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  • 06-15-2007, 12:40 AM
    ember
    Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    I have taken in a yearling female ball python that has seriously the worst scale rot I have ever personally seen. She was bought from a HORRIBLE shop here in town by a dad and his 5 year old son, first time pet owners. They have only had her three weeks, and the last week she has been in a vet office (a CLUELESS vet that has been treating this as a "burn as result from using an under tank heater". They were using a UTH made for reptiles and used in the proper way... The vet blamed them and the family has been heart broken. They did not know that ball pythons were not supposed to have brown flaky bellies when they bought her, and they brought her into the vet because her "belly was splitting open". In person it is really easy to tell that it is scale rot. The inner lining is covered in a white cream (hence the distorted appearance in the photo). The history is not clear, so there may be burned tissue there as well, but there is OBVIOUS scale rot.

    She has, for the last week, been getting daily baytril injections and topical burn cream, and daily soaks...

    So, what should I be treating her with topically?
    Should I continue with the full run of baytril?
    I have her on paper towel right now (in the laundry room, quarantined) with a heat lamp...
    No more daily soaking... What should I be doing, though?
    I am serious, this is BAD scale rot. She also has a lot of retained shed....
    Her back end is stiff and she is not moving it.
    She was tube fed while at the vet... I am upset that through all of this, the vet was force feeding her (she is not under weight or noticeably dehydrated).

    How do I keep this snake alive long enough for her to recover?

    http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/5130/53577719aw9.jpg

    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4656/28737279md4.jpg

    http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/2484/30311617hh2.jpg

    http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9044/85504517rk6.jpg

    http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/2783/98999883wa8.jpg
  • 06-15-2007, 12:48 AM
    juddb
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Oh my god thats horrible, i had a rescue and she had burns on her belly but nothing like that, i put triple a ointment on her a few times got her in a tub in one of my racks and shes doing fine now, that was a few months of quarantine though. But wow thats gonna take a while to heal up i imagine, good luck.
  • 06-15-2007, 01:12 AM
    Rascal
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Wow, I feel really sorry for your snake.

    If a vet prescribed antibiotic shots, I would give them to her until the rot goes away. This is a war here, don't let up.

    Heres a segment taken from this snake care page:
    http://www.redtailboas.com/instant/instant.html

    Belly Rot/Scale Rot

    "Clean the entire affected area by swabbing with a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water solution.

    Must be thorough to treat the entire area because the damaged tissue could be in multiple places.

    Apply Polysporin or Neosporin to the affected areas twice a day and work it in and under the scales.

    Immediately clean the enclosure thoroughly. Raise ambient temperature to 88-90 degrees.

    Consult your veterinarian as soon as possible, antibiotic injections may be required.

    Scale Rot (Neocrotic Dermatitis) appears as enlarged, discolored (rust or reddish-brown), fluid filled scales.

    Possible ulceration and breakdown of the skin and underlying tissue. Generally appears on the ventral scales (belly), and can be in one long continuous area or in separate spots. This is a bacterial infection that can be caused by damp substrate, inadequate temperatures, and dirty enclosures. Bad cases will also have blisters, and will require draining by your vet. Serious cases are life-threatening.

    You must keep your boa warm and dry during the recovery process. If your boa tends to soak in the water bowl, it may be necessary to remove the larger bowl and replace it with a very small dish that would not allow soaking but still provide drinking water."


    I really hope this helps, good luck caring for your snake.
  • 06-15-2007, 01:15 AM
    ember
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Thanks for the info :)

    I have her quarantined in a closed off laundry room. It is low traffic, too. I have been using gloves when handling her or any of her stuff, and then throwing the gloves away and washing my hands in hot water with antibacterial soap. I don't want to risk anything in case there is more going on that husbandry issues causing infection and rot. She may make it... lord knows we have a few that I was sure I would end up putting to sleep or that I would wake up to find dead... but she very well may NOT make it. It does not look promising, that is for sure!
  • 06-15-2007, 01:22 AM
    Rascal
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Tough life. :snake: :sigh2:
  • 06-15-2007, 01:23 AM
    chris B
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    UGH thats bad, But I wish you the best of luck for a full recovery.
  • 06-15-2007, 02:02 AM
    Vomitore
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Holy crap! Wow that poor lil BP. I hope it'll recover.
  • 06-15-2007, 10:00 AM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    NO peroxide, it can actually inhibit healing, and doesn't do anything for cleaning. I would do either chlorhexidine soaks or betadine, and using some gauze, scrub(lightly of course) the belly scales so the dead ones come off(debriding).

    The Baytril is fine as I'm sure she needs it. I would just keep her warm and dry(normal humidity, but dry substrate).

    I just can't see how her poor belly got that way in 3 weeks...
  • 06-15-2007, 10:38 AM
    adizziedoll
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SatanicIntention
    NO peroxide, it can actually inhibit healing, and doesn't do anything for cleaning

    Just wondering where you have heard this from?
  • 06-15-2007, 10:44 AM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    As a vet tech, we learn these things from the beginning. Peroxide might be good for cleaning your child's scraped knee(even if there are better alternatives), but for a massive infection that could turn septic if not kept up with, you need to use something appropriate for the situation. Peroxide damages newly formed tissue, and inhibits healing. I prefer the chlorhexidine or betadine because they are actually disinfectants and won't generally harm healing wounds.
  • 06-15-2007, 10:58 AM
    darkangel
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    I've heard about not using peroxide from having piercings. What about a saline solution?
  • 06-15-2007, 11:22 AM
    frankykeno
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    I hope these threads from goldenburm might give you hope and show you the amazing progression some of these sad cases can make. I think I found most of them but you might want to check out his threads about this particularily bad case of belly rot he saved last year.

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28174

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28699

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=29365

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=32553

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=32760

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=34008

    He subsequently named her Phoenix and she seemed to heal into a beautiful healthy snake.
  • 06-15-2007, 11:31 AM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Saline is fine for flushing wounds out, but it won't clean or disinfect. I use it to flush out abscesses(use chlorhexidine too for this) or to flush out eye debris.

    I do like hydrotherapy though, but I don't know if it would apply well to snakes. It would help bring new tissue growth and keep the circulation going, but I doubt they would be still for it, like horses and other animals will.
  • 06-15-2007, 12:32 PM
    darkangel
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Ah I see... I wonder if the stuff I use would work. It's called h20cean, it's a spray -- I'm sure some of you guys have used it, if you have piercings -- basically purified ocean water, which uses lysozome to disinfect.
  • 06-15-2007, 02:26 PM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Lysosomes are organisms that break down matter(Lyse= to break down), such as the crud that accumulates on healing ears. I believe they can eat bacteria too, but I've slept since that class. Plain salt water from your kitchen would do the exact same thing :)
  • 06-15-2007, 02:31 PM
    darkangel
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    "The active ingredient in H2Ocean is Lysozyme which helps kill over 650 different types of bacteria, diseases, viruses and fungi. Lysozyme exists in our bodily fluids naturally to protect us from airborne bacteria."

    Was just curious, because I've used it on my puppies small infection around her incision site when she got fixed, and on cuts and burns from being clumsy :)
  • 06-15-2007, 07:10 PM
    Fearless
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Just so its not coming from just one person, everything becky has said about hydrogen peroxide is the truth, I worked for a vet for several years and while peroxide should be used in a few situations we only used it at the point where we needed to start over completely on a healing process and would also discourage even a mix for what you are trying to accomplish with this healing process.
  • 06-15-2007, 08:41 PM
    slartibartfast
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Ditto on not using peroxide. It's a dangerous myth. Peroxide kills living cells....all kinds, including the snake's. We -never- use it on open wounds, at any of the vet hospitals I've worked at. The only thing we use it for is cleaning bloodstains out of fabric, since it so effectively destroys the cells.

    http://www.emedmag.com/html/pre/err/0804.asp
    The only irrigating solution that has been shown to be effective and relatively innocuous is normal saline. Almost any other foreign substance that is placed in a wound can delay healing and damage granulating wounds. This includes undiluted iodophor solutions. As a general rule, if the substance cannot be used in the eye, it should not be introduced into wounds.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...&dopt=Abstract
    Hydrogen peroxide must not be applied to burns that are healing spontaneously.
  • 06-15-2007, 09:11 PM
    python.princess
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    out of curiosity.... once the bp is healed, is it going back to the family or are you keeping it?
  • 06-16-2007, 07:22 AM
    bearhart
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    I've seen similar vet stories. It sounds like you need to be really careful when finding a vet for a snake. I had guessed that most of them are used to treating mammals. But, it appears that you can't depend on them to refer you to a specialist.
  • 06-17-2007, 03:07 PM
    ember
    Re: Help from anyone that has treated bad scale rot (photos included)
    Hey! I have been BUSY (with her, and with our other animals in general), and I will sit down and write out a good response to this thread... But I just want to clarify up front that this snake HAS been to a vet, and stayed there for several days. I am not just doing this "bathroom cabinet" doctor style with internet help. Granted, I am very concerned that the vet did not do a good job, and instead of saying "I am not experienced with snakes, here is a reference to someone that is" they did little, charged a lot, and gave limited advice. Through our local herp club I have a recommendation for a better vet, but I wanted to clarify, she HAS been to a vet.
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