First BP!!! Very concerned about skin problem!!!

[DIANAFLORES]

Hello! My name is Diana and I’m new to the forum! I’ve been reading a lot of posts here because I was doing some research before getting my snake. I finally got my first ball python last Tuesday and I am so happy and excited to have him. I named him Falcor and he is a coral glow pastel morph. He is really gorgeous, very curious and active.



I got him from an online breeder that imports snakes from the US to Mexico. I live in Mexico City. I didn’t get to handle the snake before I bought him, but I received a good amount of pictures, videos and updates on his eating habits, behavior, etc. He is three months old according to the seller and has shed twice. He kept the snake in tubs and a rack system with aspen substrate and a water bowl. The seller is really nice and tries to answer all my questions even now that I’ve completed the transaction and received the snake.

The day I got him I was very surprised to notice that he has a strange skin problem on his left side, about one inch bellow the head. Some scales seem to be damaged and have a weird orange-ish coloration that doesn’t match the rest of his colors. The skin looks wrinkly and a bit dry. I immediately contacted the seller and send him pictures of the problem. He told me it was probably some stuck skin from the last shed, that he hadn’t noticed it before and that it will probably fix itself with the next shed. I am very concerned of it being some kind of a scale rot or something like that. Since I fed him yesterday and got him last Tuesday, I don’t want to handle him or take him to the vet yet, because I’m afraid I could stress him out a lot. I thought I would wait until next week to take him but I’m not sure… please let me know if anyone has seen something like this before and if it is serious.


Here is a video of him just after I placed him on his new home. Please note that the humidity wasn’t right yet and now it’s improved a lot since I covered a part of the screen top with a towel. As you can see the skin on the ‘neck’ looks a bit pulled as if there was a stripe of dry scales.

VIDEO HERE

And a close up picture of how it looks today. It hasn’t gone worse or changed at all since I got him.






Some extra information about Falcor:
Falcor eats frozen/ thawed rat fuzzies and just yesterday I gave him his first meal. He ate very well (he started on the tail but I guess that’s ok since he’s young) I haven’t handle him at all except from when I put him in his new enclosure. He has a Zilla glass terrarium (30 x 12 x 12 inches) with screen top. I followed all the care guides I could find to give him the best husbandry I could. He has a UTH, a day lamp (my house is very dark and cold) and a night (blue) light. He has hides on both sides of the tank and a water bowl on the cold side. He also has a variety of fake plants that he also uses as hiding spots. As a substrate I gave him aspen. To keep a good humidity I have been spraying his tank once a day and that seems to be enough to keep it at 55-60%


Thank you very much fir reading my long post and I hope someone can help me.

[tttaylorrr]

is this actual scale rot?? this doesn't look like stuck shed or a burn... i think you might need to take this guy to the vet. hopefully others can chime in with their opinions, don't take just my word.

shame on the breeder for sending an animal in this condition. shame!!!

edit: there's some obvious issues with your husbandry based on the video. i won't get into it since the medical issue is more important but please read over the sticky thread in the husbandry section about "How to Set Up a Glass Enclosure"

[tttaylorrr]

i would contact the breeder IMMEDIATELY to show them the quality of animal you received. this is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE for ANY reputable breeder.

[KMG]

Your tank looked fine to me.

Make sure the substrate over the uth is only 1/4 inch at most. Also make sure it is being regulated by a tstat or dimmer.


As for the skin it looks like an injury of some sort. Arriving like that the dealer had to have noticed it. It is for sure not stuck shed. However, I guess it could have happened during shipping. Was the container damaged or have any shape edges it could have been running on?

[bcr229]

Did the snake come out of the shipping box looking like that or did you notice it later?

Is your UTH regulated by a thermostat so it can't get hot enough to burn your snake?

[DIANAFLORES]

i would contact the breeder IMMEDIATELY to show them the quality of animal you received. this is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE for ANY reputable breeder.

I contacted the seller but I have no idea who the breeder is, because they import the snakes from them. I am very sad and disappointed with this guy because as I said, he has been really nice to me and he did appear concerned when I told him about the skin issue. Now I can’t help but think that he knew all along and is pretending not to know what the problem is.

Your tank looked fine to me.

Make sure the substrate over the uth is only 1/4 inch at most. Also make sure it is being regulated by a tstat or dimmer.
As for the skin it looks like an injury of some sort. Arriving like that the dealer had to have noticed it. It is for sure not stuck shed. However, I guess it could have happened during shipping. Was the container damaged or have any shape edges it could have been running on?

Do you have any suggestion for thermostats or dimmers I could use for the UTH?
I also thought it could be a healed injury, but its container looked fine. It was a plastic round box with holes and didn’t appear to have any sharp edges.

Did the snake come out of the shipping box looking like that or did you notice it later?

Is your UTH regulated by a thermostat so it can't get hot enough to burn your snake?

It came out of the box like that and I noticed it when I put him on his enclosure. He was very active and I could see his belly and sides. Everything seems ok with the rest of his body except for that part. I don’t have a thermostat yet, but the substrate is pretty dense in that area. I’ve touched where he sleeps and it’s just a bit warm. That’s why I also added the day light in case the UTH wasn’t enough.


Thanks for all the suggestions!

I already made an appointment with a vet that is specialized in reptiles and snakes. Unfortunately he was only available on Tuesday so I’m going to have to wait a bit.

[KMG]

Unplug the uth until you have something to control it.

I like Herpstats made by SpyderRobtics. http://www.spyderrobotics.com/index....=index&cPath=1

[tttaylorrr]

Unplug the uth until you have something to control it.

I like Herpstats made by SpyderRobtics. http://www.spyderrobotics.com/index....=index&cPath=1

OP: Herpatats are definitely the preferred choice but they are expensive. if you can't shell out the cash now, go on Amazon and look up a JumpStart thermostat. they're affordable but are not a permanent solution as they can fail: buy cheap, get cheap. however you can use the JumpStart until you can save up for the Herpstat Intro+. a Herpstat will last a LIFETIME. i've used Jumpstarts for 2+ years without issue until i could afford the Herpstats, but i definitely didn't wait around for the 'stat to fail before i made the switch.

[DIANAFLORES]

OP: Herpatats are definitely the preferred choice but they are expensive. if you can't shell out the cash now, go on Amazon and look up a JumpStart thermostat. they're affordable but are not a permanent solution as they can fail: buy cheap, get cheap. however you can use the JumpStart until you can save up for the Herpstat Intro+. a Herpstat will last a LIFETIME. i've used Jumpstarts for 2+ years without issue until i could afford the Herpstats, but i definitely didn't wait around for the 'stat to fail before i made the switch.

Sounds good! i've unplugged the UTH while I work that out!

Thanks