PLEASE HELP!!! Damaged scales on belly!!!

(First BP. Just over one year old) Every night my BP wraps himself around the CHE guard. There was a sharp bit on it (It has been sorted now, he’s still doing it though) & I think when he’s been wrapping around the guard some the sharp bit got caught on his belly scales, literally going from his neck down to the middle of his body, there are some scales on his back/mid section that look like they’ve been caught on which you can only tell when you pick him up. I don’t know if it would be hurting him & will they go back to normal when he sheds or what??? I don’t really want to pick him up in case I make it worse. There’s no brown bits on the scales, they’re normal colour but get caught quite easy. The sharp bit didn’t cut his skin open.

If you can post a couple pictures, that would be the biggest help.

Is it just the scales that are damaged or is there an actual wound? If the scales are a bit roughed up, your noodle should be okay.
If there is a wound obviously, vet is recommended if the wound is deep or remains open.

If it's more like a scratch or a red patch:
You may need to take the substrate out for a week, maybe more.
Give your snake a nice soak to help loosen up any debris. If you have iodine, you can mix a small bit in the water to give it just a tint of color, like very watered down tea. To help disinfect it a bit.
Let the snake have a damp towel to slither through to get whatever debris left away from the area. try not to pick at things. if you need to you can take a bit of gauze and carefully wipe at it, but don't be too rough.
dab a little bit of antibiotic ointment over the area. just a thin layer. And it's very important to make sure it is plain ointment, no painkillers.


If the area continues to look red or worse, go to the vet. Your snake may need a course of antibiotics.

Also, make sure to run your hand around the edges of anything in the habitat they may be running the belly or back on, just to make sure if it wasn't just the CHE guard that did it.

Pictures might help. Sorry to hear of your BP's incident.

How do I upload pictures? First time on the forums.

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

How do I upload pictures? First time on the forums.

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Not sure either. I would PM a moderator.

Download the free App "Tapatalk" to your phone.

Then find the Ball-Pythons.net group. You will see all the sub forums and threads/post..
Find this one and then you can upload pictures directly into the thread from your phone..

Doesn't this guard get HOT ?? :(

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b26a4928e4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dd7fbbaec5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0b24a70467.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c45f8d078c.jpg


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I'd bet that'll straighten out after her next shed....but I'm just guessing.

Yeah, mostly looks like minor scuffs to the scales and no open wounds

Am I seeing a bit of pink on the belly too? If your snake is getting ready to shed, that might be a reason too...the older scales drying out. I'd also double check the humidity in there as well. Sometimes when the humidity levels get too low you see the scales get kinda flaky like that. Offer some moss in a hide maybe to help the scales stay hydrated.

Hopefully it's a coming shed and not burns from the CHE basket being too hot. Also... maybe double check the temps in the enclosure to make sure he's not hiding up there and drying himself out because things are not warm enough elsewhere

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Originally Posted by zina10

Download the free App "Tapatalk" to your phone.

Then find the Ball-Pythons.net group. You will see all the sub forums and threads/post..
Find this one and then you can upload pictures directly into the thread from your phone..

Doesn't this guard get HOT ?? :(

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It’s about mid 30*c to 40*c. It’s a 40watt bulb, I use the Habistat Pulse Proportional T’stat. I turn it down a bit when I see him wrapped round it. I’ve got a reptile radiator which will probably be put in the tank on the weekend and possibly removing the CHE.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armiyana

Yeah, mostly looks like minor scuffs to the scales and no open wounds

Am I seeing a bit of pink on the belly too? If your snake is getting ready to shed, that might be a reason too...the older scales drying out. I'd also double check the humidity in there as well. Sometimes when the humidity levels get too low you see the scales get kinda flaky like that. Offer some moss in a hide maybe to help the scales stay hydrated.

Hopefully it's a coming shed and not burns from the CHE basket being too hot. Also... maybe double check the temps in the enclosure to make sure he's not hiding up there and drying himself out because things are not warm enough elsewhere

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His shed was on the 13th October & wasn’t a good one. There’s still a few little bits on his ‘neck’ area and tad on the very back of his head. I didn’t know wether to leave it there an see if comes off on the next or what. I’ve read through a lot forums saying different things.


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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

I'd bet that'll straighten out after her next shed....

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Same here...:gj:

Do you’s think it would be causing him pain at all? I only noticed yesterday like & the night before it wasn’t there, from what I could tell anyway.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

Do you’s think it would be causing him pain at all? I only noticed yesterday like & the night before it wasn’t there, from what I could tell anyway.


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I don't think so...it would be different if there was any deep or open wounds, but scrapes like this are pretty normal in the course of just being a snake in the wild;
naturally we all want our pets to stay as safe & uninjured as possible, but unless there's something I'm not seeing? If the skin isn't really broken, there's no point
putting antiseptic ointment* on it. Now if the "pink" that someone mentioned is actually a burn, that's another matter... Is he acting normal?

*BTW, if you ever do need to use Neosporin on a wound, you must not use the "pain relief" formula on snakes, only the plain regular ointment is OK.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I don't think so...it would be different if there was any deep or open wounds, but scrapes like this are pretty normal in the course of just being a snake in the wild;
naturally we all want our pets to stay as safe & uninjured as possible, but unless there's something I'm not seeing? If the skin isn't really broken, there's no point
putting antiseptic ointment on it. Now if the "pink" that someone mentioned is actually a burn, that's another matter... Is he acting normal?

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Apart from wrapping around the guard which is annoying to see. Ye, his behaviour appears to be normal when he’s not on the guard all’s he wants to do is get out, I take him out for a bit when I see him up against glass (not everyday I don’t want to stress him out). He hasn’t bitten me (yet) he’s very docile. So, ye from my observations :) his behaviour is A-Okay.

In the pictures he does appear pink he’s not though (from what I can tell anyway), think it’s the angle I took them from it’s mainly white with his colours fading on the sides. I’ll post more pictures of him so you can get a better look at his belly.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

Apart from wrapping around the guard which is annoying to see. Ye, his behaviour appears to be normal when he’s not on the guard all’s he wants to do is get out, I take him out for a bit when I see him up against glass (not everyday I don’t want to stress him out). He hasn’t bitten me (yet) he’s very docile. So, ye from my observations :) his behaviour is A-Okay.

In the pictures he does appear pink he’s not though (from what I can tell anyway), think it’s the angle I took them from it’s mainly white with his colours fading on the sides. I’ll post more pictures of him so you can get a better look at his belly.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I don't think so...it would be different if there was any deep or open wounds, but scrapes like this are pretty normal in the course of just being a snake in the wild;
naturally we all want our pets to stay as safe & uninjured as possible, but unless there's something I'm not seeing? If the skin isn't really broken, there's no point
putting antiseptic ointment* on it. Now if the "pink" that someone mentioned is actually a burn, that's another matter... Is he acting normal?

*BTW, if you ever do need to use Neosporin on a wound, you must not use the "pain relief" formula on snakes, only the plain regular ointment is OK.

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‘IF’ it was/is a burn how would I go about remedying it?


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I'm really not seeing anything on his tummy...I believe what some think looks "pinkish" is just some of his blood circulation that shows thru his pale color.
Does his tummy color look different now to you than it did before???

Many albino snakes look pink when born or hatched for that reason. And BPs nearing a shed often have a pinkish tummy too. A burn should be seen by
a vet, so they can prescribe a topical cream (Silvadene) to assist healing & whatever else may be needed, but you don't need that as far as I can tell.

I'm trying to guess why he's so drawn to the heat guard...is that his only source of heat or is there UTH? Maybe his temps need to be re-visited?

If it's a minor burn, he should be fine and just be a little pink while it heals.

Burns are very difficult to tell right away. If he burned himself badly, then he might go into a new shed cycle this week. Once that happens you can really tell what happened. The skin will die off underneath and leave a wound if it's a bad burn. It's not pretty.
If that happens you need to bring him to a vet. They can possibly do antibiotic injections if it's severe. But they can also give you a stronger wound cream, debride the dead skin and give you a wound flush.

If it's something like a small red sore after he sheds or a small blister, you can do the soaks with some iodine daily with the antibiotic ointment until it heals.

If for any reason the pink becomes more red and blotchy and covers his belly, he seems lethargic or he sheds and there's open wounds, go to the vet. The red and blotchy tummy can be a sign of a bacterial infection, septicemia. Which can happen from something like a small wound that gets infected.

I had to deal with septicemia on my 18 year old royal while also dealing with a very severe burn on a rescue snake. It was frustrating to say the least.

Hopefully it's like Bogertophis suggested and just his natural circulation. Hard to tell when you're not in person sometimes. I just worry since CHEs can heat up and heat the boxes up quite a bit! And may be how my rescue was burned. I'll never really know for sure. May have been a heat pack as well...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'm really not seeing anything on his tummy...I believe what some think looks "pinkish" is just some of his blood circulation that shows thru his pale color.
Does his tummy color look different now to you than it did before???

Many albino snakes look pink when born or hatched for that reason. And BPs nearing a shed often have a pinkish tummy too. A burn should be seen by
a vet, so they can prescribe a topical cream (Silvadene) to assist healing & whatever else may be needed, but you don't need that as far as I can tell.

I'm trying to guess why he's so drawn to the heat guard...is that his only source of heat or is there UTH? Maybe his temps need to be re-visited?

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Not the only one. I use an oil heater to keep the ambient temp stable, especially as it’s getting colder.
I’ll be removing the CHE and replacing it with a rep radiator. Not comfortable knowing he likes to wrap round the guard.


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I'm not at all familiar with a "rep radiator" but I'll take your word for it...:)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'm not at all familiar with a "rep radiator" but I'll take your word for it...:)

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Reptile Radiator=RHP

I had to look it up.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'm not at all familiar with a "rep radiator" but I'll take your word for it...:)

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It’s one of thesehttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5716d3b4e2.jpg
The panel screws in to the top of the viv, this will have a guard. Won’t be able to wrap round it though.

Doesn't look like anything to worry about. My scrub often gets scales like this from being such a grabby monster and holding on to everything in sight. I'd just bump the humidity a little, but the dry scales will just sluff off and they don't seem to cause any pain.

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Originally Posted by Team Slytherin

Doesn't look like anything to worry about. My scrub often gets scales like this from being such a grabby monster and holding on to everything in sight. I'd just bump the humidity a little, but the dry scales will just sluff off and they don't seem to cause any pain.

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Thanks :). Do think he seems a bit ‘pink’ at all as well?
To me it just looks as if his colours are fading in & out.

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Took him out again before just to have another look at his belly, it’s got it’s normal colour to it (white) but, there is the odd pinkish bit to it. Not loads just the odd speck around a few scales. Don’t know how to go about the issue if it is a burn. Anyway:
Is it ok if it’s just a minor burn, would he just be able to shed it off?
Or would he have to go the vets?


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Better send him here to Maine!:snake:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Better send him here to Maine!:snake:

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I live in Liverpool, England.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

I live in Liverpool, England.


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:rofl: I kinda thought you were "across the pond"...no one here calls RHPs by "reptile radiator". ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

Took him out again before just to have another look at his belly, it’s got it’s normal colour to it (white) but, there is the odd pinkish bit to it. Not loads just the odd speck around a few scales. Don’t know how to go about the issue if it is a burn. Anyway:
Is it ok if it’s just a minor burn, would he just be able to shed it off?
Or would he have to go the vets? ....

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I still think he's fine, but it's your call. You can see him better in person & saw him BEFORE this happened, for comparison.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

:rofl: I kinda thought you were "across the pond"...no one here calls RHPs by "reptile radiator". ;)



I still think he's fine, but it's your call. You can see him better in person & saw him BEFORE this happened, for comparison.

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I’m putting the RHP (a.k.a rep radiator :) in the viv later on & removing the CHE.
Anyway, I’ll just see what his next sheds like an go from there.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

Thanks :). Do think he seems a bit ‘pink’ at all as well?
To me it just looks as if his colours are fading in & out.

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Seems normal to me. I’d just wait and see how his next shed goes 😊

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

Apart from wrapping around the guard which is annoying to see. Ye, his behaviour appears to be normal when he’s not on the guard all’s he wants to do is get out


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This leads me to wonder if husbandry is off. When a snake is constantly trying to escape it's usually because they can't find a suitable place to hide. If temps, hides, etc...are all on point the snake would likely just be, well, doing what BPs do...hiding.

The fact that the snake is wrapping itself around the heat source makes me think it's looking for warmth and the heat source is the only place warm enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

This leads me to wonder if husbandry is off. When a snake is constantly trying to escape it's usually because they can't find a suitable place to hide. If temps, hides, etc...are all on point the snake would likely just be, well, doing what BPs do...hiding.

The fact that the snake is wrapping itself around the heat source makes me think it's looking for warmth and the heat source is the only place warm enough.

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There’s two hides in the viv one at cool end & one at warm end. He hides during the day comes out at night.
The lights are on a timer he comes out about half an hour after they go off, then he’s back hiding before they come back on.
He’s not constantly trying to escape just does it at night.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

There’s two hides in the viv one at cool end & one at warm end. He hides during the day comes out at night.
The lights are on a timer he comes out about half an hour after they go off, then he’s back hiding before they come back on.
He’s not constantly trying to escape just does it at night, when he doesn’t do it he’s just squirming about the viv.
The CHE is gone now & has been replaced with a RHP.
The temps are on point I use an IR gun to check the surface.
Two hygrometers & two thermometers. All digital.

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Nothing to worry about!

He’s now going towards the rhp (the CHE is now gone, rhp is on the warm side), attracted to the heat of it (I would think so anyway) he can not wrap around it. But, he is going around the edges of it (the guard), this was a very close fit in the viv so there are small gaps between it and the walls, he’s climbing up to it and squirming against.
Got three Qs:
Shall I just leave him to it?
Could he be going towards it because he thinks it’s food?
Could this possibly be neurological issue?
Or am I overreacting.

I'd say to leave him to it because he thinks its food due to his neurological issue caused by your overreacting.:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

He’s now going towards the rhp (the CHE is now gone, rhp is on the warm side), attracted to the heat of it (I would think so anyway) he can not wrap around it. But, he is going around the edges of it (the guard), this was a very close fit in the viv so there are small gaps between it and the walls, he’s climbing up to it and squirming against.
Got three Qs:
Shall I just leave him to it?
Could he be going towards it because he thinks it’s food?
Could this possibly be neurological issue?
Or am I overreacting.

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From where I sit (& not actually seeing set-up): it sounds like he is wanting the warmth. I'm fairly certain that it doesn't smell like food. And "neurological"? :weirdface-no.

"Over-reacting"? It's not over-reacting when you pay attention to details & want to make sure your husbandry is spot-on, & not causing harm. It's not "over-reacting"
to want to know why your snake is doing whatever he's doing that you don't understand. (Please don't let anyone's snark keep you from asking necessary questions.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

I'd say to leave him to it because he thinks its food due to his neurological issue caused by your overreacting.:D

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Mind boggling stuff.



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I’ve seen one of mine investigate the RHP as well. He would get between the edge of the RHP and the tank and just snoop around. If your temps are on point he’s probably just exploring.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

From where I sit (& not actually seeing set-up): it sounds like he is wanting the warmth. I'm fairly certain that it doesn't smell like food. And "neurological"? :weirdface-no.

"Over-reacting"? It's not over-reacting when you pay attention to details & want to make sure your husbandry is spot-on, & not causing harm. It's not "over-reacting"
to want to know why your snake is doing whatever he's doing that you don't understand. (Please don't let anyone's snark keep you from asking necessary questions.)

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Soo… Shall I just leave him to it then? Is this just a case of ‘ball pythons do weird s***’?


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

This leads me to wonder if husbandry is off. When a snake is constantly trying to escape it's usually because they can't find a suitable place to hide. If temps, hides, etc...are all on point the snake would likely just be, well, doing what BPs do...hiding.

The fact that the snake is wrapping itself around the heat source makes me think it's looking for warmth and the heat source is the only place warm enough.

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OP: I'm inclined to agree with this ^ ^ ^ and again, not seeing your set-up to know if he has adequate warmth where he can also hide & be comfortable (ie. warm
enough). Does the warmth reach the cage floor? (How tall is his enclosure?) What are your temps. reading & where?

Or maybe he's hungry & hunting for food, & because it's not in his cage, he wants out & is using the only thing he can grab onto?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MuicyJelon

There’s two hides in the viv one at cool end (26*c - 29*c) & one at warm end (30*c - 35*c). He hides during the day comes out at night.
The lights are on a timer, he comes out about half an hour after they go off, then he’s back hiding before they come back on. (Timer: On 8:30am. Off 9:30pm)
It’s a three foot vivexotic.
Heat reaches the floor - checked every few hours with an IR gun. (Etekcity)
Two hygrometers, one connected with the thermostats (Komodo Combined Thermo & Hygro) which has an alarm that goes off if humidity drops or goes too high & the same for the temp. Also another little one (exo-Terra digital) that I move from end to end depending on which side of the viv he’s hiding in. Try to keep it between 50% - 60%. Moss goes in the viv to help keep it stable.
I use Eco-Earth & Forrest floor.
The Viv is in my room which is a converted loft/attic.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

OP: I'm inclined to agree with this ^ ^ ^ and again, not seeing your set-up to know if he has adequate warmth where he can also hide & be comfortable (ie. warm
enough). Does the warmth reach the cage floor? (How tall is his enclosure?) What are your temps. reading & where?

Or maybe he's hungry & hunting for food, & because it's not in his cage, he wants out & is using the only thing he can grab onto?

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