HELP>>very sick snake>> scale rot? PLEASE READ.

[Tigerlilly]

So last week i noticed a few scales on my spider ball python were dark and crusted looking. I immediately went online to research what was going on. I realized he had scale rot so i sterelized the tank with apple cider vine-ar and scrubed it out with organic soap and hot water. I made sure there was no soap residue and laid out newspaper in his tank. I took out his water dish cause i didnt want him to get his bedding wet. that day after work i went to the store and got this off brand of Neo-sporin that i had compared to the brand name neosporin... they had the exact same ingredients so i figured i was safe. I came home and rubbed the stuff all over his belly, making sure to wash him in warm water before hand. the next day i changed his bedding and did the same thing. I noticed the stuff i was rubbing on him made his belly scales kind of flake off, but the brown crusted looking scales were starting to look a little better so i thought this was normal. I tried feeding him a thawed pinky, but he showed no interest... just kept trying to climp out of the box i was feeding him in. I thought that maybe he was stressed and didnt want to eat, so i put him back in his cage. the next day i was out of town so i didnt neo sporin him, but i came back in the morning to clean him again and neo sporined him as usual. his scales were even more flaky, but i thought that maybe that was the healing process. NOW TODAY i took him to work with me (in his clean cage of course), so that i could buy him a live mouse on my break, but when i opened his tank it smelled of urin and now his entire belly has a redish tinge like he is infected. NOW all of his scales on his belly look lifted up(but not brown) they are pink on the edges and feel soft and moist even though there is no water in his cage and the paper towels were dry. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO (( it looks so painful... I just dont get why the neosporin stuff didnt work. There was no pain reliever in it. I tried feeding him again on my break this time with a live mouse and he still wouldnt eat it, after that i went to safeway and got actual neosporin and rubbed it all over him after i washed him with water. I feel like he is either alergic to the neosporin, or maybe the the back ink on the news paper???? PLEASE HELP. I have never had this problem with any of my other snakes. HERE are pictures. Hopefully it will post. Ugh he looks terrible! i tried finding a vet to help me, but none could help with my snake.


I just took a bunch of pictures. How do i upload them?????

[decensored]

photo bucket than copy the url

[Tigerlilly]

I don't have photobucket, but i just posted the same message on craigslist where i could upload the pictures::: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pet/3226008187.html

[eatgoodfood]

Well to start, what are your temperatures and how are you controlling/measuring them. Also, the neosporin probably was not the best choice. A vet visit is a must at this point. You should NEVER have removed the water dish, he needs to drink. Why do you remove the snake from his cage to feed him, and to top that why would you put a sick snake through all that stress and bring it to work, where it wont have the proper conditions to attempt to feed??? Feeding should be your last worry at this point. Get him to a vet, he will likely need antibiotic injections. And stop with the neosporin.

[Sama]

Moist soft flaky scales and a pink belly, are you sure he isn't shedding on top of the scale rot? Are his eyes blue/ cloudy?

[Tigerlilly]

I have a heating pad in his tank( which is what i use for my other ball python, and red tailed columbian boa) never had a problem. I used the Neo sporin because i have read on here and a couple of other sites that mild scale rot can be treated with it. i took his water dish out because he kept crawling in it and wetting the bedding, so i started spraying the glass on the tank cause thats what my other ball python likes. and feeding him (up until this point) had been my main concern because he wouldn't take to the thawed pinkies. It has been very hot out where i live so my car has been at least 80-85 degrees.

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his eyes arent cloudy, and the rest of his body shows no signs of shedding. He had shed a couple days before i first noticed the scale rot. at that point it had only been two scales that looked bad and a little bit of redness on the edges of his belly. In a matter of a few days its progressed to what it is in the pictures, and when the scales would flake off, they would flake off individually.

[eatgoodfood]

ok. where to begin. How are you measuring the temperature of the heating pad and what are they? How do you regulate it, as in do you have a thermostat, if not its possible he got a minor burn. I would not stress the snake getting the bedding wet from crawling through his water bowl, you said you use newspaper correct? switch to papertowels and change them regularly. So you are saying that you leave the snake in your car? How do you know its only 80-85 inside your car? Thats too cold anyway. If it is 80-85 outside it could easily be over 100 inside the car????? You cannot expect your snake to eat if your are overly stressing him by dragging him around in a car and leaving him there. You should only be attempting to feed every 4-7 days anyway. Just take him to the vet, let them look at it, the neosporin could have caused the damage to the healthy scales.

[Tigerlilly]

first i had aspen in there. then when i noticed the scale rot i sanitized the tank and put down news paper. His scales looked dirty the next day from it so i switched to paper towels. when i put his water dish in it he kept climbing in it and soaking the paper towls so i took it out so he wouldnt be sitting on soggy paper towels all day while i was at work.And the reason i was "dragging him" to work in his tank is cause when you work from 10am-1am you dont really have much of a choice. I had to get him food on my break or the pet store would be closed. I'm sure its really easy for you to judge, but i have always taken him on car rides with me. He doesnt like being locked up in a cage all day, and neither would i.

[eatgoodfood]

Im not judging, im just informing you what is likely a very stressful situation for your animal. Why dont you buy the rat mouse whatever on your break and take it home with you and feed him there. You still did not answer the questions about the heat, which could be the cause of the scale rot or possible a burn. I too work long hours, up at 4am, drive an hour to work, till about 1800, drive an hour home, I have 10 BP to care for every evening, and a rat colony, and a monitor, and a cat. If you dont have time for your animals maybe you shouldnt have them. You also keep ignoring the suggestion to take him to a vet. They can give you proper advice, and will give you antibiotics that he will likely need to prevent infection if there is not one already.

[rabernet]

first i had aspen in there. then when i noticed the scale rot i sanitized the tank and put down news paper. His scales looked dirty the next day from it so i switched to paper towels. when i put his water dish in it he kept climbing in it and soaking the paper towls so i took it out so he wouldnt be sitting on soggy paper towels all day while i was at work.And the reason i was "dragging him" to work in his tank is cause when you work from 10am-1am you dont really have much of a choice. I had to get him food on my break or the pet store would be closed. I'm sure its really easy for you to judge, but i have always taken him on car rides with me. He doesnt like being locked up in a cage all day, and neither would i.

He is not a human being and doesn't care about being in a cage all day. In his natural environment he would choose to be tightly ensconced in a termite Mound or rodent burrow all day. You cannot ascribe human desires on him.

Now, you asked for help, but you seem to be rejecting it. He needs a vet, and you need that heat pad regulated by a thermostat, or he will continue to be burned. And since he can't whine to tell you he's in pain, you'll continue to self treat.

Leave him at home, buy a critter keeper to keep the mouse in and take it home at the end of the day.

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