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  1. #1
    Registered User Clay Yingling's Avatar
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    Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    I just got my second ball python last week (she is a albino black pastel). She is about 18 inches long, I got her last Saturday at the York reptile show, before I got her I made sure she was active, smelling the air, and I looked her up and down for any signs of illness, so I got her home and left her alone for a few days, fed her Wednesday and she ate no problem, I let her be again until Friday when I got her out and she was fine, I took her out again yesterday and noticed these brown spots on her, and so I took some pics today and am kinda worried that she has scale rot, since she is albino she is mostly white so I'm not sure if it is a scale wound because I don't notice them on my other BP because he is larger and not albino, so here are the pics, what is it and how should I treat it, I don't want anything to happen to my new baby, thanks


  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran DVirginiana's Avatar
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    Scale rot is a bacterial infection usually caused by too high humidity and/or unsanitary conditions. What kind of bedding are you using and where does your humidity usually stay at? It doesn't sound like you've had her long enough for unsanitary conditions to be an issue.

    First try wiping the spots with a wet towel and make sure it's not just something stuck to the scales. If not, then it looks like a REALLY minor bacterial thing. Swabbing it with betadine once a day until it goes away should be enough, and keep a close eye on it that it doesn't start to spread or get worse.
    3.0 Thamnophis sirtalis,
    1.1 Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus
    0.1 Python regius
    1.0 Litorea caerulea
    0.1 Ceratophrys cranwelli
    0.1 Terrapene carolina
    0.1 Grammostola rosea
    0.1 Hogna carolinensis
    0.0.1 Brachypelma smithi

  3. #3
    Registered User Clay Yingling's Avatar
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    Re: Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    Quote Originally Posted by DVirginiana View Post
    Scale rot is a bacterial infection usually caused by too high humidity and/or unsanitary conditions. What kind of bedding are you using and where does your humidity usually stay at? It doesn't sound like you've had her long enough for unsanitary conditions to be an issue.

    First try wiping the spots with a wet towel and make sure it's not just something stuck to the scales. If not, then it looks like a REALLY minor bacterial thing. Swabbing it with betadine once a day until it goes away should be enough, and keep a close eye on it that it doesn't start to spread or get worse.
    I have her on a mat, no bedding, bedding is just a home for bacteria so I don't ever use it. She has a water bowl in the middle of her cage, and a heat mat, the temp stays around 80 and humidity around 35

  4. #4
    BPnet Veteran Asherah's Avatar
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    Re: Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    ... a heat mat inside the cage? Is there a thermostat on said heat mat?

    Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
    - The Grove Reptiles

  5. #5
    Registered User Clay Yingling's Avatar
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    Re: Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    Quote Originally Posted by Asherah View Post
    ... a heat mat inside the cage? Is there a thermostat on said heat mat?

    Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
    Sorry, I didn't mean mat as in heat mat, I meant it as in like the Eco earth carpet thing, should've worded that differently, sorry. I have a small heat mat under her cage in the corner.
    Last edited by Clay Yingling; 11-23-2015 at 10:40 PM.

  6. #6
    BPnet Veteran Asherah's Avatar
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    Re: Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    Cool beans. I was a bit worried on that one. Just make sure the one under the tank is also regulated by a tstat, otherwise burns are inevitable. (If I am repeating known knowledge then ignore and carry on. :-))

    Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
    - The Grove Reptiles

  7. #7
    BPnet Veteran DVirginiana's Avatar
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    It sounds like humidity probably isn't your issue either. Honestly, that looks so minor that it could just be something that got going due to the stress of moving to a new home.
    3.0 Thamnophis sirtalis,
    1.1 Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus
    0.1 Python regius
    1.0 Litorea caerulea
    0.1 Ceratophrys cranwelli
    0.1 Terrapene carolina
    0.1 Grammostola rosea
    0.1 Hogna carolinensis
    0.0.1 Brachypelma smithi

  8. #8
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    Re: Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    Those carpets actually harbor bacteria worse then bedding. As long as you clean regularly and keep up proper husbandry, bedding should never have enough bacteria to cause infection.

  9. #9
    Registered User Clay Yingling's Avatar
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    Re: Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    Quote Originally Posted by aLittleLessButter View Post
    Those carpets actually harbor bacteria worse then bedding. As long as you clean regularly and keep up proper husbandry, bedding should never have enough bacteria to cause infection.
    I have 2 of the carpets and clean them every week, I could use newspaper if it is better.

  10. #10
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    Help!!! Is this scale rot?

    Quote Originally Posted by Clay Yingling View Post
    I have 2 of the carpets and clean them every week, I could use newspaper if it is better.
    As long as you keep cleaning them they are fine but they make it impossible to just spot clean. I use paper towels.
    Last edited by aLittleLessButter; 11-24-2015 at 04:46 PM.

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