Ball python rubbing and vent question

[CakeLike]

My little BP has a patch of scraped scales on his head and the side of his neck. He has had it for a while now, sometimes less sometimes more. I assume that it comes from him squeezing his head in the gaps of my heating element cage.

I have a mesh protecter over my heating element. I have tried to keep the gaps as small as possible to the walls of the enclosure. On three sides it's small enough that he can only put his snout in slightly but the fourth side there are two gaps where he fits his head through. It's a quadratic mesh cage.
I have tried safe proving it already by putting foam sheets into the gap and it has helped to reduce the amounts of time he tries to squeeze in there. But there are still these two spots where I can't put the foam in. Otherwise my doors won't open up.
And I don't want to change the whole setup since it's been working perfectly heat wise and so on. and I don't really have any other options for my heating element.

Here are pics, it's not that deep, there is no blood. It looks like only the scales have been scraped. I have put undeluted betatine on the patches on his head and didn't wash it off. I hope that wasn't wrong.
Sry I know quality is crap but it's with my phone and he wouldn't sit still.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CW2hchos...dium=copy_link

Pic of problematic area:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CW2kCBDM...dium=copy_link

Secondly I want to ask about his vent. His anal spurs have a reddish color at the base where they come out. I never noticed this before. Is it normal?
And under his vent scale it looks reddish too (pics above) . The vent scale also seems to be lifting very slightly off the body so that I can see a bit under it. When he was younger I never noticed this so I am asking is this normal?
Thanks.

[Hugsplox]

I know this probably isn’t the answer you’re looking for, but have you considered just upgrading his enclosure? It seems like you’ve had several issues with areas of this enclosure that are causing some injuries, or at least what you’re describing as injuries, and I’m not sure sticking foam all over it is really a permanent fix. Based on your other Instagram posts, and I may be wrong so correct me, that cage doesn’t look very big, and he’ll need an upgrade anyway. Probably wouldn’t hurt to start looking at 40-gallon breeders or a PVC enclosure at this point.

For the record, I really dislike suggesting someone drop a bunch of money on a new enclosure but based on your posts it seems like this one has caused you a lot of issues, so in my opinion it’d probably be better to just replace it. Especially if your snake is continuously getting hurt in it.

[CakeLike]

I know this probably isn’t the answer you’re looking for, but have you considered just upgrading his enclosure? It seems like you’ve had several issues with areas of this enclosure that are causing some injuries, or at least what you’re describing as injuries, and I’m not sure sticking foam all over it is really a permanent fix. Based on your other Instagram posts, and I may be wrong so correct me, that cage doesn’t look very big, and he’ll need an upgrade anyway. Probably wouldn’t hurt to start looking at 40-gallon breeders or a PVC enclosure at this point.

For the record, I really dislike suggesting someone drop a bunch of money on a new enclosure but based on your posts it seems like this one has caused you a lot of issues, so in my opinion it’d probably be better to just replace it. Especially if your snake is continuously getting hurt in it.

It's 24'x16'x16 . But he's 5 month old so it still fits him for now. And I want to upgrade him to a bioactive setup but I will be moving in two month that's why I want to wait for now till after the move.

To be honest I'd say the problem is my snake lol.
He just tries to fit in every nook and cranny and climbes the whole enclosure, all of the walls to the top and squeezes in every possible gap. I have really tried to make my enclosure baby proof, much more so than most other keepers. I use a radiant heat panel and other keepers told me you don't need a protector for that. The snakes not gonna go up there. Well I did anyway for precaution and what do you know he can and does go up to the panel alongside the walls. Did I not have the mesh protector he would be burned as well maybe.
I have a pvc cage and I cannot heat it just with a heat pad that's why I use overhead heat.
I honestly don't know how to make it better, even in a new enclosure. You would think these animals would be kind of resilient to a few rough surfaces coming from the wild but well.
I find it really hard to build a full prove padded enclosure for my escape artist.

[Hugsplox]

To be honest I'd say the problem is my snake lol.

You bought the enclosure, did the alterations you’ve done, and put the snake in it. You can’t blame the snake for being a snake. If something is in your enclosure and hurting your animal you need to remove it, your snake doesn’t know any better and even if it did it can’t remove something itself. I don’t know of anyone else using a mesh cover on an RHP, but to each their own. My point is your snake is hurting itself in an enclosure you’ve set up and put him in. It’s not his fault and it’s your responsibility to fix it. As far as the size your quoting, it may be big enough for him, but based on your posts it clearly isn’t working for him so why leave him in it?

[Armiyana]

The problem isn't the snake. =\

You bought a cage and saw these issues and the issues are still going despite your attempts to fix it. Now instead of doing what should be done and getting a temporary but safe cagespace, you're letting your pet reinjure itself.
Have you checked the temps where his hides are? If he doesn't have proper belly heat that's part of why he'll be looking to snuggle into that mesh space.


As far as the cloaca issue.... It's not normal but I can't tell you what's happening. The belly scales also seem to be a bit pink? This could be something like a minor burn if he keeps trying to get up near the lamp and it's too warm. But hard to really say from photos.

[CakeLike]

The problem isn't the snake. =\

You bought a cage and saw these issues and the issues are still going despite your attempts to fix it. Now instead of doing what should be done and getting a temporary but safe cagespace, you're letting your pet reinjure itself.
Have you checked the temps where his hides are? If he doesn't have proper belly heat that's part of why he'll be looking to snuggle into that mesh space.


As far as the cloaca issue.... It's not normal but I can't tell you what's happening. The belly scales also seem to be a bit pink? This could be something like a minor burn if he keeps trying to get up near the lamp and it's too warm. But hard to really say from photos.

He can't burn himself from the heat panel since the mesh is cold and that's as far as he gets.
The temps are fine. And he tries to get everywhere no just the mesh cover. He climbes every inch of the cage, even the walls to the lid and falls down from it because he has no grip on the wall.
I don't know what more I can do. Try to soften the edges maybe.

[Neko_snake]

He can't burn himself from the heat panel since the mesh is cold and that's as far as he gets.
The temps are fine. And he tries to get everywhere no just the mesh cover. He climbes every inch of the cage, even the walls to the lid and falls down from it because he has no grip on the wall.
I don't know what more I can do. Try to soften the edges maybe.

I don't know the most but aren't radiant heat panels supposed to be able to be touched? Like typically you can touch them with your hand and not get burned. Sounds to me like you should just take the mesh off since it's doing more harm than good.

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[bcr229]

RHP's get plenty hot, they're just supposed to be set up so your snake can't come into contact with it.

[Caitlin]

I don't understand this enclosure. I use RHPs in multiple enclosures, have never heard of putting a screen over them, have some very active arboreal and semi-arboreal snakes, and haven't ever had an injury or burn - yes, if they tried they could touch the RHP with their nose, but they can't come into full body contact with it. Something is off in the setup. The issue here, as others have pointed out, is that this enclosure is not safe for your snake. My snakes are all active at night, but a snake that is repeatedly climbing every inch of the enclosure and falling is possibly a snake that isn't comfortable.

Either way, this is not the right enclosure for your snake. He's getting injured and that needs to stop. My recommendation would be to let go of the attachment you have to the current enclosure and set up a Sterilite or Iris tub for your snake until you can get a PVC upgrade. Tub setups are inexpensive and safe.

Also, please do not put undiluted Betadine on injuries. That concentration is very strong - at the very least it is needlessly uncomfortable for your snake, at the worst it can cause irritation around the injured area. Dilute the betadine until the solution looks like weak tea.

As long as I am being pushy here I'd also say that it'd be good to hold off on going Bioactive until you fully understand how to manage your snake's husbandry and enclosure and really fully understand the potential complexities and expense of a properly set up Bioactive enclosure. They are not a trouble-free enclosure; they are often not ideal for larger snakes, and if not done correctly can result in conditions that are unhealthy.

[Homebody]

Look! It seems to me that you care a lot about your pet snake. You've put a lot of thought and work into that enclosure. I know it can be frustrating when you've done all you can do and it's still not working. You may even be tempted to blame your pet. I've been there. I don't have much experience, but I know what that's like. You did the right thing posting on this forum. Relax, listen to the suggestions and try one of them. What you're doing isn't working. What have you got to lose?

A picture of your complete enclosure would help, but from what I see, my suggestion would be to remove that mesh from around your rhp. It isn't necessary. You put it there to keep your snake away from the rhp, but he's using it to get closer to it and hurting himself in the process.