Scale Rot?

[Furinax]

Hey guys, i'm fairly new to owning a BP, and I noticed these markings on my friend Jiraiya here.









It looks like Scale Rot, but ive only seen this in severe cases. Ive contacted a vet, got pricings, so I have that option at a moments notice, but being an average joe, I was just curious that if it is scale rot, if theres any cost effective ways to take care of it, since it seems to be a very small case. if any more info is needed, lemme know. Thanks in advance for your help!

[littleindiangirl]

It does look like scale rot. To treat scale rot, you can give them a wash of half peroxide and half water, warm daily. After the bath put a triple antibiotic on it with no pain reliever.
Put them on either paper towels or newspaper as a substrate.

I have heard many people say just the peroxide bath's will help, but please have a vet look at it regardless.

[Furinax]

Okay, ill start with the baths immediately. Right now hes in there with my GF's BP, its not contagious is it? Also, since then ive removed all the bedding, cleaned and sanitized the tank, and put down plain white paper. Is there anything you could reccomend as far as bedding goes? Before we were using Coconut shell.

[JoshJP7]

I use newspaper for "bedding"... doesnt look as nice but youll never run into an issue with scale rot. Also think about separating your snakes as they should be kept in individual tanks. Good luck nursing that snake back to good health and Id double check your husbandry... you dont get scale rot from nothing.

[Furinax]

I take full responsibility, obviously. First time owning ANY reptile. As far as bedding goes, it doesnt matter to me or the snake what it looks like, I just want him healthy again. As far as seperate tanks, I was always told theyre social, and enjoy having others around. I keep getting different advice! Lol.

[littleindiangirl]

Yes, it is recommended to house snakes seperately. I think it's best if you are able to buy a sterilite 12 qt tub for the one that is being treated for scale rot, but also keep the other snake on newspaper/paper towel as well for now.

Ball pythons are not social creatures, and will only emerge to come together and mate. Housing together causes stress from competition for best hides, heat, food, or just domination.

[Furinax]

Oh. Well, I know where im getting all my information from now, lol. I have an extra tank, I just need to go buy an extra heating pad/lamp then. I was wanting to put it on my desk anyways. Right now I have him in the bath. 50-50 water-peroxide. How long should he soak? Someone said 10-15, but seeing how reliable they are, i thought id double-check. Thanks guys for all the help!

[littleindiangirl]

Honestly, 5 minutes sounds plenty per bath. I know I had a heck of a time getting my animals to sit still in a regular bath, much less a medicinal one. But if you can get her to sit for 10-15, that sounds good too. Make sure that the water only goes up half way on the back. Don't make them swim and make sure it's not too hot or cold. 85-90 degrees is comfortable for them.

When you see the vet, I hope he knows how to treat snakes/exotics. There are some Vet's out there with some very outdated advice.

[Furinax]

Understood. I made sure to find one that deals with reptiles specifically.