2 concerns about my ball python please help!

I’m a new snake owner, 7 months ago I got a ball python. He’s about 16 inches long. The first concern I have is that his belly has become rough and the scales have been peeling up. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain and moves about the tank fine. I realized that the humidity was way too low inside the tank and I’ve changed his substrate from aspen shavings to coconut husk. Could the rough belly scales be due to the low humidity? He has not shed yet and as I said I’m new to snakes so I’m unsure if he is just overdue to shed or if it’s from the lack of humidity. My second concern is that he has yet to eat. The breeder fed live and I’ve been trying to get him to take frozen thawed but he’s not at all interested. I have a friend who has snakes and she has given me lots of tips to try and get him to take the mouse but he just slithers away from it every time. I’m at the point where I’m going to have to offer him live so that he eats. Any tips/pointers would be much appreciated! -Sam

If he hasnt shed or eaten in 7 months then i would be very concerned with your husbandry and figure out what needs tweaked. Can you share pics of the set up along with temp gradient and humidity. Not much can be suggested without knowing where youre starting from.

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I'm a new snake owner as well, so I'm not sure too sure about the scales. If they are peeling, that sounds like scale rot, but someone with more experience can correct me. From what I've read about scale rot, that's caused by too wet of a substrate, and you said the humidity in the cage had been too low, so if the bedding wasn't wet, then I'm not sure what may have caused the scales to lift.

For the feeding of frozen thawed, I will just tell you what I do because maybe there's something within my experience you could try. I've heard it can be difficult to switch a snake from live to frozen, but I'm sure it's not impossible. Because ball pythons have those heat sensing pits near their mouth, you want to try to make the mouse as warm as you can so the snake may think it's warm enough to actually be alive. I thaw mine out in a sandwich bag placed in a container with as hot a water from the faucet that I can get, then after letting it sit, run it under the faucet directly for a minute or two. I also make sure to never put the mouse directly into the water, because that can wash off some of the smell that may make your snake more attracted to feeding - I made this mistake the first time feeding my bp, she wasn't interested. After keeping it in the sandwich bag to thaw, that seemed to do the trick.

Or, maybe you could try freshly killed mice instead? I've never done this, and I'm not sure if most pet stores which sell live mice would do this, or if you'd have to do it yourself. but again, maybe someone with more experience can explain this further.

Another option I've read about is if you go to a pet store and ask for some of their mouse bedding, as in bedding that is actually right from the cage where they are keeping the live mice, and then rubbing that up against your frozen/thawed mouse to give it an even stronger, live mouse scent. If you've ever been to a pet store and had them open the mouse cage in front of you, believe me, that scent is strong. :zerb::mouse2:

Here's a checklist that I would go through to help w/ this, because if he hasn't eaten or shed in 7 months something must be off.

-Humidity should be kept above 55%, but I would aim for 60-65% normally.
-Temps should be kept around 88-94 F.
-Frozen mice should be about 100 F when offered to the snake.
-Make sure that you have a hide on the cold side and a hide on the hot side of the tank.
-Buy something rough for the snake to use to shed. I recommend cleaned sticks/driftwood with bark, or a log style hide with bark.
-Make sure water is purified with Reptisafe etc.
-Add a few fake plants or something to fill space. A relatively cluttered set-up helps BPs feel secure.
*all of these things will reduce the snake's stress and keep them healthy. Stress due to off-husbandry is a huge factor in feeding strikes.


Check all of your husbandry, watch some videos on youtube about ball pythons and setup, try to make everything is absolutely perfect.
After a week of making sure everything is good for the snake, try feeding again. Maybe try feeding on the cold side, as this can help the snake see thermally. Also for that week, don't handle the snake, this can also help reduce stress. If he/she doesn't take the mouse again, try switching to either live mice (try not to make a habit of this, just to get the snake to a healthy weight) or try frozen rat pups if you think the snake is big enough. Rats have a different scent that your snake may prefer.

As for the strange scales, it sounds somewhat like scale rot, though I'm unsure. Do some research on this. Scale rot can manifest when the snake doesn't have a dry place to go in it's setup. Make sure that the hot side has dry substrate (which, for the purpose, I recommend coco fiber over something like aspen).

If none of this helps you, consider talking to a vet!

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Originally Posted by Samzi1123

I’m a new snake owner, 7 months ago I got a ball python. He’s about 16 inches long. The first concern I have is that his belly has become rough and the scales have been peeling up. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain and moves about the tank fine. I realized that the humidity was way too low inside the tank and I’ve changed his substrate from aspen shavings to coconut husk. Could the rough belly scales be due to the low humidity? He has not shed yet and as I said I’m new to snakes so I’m unsure if he is just overdue to shed or if it’s from the lack of humidity. My second concern is that he has yet to eat. The breeder fed live and I’ve been trying to get him to take frozen thawed but he’s not at all interested. I have a friend who has snakes and she has given me lots of tips to try and get him to take the mouse but he just slithers away from it every time. I’m at the point where I’m going to have to offer him live so that he eats. Any tips/pointers would be much appreciated! -Sam

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7 months without eating is a concern. It's very important to get the snake eating. At that length it's obviously still young and needs to eat.

The main reason a new BP won't eat is often husbandry. The second is stress.

The more you can tell us about your setup the more we can help you.

Also, if you're handling the snake at all please refrain until the snake is eating consistently.

7 weeks not months! My bad!!

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Originally Posted by Samzi1123

7 weeks not months! My bad!!

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That's not nearly as bad of a concern, then. Do try to check all of the husbandry and try to get it to take some food by trying different methods. But don't worry too much about feeding!
Another thing is that he might not be seeing the food. The other day I presented a mouse outside of my snakes hide and tried to get him to take it for about 5 minutes. It wasn't until after I lifted up the hide and showed the mouse to his face (not too close) that he actually saw it and took it.

I will have to check my temp and humidity gauges when I get home to see the exact measurements, he does have a hide on the cool said and the warm side and the tank has been very dry, much dryer than it should have been which is why I switched from the aspen to the coco fiber, it was a very recent change tho so I'm not sure if the stomach scales could be a result of that. I looked into scale rot over the last week or so and I'd be shocked it he had it beucse the tank is very low humidity wise. That why I'm concerned, he sounds a bit crinkly when he moves and the scales that are discolored are a light brown on the edges. Im not sure how to attach a pic so you can see it.

Can you post a picture of him, it would make diagnosing the problem much easier.

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Originally Posted by Samzi1123

I will have to check my temp and humidity gauges when I get home to see the exact measurements, he does have a hide on the cool said and the warm side and the tank has been very dry, much dryer than it should have been which is why I switched from the aspen to the coco fiber, it was a very recent change tho so I'm not sure if the stomach scales could be a result of that. I looked into scale rot over the last week or so and I'd be shocked it he had it beucse the tank is very low humidity wise. That why I'm concerned, he sounds a bit crinkly when he moves and the scales that are discolored are a light brown on the edges. Im not sure how to attach a pic so you can see it.

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Many of us use the free app called Tapatalk.

It makes it extremely easy to attach photos to your posts, right from your phone.

Here are the pics of his belly. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...49af0aebcf.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7d8f956907.jpg


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Samzi1123

Here are the pics of his belly. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...49af0aebcf.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...7d8f956907.jpg

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possible scale rot. :no:

EDIT: scale rot isn't solely caused by humid conditions; filthy conditions that allow bacteria to thrive cause scale rot.

Looks kind of like scale rot, would recommend a vet/talking to an expert that you may know? However, I'm definitely not an expert myself, so I'd get some more opinions on it for sure.

I've never had any hands on experience with scale rot, but that looks like it to me. But, please know that's a very amateur opinion based solely on a few pics.

Like tttaylorrr said, scale rot doesn't just come from humidity. It in fact comes more from the snake lying on wet or dirty substrate.

Also....phew on 7 weeks not months!!!

If you could share as many details as possible about your setup we'll be able to help you out better.

What type and size enclosure?
How are you heating?
Are your heat sources regulated by a thermoSTAT???
What are your temps?
How are you measuring temps and where?
Are there 2 proper hides?
Is the enclosure wise open? Or in a high traffic area?
Etc....

Would scale rot worsen quickly? Because he’s had the dry discolored scales for a while and he hasn’t gotten worse at all. I’ve taken all the substrate out and replaced it with paper towels and cleaned everything in the tank.


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I think it is scale rot? Looks yellowish coming from the scales but I would confirm with a vet. Please keep in mind reptiles are very resilient animals showing no sign of pain until they are too sick to fake it anymore.

Please post the info about your tank set up so everyone can try to help you.

My suggestion is to get your pet back to good health first before any further attempts at switching to f/t. Feeding it live until it gained back most of its weight plus fixing your tank set up (Again, please provide details), and maybe get a vet to take a look at that belly.

So the warm side is 87 and the cool side is 74. He is currently on paper towels and has 2 hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. He has a fairly good size water dish and a branch to rub against. The humidity is right around 50%. I’m using an overhead heat lamp because the under tank heat wasn’t getting the tank warm enough. Prior to this he was on aspen chips and I emptied the tank and cleaned it once a week. I think that covers everything people had asked about! Thank you to everyone who has been replying! It’s great to have a community to fall back on!


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Originally Posted by Samzi1123

So the warm side is 87 and the cool side is 74. He is currently on paper towels and has 2 hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. He has a fairly good size water dish and a branch to rub against. The humidity is right around 50%. I’m using an overhead heat lamp because the under tank heat wasn’t getting the tank warm enough. Prior to this he was on aspen chips and I emptied the tank and cleaned it once a week. I think that covers everything people had asked about! Thank you to everyone who has been replying! It’s great to have a community to fall back on!


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You failed to mention a thermostat. Are your UTH and heat lamp regulated by a thermostat?

No I don’t have a thermostat. It’s on my list but I haven’t had a chance to get one yet.


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Originally Posted by Samzi1123

No I don’t have a thermostat. It’s on my list but I haven’t had a chance to get one yet.


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Major issue and mistake. Could also be burned scales from an unregulated uth


are you no longer using the UTH?

you should really use both. How do you plan to keep humidity up now? Cause w a heat lamp and no substrate to hold heat you will need other methods

I unplugged the under tank heat when I realized that it could burn him without the thermostat, I’m looking for one online now so that I don’t have to worry about him being burnt. If he did get burnt how do I know it’s that and not scale rot?


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So an uth is on,y for belly heat and not over all air temps. Your heat lamp is for ambient temp. Your hot side temp (measured at the glass without substrate) should read 90. Cool side 80 and ambient air temp 80 as well. So your temps are too low. Grab a jumpstart thermostat on Amazon, an infrared heat gun, and an accurite thermometer/hygrometer.

http://a.co/5ObqPwQ jumpstart
http://a.co/8Gy0WEJ temp gun
Http://a.co/gvwQvRV accurite

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

So an uth is on,y for belly heat and not over all air temps. Your heat lamp is for ambient temp. Your hot side temp (measured at the glass without substrate) should read 90. Cool side 80 and ambient air temp 80 as well. So your temps are too low. Grab a jumpstart thermostat on Amazon, an infrared heat gun, and an accurite thermometer/hygrometer.

http://a.co/5ObqPwQ jumpstart
http://a.co/8Gy0WEJ temp gun
Http://a.co/gvwQvRV accurite

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Thank you so much! I’ll order that now!


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Be sure to regulate and keep an eye on ur uth even with a thermostat . I had a cheap petco thermostat fail on me and resulting in my bumbled bee gettting burned really bad (he completely recovered but I was scared). That’s why I have extra thermometers in my tanks to make sure my herpstat is working to exactly what I set it for. Herpstats are cool because they have alarms that will go off if ur temps drop too high or too low as well. A little expensive but worth it if you can save for one while using a cheaper on in the meantime .


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Originally Posted by Samzi1123

No I don’t have a thermostat. It’s on my list but I haven’t had a chance to get one yet.


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01 from someone who just had an issue with a faulty thermostat... invest in a good 1 and set up a vet visit!! This is not a horrible situation but you do need more professional advice and from a hands on expert that can offer you the proper diagnosis and give you some treatment...

but 1st and not after you buy your snake you need a reliable thermostat, these guys on here can help you... Just type in thermostat in the search and you will find many conversations that may help you narrow down a perfect match for your needs. but please get that taken care of, these animals have no defense when we take responsibility for them.

Good luck and hope (s)he gets well soon!!!

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Originally Posted by Ronniex2

01 from someone who just had an issue with a faulty thermostat... invest in a good 1 and set up a vet visit!! This is not a horrible situation but you do need more professional advice and from a hands on expert that can offer you the proper diagnosis and give you some treatment...

but 1st and not after you buy your snake you need a reliable thermostat, these guys on here can help you... Just type in thermostat in the search and you will find many conversations that may help you narrow down a perfect match for your needs. but please get that taken care of, these animals have no defense when we take responsibility for them.

Good luck and hope (s)he gets well soon!!!

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Thank you! I have a thermostat on the way now! I got the air temps up on both sides and I am keeping a close eye on him for any changes. Due to recent unforeseen circumstances I cant afford to take him to the vet right now so I researched how to treat scale rot at home and I have started that process. Hopefully he responds well and heals up.


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