How do i treat this burn/underbelly damage and how do i prevent it again

first things first heres what i discovered on my lesser yesterday...pics taken today

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...Picture010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...Picture016.jpg

im not sure if its a burn or what it is, but ill describe it the best i can.

it looked worse yesterday, i cleaned it up when i saw it with some soap and water and he had flakey scales and it was like he was in shed but i could only pull them off one at a time and the scale/skin under what i pulled off feels like new skin not really like scales, i put paper towel down for him (normally keep them on newspaper) and cleaned up the cage really good and let him sit over night.

this morning he didn't seem to change much, i know hes bleeding a little cuz there was a ring of blood in the paper towel, but hes not bleeding much, just what you see but besides that didn't seem any worse. i delt with christmas stuff and got home now, now it seems like theres nasty skin trying to grow back or some sort of film covering it, kinda reminds me of wet shed, and i was wondering if thats him healing or is that some sign of something else? u can see it in the pics above. im about to go out and get some neosporn w/o pain killer (i searched the forum last night and it seems like no matter what it is, it used for treatment for anything underbelly)

and thats about were i stand with treatment, im not sure if i want to clean him again cuz if its skin/scales growing back i don;t want to wipe it off, but if its soemthing else then i do want to clean him up.

now my next question what did i do wrong and how did this happen, seems like most burns accure due to uncontrol heat pads so heres my set up...

a rack i built myself 6 tubs he lives in the upper left tub, 2 more ball pythons live in the middle and right, 2 carpets live on the bottom left and middle, the dummy cage with the temp probe is on the bottom right. i have 2x Ultratherm pads one for the top and one for the bottom, the tubs slide over the pad. controled by a helix stat, set at 88 degrees. and yes i felt the pad when i saw this, it wasn't hot at all so it wasn't melfunctioning, just felt warm.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...Picture024.jpg

heres his cage, normally there is newspaper instead of paper towel, hide in the back water bowl up front, u can also see the faint ring he left from last night.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...Picture025.jpg

and heres my dummy cage with the probe
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...Picture026.jpg

neigher of the ball pythons on the same heat pad are burned, mayb its something else? i don't trust any vets around here, so their my last resort, accually i doubt id take my animals there unless it was to get medicine. so im looking for advise from other who have delt with a similar issue. so any more info i could give you guys to help me out, i just want my little guy to get better and i don't want this happening again, thanks

That looks more like scale rot than a burn; to me at least. How often do you change the newspaper? Also that water bowl doesn't look too sturdy; if he tips it a lot and then is laying on wet newspaper that could be your problem.

My bet would be scale rot since it sounds like there is no way your snake could have burned itself.

i say scale rot also but why do you ahve your probe in that tub tape it about an inch away from the flexawatt if its back heat or if its belly heat put in right on the heat tape. also i noticed scotch tape which you should use that alum. duct tape!

oh yes and i would take a tub and put some paper towel down and put some povi-iodine/ some water on the paper towls and let it in there a few times a day! then use the neo-sporin

he has been known to tip the water bowl, could be the problem, ill do soemthing about that.

newspaper gets changed everytime they poop or urinate

the probe is like 1/4 off the floor, i placed the probe by letting the heat run all night (obviously with no animals in it) and felt the tub for the hottest part, and about a 1/4 inch off the floor on the back was the hottest part so i stuck the probe there.

so if its scale rot, whats the best way for me to treat it, and i really wondering about the filmy stuff, is that him healing, or do i want to clean it off.

misread.. alrite what exactly is povi-iodine so i can look for it

and as for the tape, its in a dummy cage, no animals will be harmed

That's my take too...scale rot. It's not so localized as it would be if it were a burn..but spread along the bottom scales as if it spread out.

I would research the causes of scale rot as it is commonly caused by unsanitary conditions.

I have had to treat a minor burn before and the Vet gave me some 1% Silver Sulfadiazine cream. I also picked up some Nolvasan Antiseptic Ointment later to treat the wounds on a rescue...either will work if there has been no infection set in.

I would keep the temps as are and keep the tub SPOTLESS, clean paper EVERYDAY. Fresh water EVERYDAY a lukewarm bath in Chlorhexidine/water solution EVERYDAY and rub either of those ointments on the areas in question daily until the shed.

If no improvement...a VET visit is necessary.

Remember this: I am NOT a Vet..this is only what has worked for me.

what exactly is Chlorhexidine, and is it something i can pick up at the drug store?

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

what exactly is Chlorhexidine, and is it something i can pick up at the drug store?

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http://www.reptilebasics.com/Cleanin...p-1-c-249.html

This treatment will also work if it's scale rot and an infection hasn't set in.

Then again..it could be a burn...you haven't mentioned having a thermostat on the heat tape.

yes, helix set at 88

and thanks

Why do you have the probe inside of a tub? Generally, the probe to a thermostat is taped right to the flexwatt.

Are there holes melted into the tubs for ventilation? Snakes need ventilation, I noticed your tub on the bottom has a lot of condensation. If it's a spilled water bowl, why not invest in a heavy water bowl to keep them from knocking it over?

Keeping snakes on wet substrate leaves the door open infections.

I wasn't going to post but I just saw something that has not been mentioned, probably because it isn't really related... and I'm curious, what is in the bowl next to the water?

Edit: Wait wait wait...what lives in the tank, I misread where he lived

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

I wasn't going to post but I just saw something that has not been mentioned, probably because it isn't really related... and I'm curious, what is in the bowl next to the water?

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I'm assuming you're talking about the tank on top of the rack? Looks like some sort of pellet food, bearded dragon maybe?

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Originally Posted by Gecko Den

I'm assuming you're talking about the tank on top of the rack? Looks like some sort of pellet food, bearded dragon maybe?

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I hope not, I cant see what could live in there other than a gecko maybe but the poop in the back looks a little to big.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

I hope not, I cant see what could live in there other than a gecko maybe but the poop in the back looks a little to big.

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Well it looks like 3 poops in the back, it is common for a leopard gecko to poop in the same spot. But, it looks like he has an overhead lamp and a basking spot in the tank, which would be inappropriate for a leopard gecko set-up...

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

he has been known to tip the water bowl, could be the problem, ill do soemthing about that.

newspaper gets changed everytime they poop or urinate

the probe is like 1/4 off the floor, i placed the probe by letting the heat run all night (obviously with no animals in it) and felt the tub for the hottest part, and about a 1/4 inch off the floor on the back was the hottest part so i stuck the probe there.

so if its scale rot, whats the best way for me to treat it, and i really wondering about the filmy stuff, is that him healing, or do i want to clean it off.

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question is your animal right now needing attention!
what do you think will happen when that tape come undone and that probe should be directly on the heat tape with alum. duct tape because it will not come undone!

i have it inside the tub for a more accurate temp reading of inside the cage their living in, why wouldn't you want it inside the cage? who cares what the temp is of the heatpad outside of it?

and the cage below it just got misted, thats all, my carpet python, ventaltion is fine.

and since it became a question... its a bearded dragon, its my girlfriends, i don't deal with it.

and that tape hasn't came undone in atleast 3 months, not really worried about it.

and im going to do something about the water bowl, thats the most likly thing that caused this. won't be an issue with any of my animals again.

and i still have no answer to the healing process, the filmy stuff?? i thinking its going to get wiped off when i clean him tommorow. i just hope it isn't any new skin/scales trying to grow back

Id get your girl friend on here to post in the bd section, or to sell it because that tank set up is horrid for a beardie.

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

i have it inside the tub for a more accurate temp reading of inside the cage their living in, why wouldn't you want it inside the cage? who cares what the temp is of the heatpad outside of it?

and the cage below it just got misted, thats all, my carpet python, ventaltion is fine.

and since it became a question... its a bearded dragon, its my girlfriends, i don't deal with it.

and that tape hasn't came undone in atleast 3 months, not really worried about it.

and im going to do something about the water bowl, thats the most likly thing that caused this. won't be an issue with any of my animals again.

and i still have no answer to the healing process, the filmy stuff?? i thinking its going to get wiped off when i clean him tommorow. i just hope it isn't any new skin/scales trying to grow back

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As I understand it, you have the probe taped inside on the bottom of the EMPTY tub (over the heat). You use this "dummy" tub to keep accurate temps of the other tubs? The animal in question is not in this tub.

p.s. I would still use the suggested tape just to make SURE it never comes off. If the tub it's in sweats it can make the tape come off...if it happens while you are gone somewhere..that's enough time to do some major damage to the other animals in the other tubs.

About the "film": I would not wash or wipe the animal with any thing at this point. I would let him "swim" in the tub of a luke warm chlorehexidine/water mixture, and then put her in a cleaned tub with paper towels. After she dries off, I would put her in her own tub (cleaned with dry paper towels).

At this point your objective should be "sterile." You do not want to cause any open lesions.

either way your probe is 1/4 inch off the tub floor!
so 1/4 away from where your snake sits is 88 degrees i bet that bottom of the tub is much hotter than that!
dont you have a temp gun!
at this point you dont want to listen so take your snake to a vet im done with trying to help. your on your own and that beardie should be cleaned and setup properly! im sure you will be in here more times.

oh yea perhaps you should look at some rack sites where they say to place the probe!

would you trust your animal to a person who has a history and bad rep for animals dieing after the visit them? its not i don;t want to spend the money or won't take the time, i honestly do not want these people treating my animal.

and i guess u didn't read, where the probe sits IS the hottest part of all the tubs, not the bottom, i donno why, the cage design and how the bottom is rolled and the heat being in the back, i donno why, but a 1/4 inch off the back IS the hottest part of the cage.

and i do have a temp gun, guess what 88 degrees on the hottest part of the cage... what more do you want?

and the cage got cleaned yesterday, but i don;t see whats so bad about the set up.

snakes have been known to get the tape stuck to them and getting it off can cause many problems.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

snakes have been known to get the tape stuck to them and getting it off can cause many problems.

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....the tape is no where near any animal.....

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

and i guess u didn't read, where the probe sits IS the hottest part of all the tubs, not the bottom, i donno why, the cage design and how the bottom is rolled and the heat being in the back, i donno why, but a 1/4 inch off the back IS the hottest part of the cage.

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For the sake of creating a safer environment for your animals, don't you think you could at least try putting the probe directly over the UTH? Or at least aquire an IR non-contact thermometer and measure exactly the temp over that UTH?

You said before you put the probe where it "felt" hottest. Does that mean you used your hand to measure the temps? Why not just double-check the temps and probe placement? You may be surprised and it's so easy to do. If nothing else, you can rule out the temps as a problem and move on.

Are people trying to troll this guy or what?

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Originally Posted by justind

Are people trying to troll this guy or what?

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^^^

Seriously. It's been deduced that the heat is NOT the issue here. And I personally would prefer it if people actually READ everything originally posted before saying things, i.e. the tape getting stuck on a snake. No Animals Are In That Tub. You would know this if you read only the first post.

I understand the concern about his heating arrangements. But, think about it. If it's 88 degrees 1/4in from the bottom, then if the bottom was going to get any hotter, what would it be, like, 94? 95? And...don't many people say we should have the warm side be...94? 95?

Calm down.

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

....the tape is no where near any animal.....

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Id rather say it now in case than have a member come back in a few weeks with another problem. Preventing stuff that shouldn't happen you know? Im sorry if you would rather things be unsaid until/if the problem does arrive.