Is this scale rot? Skin infection?

[mariekeen1]

On 10/27 I noticed these 3 red spots on my BEL. The skin itself looked red and inflamed and the scales looked raised.




I started cleaning it with an antiseptic and applying an antibiotic ointment 2x a day.

It looks like this today (10/30)



It doesn't look red or swollen anymore and I'm happy about the progress since it's been only 3 days. The problem is now there is a new inflamed, red spot in a different location.

What is causing this? He's in a bioactive pvc cage. The substrate isn't overly moist, humidity on the warm side is 60% and 70% on the cool side. I would rather not trash the whole thing but what inside it could be causing this? Could they be isopod bites?

Is it scale rot? Some other kind of skin infection? Anyone ever see anything like it? How did you fix it?

I'm not opposed to taking him to the vet but I would rather handle it myself unless it worsens and he ends up needing antibiotics. I live in Sherbrooke, Quebec and the vets here think an "exotic pet" is a guinea pig or ferret.

Please if you've ever dealt with anything like this please let me know. Thanks!

[Haruka9250]

I would like to say that I believe that you are doing a great job keeping this clean. BEL animals have such sensitive pink skin that every last thing shows very clearly.
It’s difficult to rule out the things you listed previously, but I would also add in mites as a potential as well, even commensal soil-dwellers can irritate skin when burrowed into it.
What about prey injury?
I genuinely suggest a check-up with the vet if this doesn’t clear up with the next shedding of the skin.
Personally I think more owners should be this proactive in their husbandry and best wishes!
This resembles a minor skin infection, and generally will not warrant use of systemic antibiotics. Obviously without an examination, I wouldn’t be able to say for sure. Things to look out for:
-tiny pinpoint hemorrhages under multiple scales (appears as tiny pink dots)
-nasal discharge or mucous in the mouth. A normal ball python mouth is mostly dry and no mucous should come up from anywhere if they’re healthy
-sometimes skin infections also mean respiratory infections, so listen closely for any noisy breathing. Clicks, whistles, wheezes etc. Snakes get pneumonia very quickly compared to mammals. Noise equals respiratory disease!
-a vet can give dewormers that are safe in case this is related to migration of parasites as well. Many chronic respiratory infections have a link to normal life cycles of worms (present in rodent prey under normal circumstances).

-Raise your enclosure temperature a couple degrees-it stimulated white blood cell production so the immune system will do a better job.

~Ruby

On 10/27 I noticed these 3 red spots on my BEL. The skin itself looked red and inflamed and the scales looked raised.




I started cleaning it with an antiseptic and applying an antibiotic ointment 2x a day.

It looks like this today (10/30)



It doesn't look red or swollen anymore and I'm happy about the progress since it's been only 3 days. The problem is now there is a new inflamed, red spot in a different location.

What is causing this? He's in a bioactive pvc cage. The substrate isn't overly moist, humidity on the warm side is 60% and 70% on the cool side. I would rather not trash the whole thing but what inside it could be causing this? Could they be isopod bites?

Is it scale rot? Some other kind of skin infection? Anyone ever see anything like it? How did you fix it?

I'm not opposed to taking him to the vet but I would rather handle it myself unless it worsens and he ends up needing antibiotics. I live in Sherbrooke, Quebec and the vets here think an "exotic pet" is a guinea pig or ferret.

Please if you've ever dealt with anything like this please let me know. Thanks!

[Bogertophis]

I think that what you're seeing may be fairly common on snakes, but you're only seeing it because your snake is white & it shows up. The reddened scales are all
in a row, which appear to be from them getting bent backwards & bleeding a bit inside, probably from your snake scraping or squeezing into a tight spot that just
'caught' his scales a bit. So evaluate your cage "furniture", or stay up all night watching what he does or better yet, don't worry too much about it. It's right
up there with a child stubbing their toe, IMO. Above all, teach your snake never to back up, so his scales won't "catch" & bend...(yup, I'm joking!)

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I started cleaning it with an antiseptic and applying an antibiotic ointment 2x a day.

STOP NOW

This should only be done when warranted and this is not, whatever it is and scale rot shows as brownish scales simply keep your BP clean and dry, make sure the substrate is not damp. White BP will show every single scale scrape and defect.

By applying antibiotic twice a day what you are gonna do is loosen up the scales which will fall off, while antibiotic ointment is great in some instances it has to be used with caution and moderation since it is oil based.

[bcr229]

STOP NOW

This should only be done when warranted and this is not, whatever it is and scale rot shows as brownish scales simply keep your BP clean and dry, make sure the substrate is not damp. White BP will show every single scale scrape and defect.

By applying antibiotic twice a day what you are gonna do is loosen up the scales which will fall off, while antibiotic ointment is great in some instances it has to be used with caution and moderation since it is oil based.

This is an excellent point. Petroleum-based ointment products cause scales to slough off over time. A better topical antiseptic/antimicrobial product for reptiles is a product like Vetericyn, which is a water-based gel that is also safe for use around the animal's eyes and mouth.

[Bogertophis]

This is an excellent point. Petroleum-based ointment products cause scales to slough off over time. A better topical antiseptic/antimicrobial product for reptiles is a product like Vetericyn, which is a water-based gel that is also safe for use around the animal's eyes and mouth.

Agree, but when it appears there is no breakage of the skin (as appears to be the case to me in photos above), none of these topicals will help anyway.
This just looks like a little subcutaneous bleeding inside a few scales that got bent backwards...it should clear up fine on it's own. It there was any actual bleeding or oozing, I'd for sure use Vetericyn (or wipe with Betadine, at least).

[mariekeen1]

Thank you for the reply. I will stop and keep monitoring him for changes.

I had posted on reddit while I was waiting for my account here to be validated and scale rot/treatment was suggested.

STOP NOW

This should only be done when warranted and this is not, whatever it is and scale rot shows as brownish scales simply keep your BP clean and dry, make sure the substrate is not damp. White BP will show every single scale scrape and defect.

By applying antibiotic twice a day what you are gonna do is loosen up the scales which will fall off, while antibiotic ointment is great in some instances it has to be used with caution and moderation since it is oil based.

[mariekeen1]

Thanks for the reassurance

He is quite active at for an hour or so at night and I hear a lot of "thumps" as he falls off of things. A few times I've seen him wrap around the tiny ledge of his LED light and then fall off.

I wondered if this could be bruising as well.

I think that what you're seeing may be fairly common on snakes, but you're only seeing it because your snake is white & it shows up. The reddened scales are all
in a row, which appear to be from them getting bent backwards & bleeding a bit inside, probably from your snake scraping or squeezing into a tight spot that just
'caught' his scales a bit. So evaluate your cage "furniture", or stay up all night watching what he does or better yet, don't worry too much about it. It's right
up there with a child stubbing their toe, IMO. Above all, teach your snake never to back up, so his scales won't "catch" & bend...(yup, I'm joking!)

[mariekeen1]

Thanks for the reply

It's not prey injury, he eats frozen/thawed. No snake mites either although I did see tiny cream colored bugs that could be soil/wood mites. There are also springtails and isopods.

No RI that I can see or hear, and I've been monitoring him very closely. I will keep monitoring him and make a vet appointment if things worsen.

Thanks again!

I would like to say that I believe that you are doing a great job keeping this clean. BEL animals have such sensitive pink skin that every last thing shows very clearly.
It’s difficult to rule out the things you listed previously, but I would also add in mites as a potential as well, even commensal soil-dwellers can irritate skin when burrowed into it.
What about prey injury?
I genuinely suggest a check-up with the vet if this doesn’t clear up with the next shedding of the skin.
Personally I think more owners should be this proactive in their husbandry and best wishes!
This resembles a minor skin infection, and generally will not warrant use of systemic antibiotics. Obviously without an examination, I wouldn’t be able to say for sure. Things to look out for:
-tiny pinpoint hemorrhages under multiple scales (appears as tiny pink dots)
-nasal discharge or mucous in the mouth. A normal ball python mouth is mostly dry and no mucous should come up from anywhere if they’re healthy
-sometimes skin infections also mean respiratory infections, so listen closely for any noisy breathing. Clicks, whistles, wheezes etc. Snakes get pneumonia very quickly compared to mammals. Noise equals respiratory disease!
-a vet can give dewormers that are safe in case this is related to migration of parasites as well. Many chronic respiratory infections have a link to normal life cycles of worms (present in rodent prey under normal circumstances).

-Raise your enclosure temperature a couple degrees-it stimulated white blood cell production so the immune system will do a better job.

~Ruby

[mariekeen1]

I have betadine and will look into ordering Vetericyn.

There is no swelling or oozing, just looks like a bruise under a scale and a bit of red, puffy skin in between the scales. I thought maybe this is how scale rot started before it turned brown and we never really noticed because most snakes aren't white.

I do hope it's a minor injury from his exploring and clears up on it's own quickly.

Agree, but when it appears there is no breakage of the skin (as appears to be the case to me in photos above), none of these topicals will help anyway.
This just looks like a little subcutaneous bleeding inside a few scales that got bent backwards...it should clear up fine on it's own. It there was any actual bleeding or oozing, I'd for sure use Vetericyn (or wipe with Betadine, at least).