Rough scales coming off like a human scab

[xAnthemia]

Since my check, the entire rough patch of the snake has come off.





All other skin seems... fine? Don't get me wrong, the snake is still underweight, and thus has lose skin. But it isn't lose as in "I could pull and stretch the skin upwards with a tweaser" loose, like seen in another forum post regarding splitting scales/skin.

Also, a further question on slippy skin disease for anyone reading: has any one seen this exact kind of thing before? One day, the scales are normal, next day they're hard and poking up like mountains, ready to peel off like a scab? It seems to happened to suddenly and, given that all the other skin is fine, it seems quite bizare.

Also another question: since they're going to the vets on Monday, should I feed? On the one hand, I don't want him to lose any more weight right after they've just gained some, and they aren't showing any aggravation or 'upsetness' that would indicate pain, but on the other hand the pain might be silent (after all, there is blood; don't know where from since there's no cuts but they might be microscopic), it might cause more damage, and they have a vets appointment coming up.

Thank you to all the help so far, you've all been very good! <3

edit: in terms of strength, they're still strong enough to stick my fingers shut together when snuggling up in my palm, so they haven't physically weakened since the skin/scale issue. Not yet, at least.

edit 2: also if anyone has any quick tips on how to make a temporary, emergency bandage for ball pythons, that is also appreciated. I'm researching it right now.

[Armiyana]

I can't quite remember since it had been so long... but I vaguely remember them being a bit 'dry' and I though he was going to be shedding soon, but after the skin started to tear, the little bit of fluid between the skin layers did make it more scab-like around the edges.

What a sweet little baby, though. I'm so glad that it seems to be just that bit and not becoming a larger cut. As another warning, It will take a long while to heal back over and a lot of patience. Don't let it discourage you in a few weeks.
I wouldn't feed anything to Noodle until after the vet visit. Anything he's fed will have a risk of regurge and that can slide him back a bit more. You'll also have to look at going down in size on your feeders for a bit as well I think. That way the skin won't stretch and pull as much. You can try feeding a bit more regularly in that case, like every 4-5 days and not 1x a week. One snake I rehabbed with a large gash on her neck, I had to feed mouse fuzzies to every 3-4 days to keep her from stretching her neck much at all. @_@;

For bandages, Anything with an adhesive is definitely a no-no with snakes. I would honestly just keep everything as clean and bare as you can for now.
Once the vet sees him, they typically have bandage wraps they could use if they do recommend covering it. It's somewhat like a cast wrap or the bandage they put around your arm when you have blood drawn. It's not very sticky, but just enough. But if they recommend it, do ask about how they wrap it. Because of how they're built, if you wrap the bandages too tight it can make it difficult for the little one to breathe or just stress him out too much where he'll start to roll and try to pull it off.

[xAnthemia]

Thanks for the advice! I am thinking about making a transition from vivariums to tubs in general, regardless of health. Humidity is a pain in the a$$ and they're way to heavy for scrawny me to move; once they're in a spot, they're there forever. The cut on Noodle's back is considerably more red. Still got a lot of whiteness, but it looks like a mild human graze looks like. I can't do much other than monitor them until the vets ATM though

[Bogertophis]

...
Hottest Surface Temp: 33C, which is on the wall outside the heat lamp shown below. Noodle hardly ever goes there, and every for the few times he has climbed the wall there for prolonged periods of time, nothing like this has ever come of it. Technically the hottest temperature in the tank is 150C, but that's at the core of the heat lamp; I can place my whole palm onto the cage surrounding itself and feel no discomfort whatsoever, and noodle's head/neck is far to wide to enter the cage. The heat lamp is 50W and emits infrared which very quickly loses its temperature, which is why the wall is only 33C despite being pretty near. The heat lamp is marketed for reptiles, including snakes. Still, I would be willing to change heat sources immediately if there is any possibility of Noodle somehow still getting a burn...

Okay, remember that our body temperature is roughly 98.6* so that "cage" would need to be over 98.6* to feel warm to you, which actually COULD be warm enough to cause skin damage, especially to a BP that's already on the thin & frail side if he made prolonged contact there. This may be part of the issue- why the damaged skin was also very dry.

If that was my snake, I'd be putting some sort of soothing antibiotic/antiseptic ointment on that very open wound until you can get him seen by a vet. Best option is Vetericyn brand ointment -make sure it's the version FOR reptile use, because it's water-based & won't cause the skin issues (bad sheds after much use) that petroleum-based ointments* can. (*ie. Triple-antibiotic or Neosporin). Or if you can get your hands on some, Silvadene cream is best to use (a Rx may be required). It's made for humans but is generally safe for snake use, & I have used it in a similar situation- lots of it, & as suggested by my vet att. I did not use any sort of bandages, as they could cause more trouble than they'd be worth (ie. more damage). The Silvadene cream was re-applied often to the open wounds, with the snake kept on clean paper towels & minimal set-up (nothing for the snake to be further injured by- no branches or anything like that).

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-4...opical/details
generic name for Silvadene: Silver sulfadiazine Medicinal







Silver sulfadiazine, sold under the brand Silvadene among others, is a topical antibiotic used in partial thickness and full thickness burns to prevent infection. Wikipedia

[Bogertophis]

You could make a humid hide by sealing a sponge to the bottom of a plastic bowl, cutting a door out of the rim and turning it over. You'll need give the sealant time to finish off-gassing before you use it though.

I would skip using all the "usual" substrate things for humidity, as already noted they're "asking to create an infection", & I wouldn't do this ^ ^ ^ either.

Substrate should be clean paper towels-only- for any snake with wounds like this.

I'd just use some clean (NEW) sponges (soaked & with most of the water squeezed out) placed inside the hides (which need to be large enough for the added sponges, obviously). Some of the moisture will obviously soak into the paper towels under that sponge unless you can put a plastic box top under the sponge, or put the sponge in a shallow plastic food container with the top left off.

All the best, xAnthemia, for your little python.

[xAnthemia]

Vet Update


Took Noodle K. Doodle to the vets. Vet came in and said give us some history. Gave them the correct history. The vet proceeded to feel Noodle up and down his body, commented that there were no bumps. The vet then proceeded to analyse the damage to Noodle's body. The vet concluded that the skin itself had not been broken and prescribed some gel thing that apparently convinces the cells to grow faster and induces shedding. In terms of weight, the vet has suggested feeding twice a week instead once a week, as Noodle is currently malnourished.

I'm still going to use kitchen roll (paper towel) as bedding rather than substrate because spot cleaning with coconut husk is a pain in the a$$. Also, currently looking into transferring into a rack system. Only got one snake for now, but it's still easier to manage than whatever I have at the moment.

No comments were made on any skin issues. I did bring up the fact that skin was jagged and hard, peeling up, but no comment was really made on it. But, they're the vet (and they're a proper vet) so I can only assume there's no issue. Still, I've decided to remove the log, hard water bowel, and hard hides in favour of smooth plastic equivalents to be on the safe side.

Thank you all for participating in this thread; I'll remember to make updates as the weeks progress! Noodle is currently basking and opened his jaw to say thanks.

[bcr229]

In terms of weight, the vet has suggested feeding twice a week instead once a week, as Noodle is currently malnourished.

If you do this then use a smaller feeder, such as a jumbo mouse or wean rat, as too much food too fast can be as bad as too little. Offering smaller prey may help with healing as well since the skin around the neck won't be stretched as much.

[xAnthemia]

If you do this then use a smaller feeder, such as a jumbo mouse or wean rat.

Noodle is ~six months old, which is typically around 300g as far as I'm aware, but Noodle themselves are only 82g (finally got an accurate measurement; no stool inside + veterinary balances). I'm currently planning on feeding Noodle a hopper mouse twice a week, which will quickly move to a weaned mouse twice a week, and so forth.

Just to verify, Jumbo mice would be a little bit too big for them at the moment, wouldn't they?

I'm using the following image as a reference. I can only go off the size of the image but it looks like more than 1.25x the girth of Noodle's widest body to me, though perhaps the image is making the mouse appear bigger.



Feeding reference I'm currently using: https://www.everythingreptiles.com/b..._Feeding_Chart
The hopper mice I use are ~10-12g. Noodle has eaten today and it has not stretched the damaged skin/scales (or any other for that matter) in any way.

Let me know if you have any critiques of this chart!

[Bogertophis]

Noodle is ~six months old, which is typically around 300g as far as I'm aware, but Noodle themselves are only 82g (finally got an accurate measurement; no stool inside + veterinary balances). I'm currently planning on feeding Noodle a hopper mouse twice a week, which will quickly move to a weaned mouse twice a week, and so forth.

Just to verify, Jumbo mice would be a little bit too big for them at the moment, wouldn't they?

I'm using the following image as a reference. I can only go off the size of the image but it looks like more than 1.25x the girth of Noodle's widest body to me, though perhaps the image is making the mouse appear bigger.



Feeding reference I'm currently using: https://www.everythingreptiles.com/b..._Feeding_Chart
The hopper mice I use are ~10-12g. Noodle has eaten today and it has not stretched the damaged skin/scales (or any other for that matter) in any way.

Let me know if you have any critiques of this chart!

I agree, your snake should not be eating anything larger than a hopper- & in fact, even that may be a challenge- especially if you're trying to feed twice a week. Snakes take as long as they take to digest- typically, feeding more often than every FIVE days puts your snake at risk of a regurge- which can hurt your snake, not only for the set-back of time (after a regurge, they should not be fed for a couple weeks while they replenish their digestive enzymes) but rarely, some snakes even die from a regurge because they just choke (aspirate into lung)- they don't have a good ability to cough- so try to prevent causing that situation.

You indicated a desire to expedite upsizing your feeders beyond the hopper size- may I suggest that for a snake like yours- chronically under-fed, it's best to go S-L-O-W. Do not rush the feeding- your snake can only handle so much at a time- it's not a "contest"- easy does it. OK? You always have to adjust your expectations to your own snake- let them progress at their own rate. Pushing too fast can backfire, & personally I doubt your snake can digest 2 hoppers per week. Keep in mind that it takes good nutrition for a snake's body to manufacture their digestive enzymes- so when a snake is starving, they have LESS ability to digest.

And here's another chart (a "sticky" from this site under "BP Husbandry"):

[bcr229]

I'm sorry, for some reason I thought Noodle was an adult. Definitely stick with fuzzies on the larger side, or small hoppers.