New adopted BP

[Darkmocha]

Hey guys, I work at a Petco and yesterday someone brought in a 4 year old ball python for adoption. This poor thing was in pretty bad shape. The tank had enough sheddings in it for about 6 months, not one of the sheds was complete and he still had pieces of skin left on him, I counted 12 pieces of feces before I was too disgusted and vaccumed all his bedding, he was freezing cold as the owner decided to rip off the heating pad before giving it to us, and the scales on his belly are red.

I decided to adopt this big guy and now I have a few questions:

1. He feeds on live mice but my corn snake at home feeds on frozen, I heard that BPs can be finicky eaters so is it possible for me to convert him to frozen? And how would I go about doing that?

2. I've heard and red previously that red scales on the belly are indicative of urine burn, especially in unsanitary tanks which is definitely what his tank was. The only problem now is that I can't find anything about urine burn on any sites, do any of you have advice on it or should I just keep his tank clean and let it clear up on its own?

Thanks in advance for your advice and any other pieces of information you feel like giving me!

[Rapture]

The red scales on his belly could be from a burn from sitting on his heat pad, but you should take him to a vet to get a diagnosis and treatment.

Balls are a little more shy and sensitive than some other snakes, but it may be possible to switch it over to frozen. I wouldn't try that for a while though. Get it checked out by a vet and treated, then leave him alone so he can settle in. Make sure your temps and humidity level are good, then attempt feeding him after a week or so. Feed him what you know he eats first, and don't handle him until he eats for you a few times. After that you may try converting him to frozen.

[RichardA]

Well...............here we go:

1: Just keep it feeding, worry about the frozen thing later when the snake is in good health and not suffering from the problems it is.

2: Nice warm soak will do wonders for the shed and maybe help pass any built up fecal matter and so on. Do this with caution and a watchful eye on the belly issues.

3: MAJOR quantine setup, paper for substrate clean water and good temps. Change the paper a few times a week until you see some improvements in the overall health and look of the snake.

4: The urine burn (if that is what it is) will need to be looked at. BY ALL MEANS a vet check is needed here. More then likely the vet will suggest some Chlorhexidine or the like to use in the soak to clear up any bacterial and viral loads on the snake.

A good vacation from handling (except during the cage cleaning) and a good diet of well proportioned meals with heat and fresh water should change things around for you with this snake. Please get it to a vet ASAP to get it started on some good meds and have a fecal done.

Keep updates coming!

[Darkmocha]

Thanks guys, the tank had already been cleaned out about 20 minutes after they brought him in, I couldn't let him sit in that filth any longer. On my way to picking him up, I called the store vet and made an appointment for tomorrow morning. He's now sitting on top of my dresser with his heat pad and a ceramic heater on a rheostat to get his core temperature up.

He's right now settling down from the drive over and being really active, he actually looks quite healthy if you ignore the belly and old skin.

I probably shouldn't have listed the frozen mice issue first, it truly is a small issue. I have no problem getting to my own store to get mice, it will just be easier in the next couple of years, when I no longer work there, for me to get about 50 frozen rats and thaw them when I'm ready, and besides, I never did get to fee my corn snake live...

Thanks again for all the advice Richard and Rapture, I think I'll leave his shed be and let the vet take care of him. He's really calm and docile but he's been through a lot in the past few days, I'll at least let him rest until his appointment tomorrow morning.

I'll definitely let you guys know what the vet said later tomorrow, let's hope for Zeus' (his new name) quick recovery!

[arcane]

I hope all goes well. My Ball was fed live, but took to frozen right away. Some aren't as picky as their reputation suggusts. Though for the next few weeks keep feeding him frozen, then try. The worst he can do is refuse to eat it (when you know he eats Live). You can always tried fleshly killed first if are having problems.

[Darkmocha]

Well me and Zeus just came back from the vet. He said that he looks fine, rough shed but otherwise fine. He's a bit overweight, he said the red scales aren't quite to the point of urine burn but are attributed to his nasty tank and lack of humidity so it should clear up as long as I keep his tank clean. He also told me to use some Visine on his eyes for the dented eyes he had (I forgot to mention those).

So all in all my new snake is fine, I went out and got him a small litter box for a hide since all he had was a small branch, a thermostat and thermometer/hygrometer. I just gave him his eyedrops (something I never thought I'd be doing for a snake), misted his tank, changed his water and am officially leaving him alone for the next 2 weeks except to change the water and mist when needed. Thanks again for the advice guys, glad to be a part of the community!

[Sadie]

Congrats on the new friend, he's a lucky guy to find you! The red scales are probably scale rot (from the unsanitary conditions you described) and something else you can do to help is use an antibiotic ointment on the red areas (like Neosporin) until the next shed. Try to work on the humdity in the tank vs. soaking him, because keeping those areas wet can make them worse. Retained shed (with the exception of eyecaps and tail tip) is more a cosmetic issue. Good luck!

[Darkmocha]

Congrats on the new friend, he's a lucky guy to find you! The red scales are probably scale rot (from the unsanitary conditions you described) and something else you can do to help is use an antibiotic ointment on the red areas (like Neosporin) until the next shed. Try to work on the humdity in the tank vs. soaking him, because keeping those areas wet can make them worse. Retained shed (with the exception of eyecaps and tail tip) is more a cosmetic issue. Good luck!

Out of curiosity, why is the shed on the tail a problem?

[dr del]

Hi,

People used to talk about shed skin drying and then shrinking leading to it cutting off circulation and possibly cutting off the blood from an extremity.

I've seen it a lot in lizards feet and the tips of their tails over the years but haven't seen it in snakes.
Plus I think ball pythons being bubblebutts when they're larger means the shape and thickness of their tails makes it unlikely.

The other reason being the fear that retained skin (and under it) is a possible breeding place for bacteria and might provide infection points for other problems.


dr del

[Sadie]

I've heard once or twice of a snake missing the tip of its tail, mistreated rescues from what I remember...can't say 100% it was ball pythons. I haven't really thought about how likely it is, since it only takes a moment to check. Maybe someone with first or secondhand experience....