Help Help Help!! Hatchling BP in Trouble

[fightfan311]

About 10 days ago I got a Beautiful Male Bumblebee Spider BP hatchling from a breeder on Craigslist, I gave him the once over and he looked great(The breeder said he was "mean" and was striking at him all the time, but ha hasn't tried to get me once!) The breeder said he had just been sexed(possible cause of the problem?) had shed on 7/25/15, eaten on 7/31/15 and was healthy. I brought him home and got his temps all dialed in (89-90 basking spot with hide and ambient temp around 80) with both a small UTH and a heat emitter, both on rheostat. I let him get Acclimated and took him out to examine him a few days later and noticed a strange laceration (See pics) or group of lacerations just above his vent. I mentioned it to the breeder and we both agreed that it had not been there when I picked the BP up from him. Since then he has not pooped(I check his tub every day, at least twice), eaten(I've offered live pinkies, fuzzies on 2 occasions), or had anything to drink(that I've seen).

I'm getting worried that he may not make it. He seems skinny and weak. Ive been in contact with the "Breeder" about the issues and he was very cooperative at first, even offering a two week warranty to replace him if he didn't improve, but now that the two week mark is approaching, he is trying to blame me for the issues and backpedaling-saying he will not replace the snake. I need some advice about what to do with this situation...I've grown attached to the little guy and don't necessarily want to give him up, but I don't want to get screwed over if he dies....
snake by Albert Phish, on Flickr

[BCS]

There are vets for a reason... something every new pet owner (whether it be a dog, cat, even a hamster) should consider before purchasing an animal. If you do not have a vet in the area or the money to get vet attention, then you should not get a pet. I am sorry if I am being harsh, but this is something a lot of people miss when getting a new animal. Then something bad happens and the animal suffers. If there is something that is wrong, or you feel that is wrong, you should always consult a vet. I am not a vet, and I am not even going to guess what is wrong with your little guy, but I strongly recommend you take him to a vet.

[Ax01]

sorry, that does not look like a simple scratch that a "bandaid" will fix. Please take your baby BP to a vet asap.

[DVirginiana]

VET. Now. Whatever caused that, it looks infected to me. That doesn't look like something you can handle at home. If that was caused by him being sexed, then that breeder has no clue what they're doing.

Until you can get him to the vet (if it were mine, she'd have been on her way there the second I saw that) put him in a hospital enclosure. So use paper towels for bedding and leave only his hides in the enclosure. Also it won't hurt anything to use a Q-tip to swab the area with either betadine or chlorhexidine (brand name hibiclens). Those are just mild disinfectants. That is NOT a solution for this problem, just something you can do immediately until you get him to a vet... which you should do ASAP.

Please describe your setup completely so we can help figure out if this may have been caused by something in the enclosure; bedding, every piece of decor, ect. A picture would help. (Also are you using a thermostat to regulate the heat source? If not, unplug it until you get a thermostat.)

[fightfan311]

Enclosure: plastic 12 qt ziploc tub with 6 inch ceramic pot dish for hide (smooth, no sharp edges or adhesive residue) 4 inch smooth ceramic water bowl, coconut fiber bedding. Have a digital thermostat on the way from amazon but Ive been regulating the temp with a digital thermometer and rheostat, It's never been above 95 on the warm end of the tub. I've been dabbing antiseptic wash on the area a few times daily since I've noticed it, but there seems to be some sort of residue around the affected area that will not come off...have not noticed any discharge from around his mouth/nose/vent..no poop still..I'll upload pics in a few minutes and will switch to paper towels for substrate immediately.

[fightfan311]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6l9461rkch...73255.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b5qfvo1cau...73306.jpg?dl=0

Sorry for just the link, its a real PIA to get the actual pics to post.

On the phone with a Herp Doc right now

[Thomas Steele]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6l9461rkch...73255.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b5qfvo1cau...73306.jpg?dl=0

Sorry for just the link, its a real PIA to get the actual pics to post.

You just need to use the link to the actual image (right click open image in new tab, use that url) instead of the page url that the image is embedded on.

[DVirginiana]

Okay, nothing in that setup that should cause something like that. Still put him in the hospital setup like I described though; you don't want bedding getting into that place, and cocofiber is the worst for that because the particles are so tiny. Especially since you said there's residue; it'll stick to anything that's even a little bit wet.

I still say vet though. I think this is at the point he's going to need antibiotics, and they can also probably tell you if this is related to the breeder sexing him in any way, which should be grounds for either another snake or a refund for the vet bills if they aren't a totally terrible person (honestly if a vet confirmed this was related to sexing him improperly, I'd tell him he could either refund my vet bill or have his name and business outed to the entire reptile community as a disreputable place you should never buy from... that'd probably get his attention). I've never seen something like this from sexing, but when you buy from a random Craigslist person you never know if they're legit or if they have no idea what they're doing, so I guess that's not outside the realm of possibility. That place could also just as easily not be related to sexing though; vet's the only way to get any conclusive evidence of it.

[stickyalvinroll]

Just take him to the vet

[fightfan311]

Update:
Took him to the vet and she was AWESOME! She reassured me that he is in no immediate danger and that the most important part of the ordeal from here on out is to keep him clean and get him to eat. She gave me a chlorhezadine solution to dilute with water and bathe him in every day. Said the laceration and subsequent scar will get less noticeable with each shed. Keeping him on clean paper towels until further notice..
Any other suggestions?