EMERGENCY | My Ball Python's Scales Just Split

[Nixon]

The problem is I can't get him in as fast as I want to. I hope he can get in tomorrow but the vet is closed for tonight and they don't take late night calls.

[Yodawagon]

*****VERY SAD***** but for me i would treat MY situation like this:: let mother nature take over.. I would get the cleanest area i can find and keep him in there and let mother nature take it....(but that's just me<---lol)

Not helpful. If that's what he wanted to do, he would not have posted looking for help.

Call around in the morning and get him looked at. Keep him ultra clean clean clean til then.

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What about an emergency vet?

[Nixon]

I will. I got him in his clean tank with paper towels. I removed his decorations so he couldn't hurt himself more and put a clump of paper towels in for him to hide in. His water bowl is smooth, luckily. Moments like these I wish I didn't have just a permit and could drive there myself.

[cristacake]

Sounds like you're doing everything you can. Good idea giving him paper towel hides, that should definitely prevent any further lesions from opening up

[wolfy-hound]

I suggest the slipped skin disease too. I don't think that's a cut, but some sort of disorer with his skin overall. What I've read online seems to suggest its related to poor nutrition/starvation cases and its rare.

[bcr229]

What kind of heat are you using? If your snake is in a tank with an overhead lamp he's probably not humid enough, which will also make his skin crack - and you said he was having a bad shed to boot. There are a lot of ways to bump up his humidity. If you're dead set on keeping the tank then I would suggest replacing the heat lamp with a UTH and thermostat, cover the top mesh screen with aluminum foil or Glad Press n Seal, and add a damp sponge to his tank (see http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...idity-solution and http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...umidity-issues) so that he can stay humid without lying on sopping wet paper towels.

I wouldn't use Neosporin on that since the scales may be compromised. I would use either use straight Vetericyn (available at Petco or amazon.com) or betadine diluted and sprayed onto the affected area to disinfect it.

If he's eating for you I would suggest offering two smaller feeders instead of a big one. For instance, if he's on small rats now, offer 2 25-30 gram weanlings, so as not to stretch the skin further and potentially widen the split.

[Kokorobosoi]

Oh my goodness that is so sad.

youve gotten a lot of good advice, I can't add anything else...

But where are you? If you are in jersey my husband would come get you after work today, or perhaps if my father in law agrees we can come this afternoon. I don't meet internet people alone, but we would help if we can. If not jersey, perhaps someone else may be willing to take a drive with you?

[Nixon]

It's a 150 W heat lamp and it is a bit overheated. I can't change it right now but I can put damp towels on his cage as well as use tinfoil and I can also turn off that heat lamp and use the light I was given for day time light. It gives off some heat. My room is already eighty degrees from these two other snakes.

But Dave has always been like this. Not with this hot of a lamp but zero humidity. I try to spray his tank three or more times a day. His original owner never cleaned his tank, gave him minimal heat, no humidity, and gave him adults RATS that he threw up because they were too big to eat. He owns two bigger snakes, a red tail boa and a four or five foot ball python but those two can handle that size but he can't. And he does not give a crap about him, that's why he gave him to me. I don't know if he's had this for a while and it just didn't show up.

All I know is that he's one of the worst snake caretakers I've ever witnessed. Dave originally had owners that never fed him and now he came to someone who was no different. I can feed Dave the small frozen mice I have for my younger Ball Python. He got his eye caps off so he'll eat. He needs as much nutrients as possible.

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I'm in Illinois. Thank you for the offer but my parents are not willing to go that far out for my snake because they simply don't care. I showed Dave to my mom and told her to call a vet and she simply said to let nature take him away.

And she wonders why I yell at her. I'm the only one in this family who wants to help him.

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EDIT: It looks like slipped skin disease

[bcr229]

If your room ambient is a constant 80*F a 150W heat lamp will overpower that 20-gallon tank and turn it into a desert. I would just use the daytime lamp.

Covering up the top with foil will help keep in heat and humidity.

I would put the biggest water bowls you can fit into there. Use one bowl for the sponge/towel trick to boost humidity.

[Ax01]

wow this is so sad. that poor BP. i'm glad that u rescued it and you're trying to provide it with a good life.

are your parents that indifferent to your other snakes? do u have a friend or someone else who can take u to the vet? if not, keep the BP clean, enclosure clean and make him as comfortable as possible.