncomfortable anywhere else in its habitat. Snakes are docile and shy creatures, which means they need a lot of places to hide. Sadly, in your case, your snake would rather burn than risk being left in plain sight. Therefore, your snake will need more hides, branches, plants, and general husbandry equipment (a heat bulb instead of a pad, thermometers, and hygrometers). Husbandry is the most important part of snake care. Without proper husbandry, your snake will die.

All that being said, you need to seek veterinary attention IMMEDIATELY. Your snake is in A LOT of pain.

---

I believe she has a thermostat now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Newbie39

I believe she has a thermostat now.

---

Awesome! It takes time, but boosting that husbandry will help significantly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by toriwixom

Heating pads are bad for snakes simply because they are not regulated.

---

:confusd::confusd:
Any unregulated heat source can be bad for an animal.
Lack of research is usually the worst problem.....

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/imag...quote_icon.png Originally Posted by toriwixom https://ball-pythons.net/forums/imag...post-right.png
Heating pads are bad for snakes simply because they are not regulated.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

:confusd::confusd:
Any unregulated heat source can be bad for an animal.
Lack of research is usually the worst problem.....

---

Exactly. Heating pads are great for snakes, on a proper THERMOSTAT, as any other heater should be also.

Okay! Sorry for the huge gap. I took her to the vet last Friday, the vet I saw was awesome, and started her on the path to recovery. She had to get some of the burned skin removed, yikes, but she's doing a lot better now that I can put the ointment the vet prescribed right on the effected area (Sulphadiazine cream). She's getting antibiotics and pain medication every two days, and even shed last night.

That being said, most of the burned skin came off in her shed, but the burn is still there. It was deep enough that the vet told me there might be some scarring- feeling horrible for keeping her in such a bad tank, but glad I was able to fix what had been going wrong.

The thermostat and thermometers I got are working like a charm, and she seems a lot happier in her new and improved tank and seems much more relaxed with two hides instead of one

Still getting used to the medication schedule, but I'm so relived that she's starting to recover :) :snake:

bad picture quality, but here's a picture of her freshly shed belly- better, but not perfect- 5 days into her treatments

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...A=w530-h943-no

And a bonus, my parents are on board with helping me to get her a bigger tank and a better setup (Backing, stuff to hide in, more hides, etc.) as soon as she's recovered :D:D:D:D

Thank you all so much for your feedback!

(also, there's nothing wrong with the end of her tail- there was just some shed skin stuck that came off later)

so happy to read this. i'm glad your snake has you AND your parents in her corner! keep us updated on your noodle's recovery. hoping it all goes well. [emoji4]