Ugh!

[mbradley]

My beautiful snake Arwen is fantastic and I love her.

However

We have already had to take her to the vet once. We got medicine for her mites and have treated her. This has lasted four weeks.

In the meantime, she developed SEVERAL (I mean like 5-10) sores on her body. One was particularly bad. We have since treated her with antibiotic cream and she seems to be improving... but tonight she had diarrhea, and it seemed like she didn't quite digest her food last week. Please help ):

[The Serpent Merchant]

Welcome to the site!

Can you give us some details on your cage?

1. What type/size cage
2. What you are using to heat the cage
3. What you are using to measure temperatures/humidity in the cage
4. Any thermostats/temperature controllers?
5. Current cage temperatures/humidity

[shadowsnakes]

She might have internal parasites. Did the vet check for these when she was treated for mites? Also, what is her habitat like? Too low of a temp can lead to digestive issues like regurgitation.

[mbradley]

Sure, of course!

1) She's in a ten gallon, I believe. I can't remember if it's ten or twenty right now, but she's a baby and it seems to be plenty large enough for her!

2) She's got a heating light, but she's also got a heating pad for when it's night and we turn the light off. Right now it is 80 degrees in her tank, and it's usually been 85 and 90. It's night and very cold here.

3) Yes, we have a thermometer and a hygrometer in her tank.

4) We don't really have much for the humidity, other than a water bottle we use to add a little extra moisture and a dehumidifier directly under her cage.

5) It's currently 80 degrees, like I said, and the humidity is 48 percent.

She's also in the middle of a shed, though it's her second shed in a two/three week period.

[mbradley]

Also, he didn't check for parasites when she was checked for mites. He's really expensive and rather far away, however, and I don't want to take her in without being mostly positive that she has an issue like parasites.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Sure, of course!

1) She's in a ten gallon, I believe. I can't remember if it's ten or twenty right now, but she's a baby and it seems to be plenty large enough for her!

2) She's got a heating light, but she's also got a heating pad for when it's night and we turn the light off. Right now it is 80 degrees in her tank, and it's usually been 85 and 90. It's night and very cold here.

3) Yes, we have a thermometer and a hygrometer in her tank.

4) We don't really have much for the humidity, other than a water bottle we use to add a little extra moisture and a dehumidifier directly under her cage.

5) It's currently 80 degrees, like I said, and the humidity is 48 percent.

She's also in the middle of a shed, though it's her second shed in a two/three week period.

Do you have anything controlling the UTH?

What type of thermometer do you have? Does it have a probe?

I'm assuming that you are using a white heat bulb. (If not correct me)

I would recommend replacing the white heat bulb with an infrared heat bulb, Infrared heat bulbs can be left on 24/7 and will help keep your temps up at night

I like this one in particular:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInUS%2FNo

Can you post a picture of your snake and cage?

How to post pictures: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)

I think that your snakes bathroom issues are due to the medications she's been on. I wouldn't worry too much unless this happens a few times in a row.

Here are a few great threads to read through to make sure you have everything right:

Care: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Cage setup: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...With-Pictures!

Cage Heating: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

[mbradley]

Ok, thank you for the link to the infared light bulb, we'll look into it!

UTH is small, a ZooMed that was labeled by size.

Her poo ):



Her a few nights ago- she's in her hide now, I don't want to bother her.



thermometer/hygrometer.

Her tank used to have a lot more in it - aspen substrate, a rock, a couple of branches for her to get close to the light on, but we knew the paper towels were best for her mite issue, and we were kind of afraid her sores were coming from rubbing against the rock. That's why it looks the way it does now.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and we control the UTH, but all we can do is turn it off and on.

[The Serpent Merchant]

OK, your thermometer will need to be replaced, UTH's don't heat the air in the cage, only the surfaces that they come into contact with. (The air ½" above the floor of the cage may read 80, but the floor of the cage itself could be well over 100 F) This means that you need a probed thermometer to read the temperature of the floor of the cage.

This thermometer is available at walmart, for $12 It measures 2 temperatures as well as humidity. Simply place the probe on the hot side of the cage directly over the UTH, and then place the unit itself on the cool side of the cage. You will want the probe to read between 88-92 F and the unit to read between 78-82 F. 40%-60% humidity normally, and 60%-80% humidity during shed.



Your prove should look like this on the floor centered over the UTH



You need to get either a lamp dimmer or a thermostat to control your UTH, without one they can and will get to 130 F+ in a matter of hours. This is dangerous to the snake, and can be a fire hazard.

Thermostats are the preferred choice, but lamp dimmers will work if you are on a tight budget.

Lamp dimmer:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lutron-Cr...0#.Umyv_ZGzfRo

Thermostats:

Budget:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

Mid-Range: http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermos...stat-prewired/

Best: http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

I would recommend the herpstat intro +, the herpstat 1, or the herpstat 2.

[mbradley]

That's fine and we'll definitely work on it, but I'm really concerned about her health right now.



This is her today. She's obviously got a misshed on her head, too, but now she has more sores than she ever has. Does anyone have any advice? We know she had mites but she's been treated and we haven't seen any in weeks.

[Crazymonkee]

I would take her to the vet. But I believe it has to husbandry issues. If she's on paper towel and an uncontrolled uth I'd suspect burns

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