Potential Scale Rot on BP???
Hello everybody.
It's been a while since I posted and I will soon be having my 1 year anniversary with my male BP Monty. Anyways, I was gone for 5 days and he went all that time without my daily enclosure sprays and today when I took him out I noticed that he had some flaky scales and a few of the scales on the belly were turning brown and 2 had cracks in them. He lives in a 20 gallon tank with two hides, a water bowl and a tree branch(a few decorative leaves to add). His substrate is a mix of Forest Floor, Jungle Mix, and Reptibark. His avg. humidity is around 55% and his ambient temp is around 82 degrees Fahrenheit. His cool side is between 79 and 81 degrees Fahrenheit and his hot spot is between 86 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit(Don't worry, hot spot has a thermostat). He has never missed a meal and eats a large mouse every week. He has never showed any aggression to me and I handle him twice a week. Note: I haven't cleaned his enclosure in 2-3 months and his last shed was before 2019. Right now, I want to move him to a 28 quart tub for a few days to keep a close eye on him. I'm scared to use a heat pad with plastic tubs, so I am also curious if he will be fine without a heat tub. (P.S. He rarely uses his hot spot to digest his meals so I have no doubt in his ability to digest in lower temps.) Anyways, while I set up his tub, what should I do? Thanks.
Re: Potential Scale Rot on BP???
I have a hot spot and a thermostat in his tank, but I've noticed that he doesn't use it much at all. I did not mean to imply that he doesn't need one. I'm sorry if that was unclear. I'm just scared to have a hot spot in his temporary enclosure because I've heard scary stories of burns and plastic melting even with thermostats. Sorry again.
Re: Potential Scale Rot on BP???
Your snake definitely still needs a heat mat! Heat mats are the safest heating option for tubs, there is a much higher chance you'll end up with burnt plastic if you use something like a CHE because they are more complicated to install correctly.
I use a heat mat on a Sterilite tub and it's completely fine. If your heat source is regulated with a thermostat, it will never get to the temperatures where it can melt plastic or release toxic fumes or anything like that. The surface of my skin, according to a temp gun, is 93F, which is around the range your heating pad would probably be to get a 90F hot spot inside the tub.
There's no need to fear putting a heating mat on a tub because the amount of heat being applied to the tub would be about the same as your skin temperature. :)
Re: Potential Scale Rot on BP???
Alright, I'll do so tomorrow. Right now it's late and I don't want to make a lot of ruckus with uninstalling my heat mat and reinstalling it. Also, I placed a small water dish into my enclosure but my BP knocked it over twice and I just gave him a small bath to fill him up with water for the night. He seems fine, just curious about his new enclosure. I will post some pictures tomorrow of his scales. For now though, do you have any idea what could be wrong with his scales? Thanks.