EMERGENCY* Bad skin disorder

[Gooseman]

The cage is heated with a under cage heat pad. Last time I changed the bedding, I sprayed the cage with lysol then wiped it out before putting down the bedding. Could that has caused it? It doesn't make sense that the damage is only on the lower half of his body. It does seem likely this could be originally caused by a chemical burn. It seems too severe to be only an infection.

Alright, I did a little research on Lysol and found the following information. According to the National Library of Medicine Lysol scores a 1 on a 0-4 Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) scale of danger, and in doing so labels Lysol a "slight" health hazard. Side effects of Lysol CAN be skin and/or eye irritation. Active ingredient is Ethanol/Alcohol 40 at 85% concentration.

Given this data I'd have to say if this is in fact chemical damage from your cleaning supplies then you'd had to have sprayed the tank down and then not wiped, which I don't believe is the case. So, given this I'd still believe this is bacterial.

Any advances on the Vet front?

And for the record... A&M rules... lol

[crispy505]

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone who'd see him today. The zoo office is closed. I did talk to a reptile store owner (the only one), and he suggested a vet who does his reptiles. I spoke with the vet and he will see Sam in the morning. The vet didn't seem like he thought the snake's life was in danger. He said he would get me some medication when I brought him in. It was nice of him to speak with me on his day off. So, I couldn't find any other leads. It's not much but it's all I could find. I guess this will have to wait till the morning.

[8b8ll]

Whoo Hoo!! Thats awesome bro. Definatley let us know what goes down tomorrow! Best of luck to you and Sam


Mike

[Gooseman]

Thats great to hear. I can see why the vet believes it's not a "life hangs in the balance of the moment" situation b/c the underlying flesh still looks healthy (if a bit raw). However I wouldn't deal with the situation with any less seriousness. Once again, good job talking to a vet.

Keep us posted.

Np Derek, I was actually going to recommend that. lol.

[dr del]

Hey Crispy,


Did you manage to find a way to show the vet the pictures?

We got our finger crossed for Sam getting better as soon as possible. And good lateral thinking on the reptile store idea.

Let us know how you get on - sharing information about the recomended course of treatment in cases like this can help others in the future so regular updates are always appreciated.


Sweety314 & Gooseman,

I hope you dont mind but I seperated out your discussion to tidy the thread up a bit - it can now be found here if you wish to carry on with it.


dr del

[Sausage]

So, to help prevent this next time, you should fix up your tank. Here's a list of stuff I made in another thread, I'm just gonna paste it in here.

First off: temps
You will need to control your UTH with a dimmer, which can be bought here .
Also you will need a digital thermometer, as the little dial ones are very inaccurate. Walmart sells one called AcuRite Indoor/Outdoor thermometer like this . You should place the actual unit on the cool side of the cage near the bottom and put the little probe on the warm side. You want the cool side to be 80-85 and the warm around 90-95, but no higher. Humidity generally should be around 50%, but can be bumped up to 70% during a shed. Too high of humidity can possibly cause scale-rot, which is hard on the snake and can leave horrific scars.

As for hides, you want two: one on the warm side, one on the cool. They need to be tight and touching the snake on all sides... the little logs aren't very good. I use these . They are more clay-colored and have smaller entrances than pictured, but are very well made.

I think that about covers it.

[crispy505]

Sorry, I don't have a lot of time to type. The doc says the snake has what looks like an infected burn. He cleaned off the dead skin and gave him a shot. He will get three more shots total, one per day. He recommended I get a different heat source and bedding which I will do. He said the snake will be fine. I'm really glad this turned out well. Thanks everyone for helping me while I was freaking out.

[jotay]

Glad to hear your bp will be alright.

[wolfy-hound]

It's probaly an anti-biotic shot, but when you do have a little time could you post what sort of antibiotic he prescribed?
Thanks and I'm so glad to hear that Sam will be okay!
Wolfy

[mlededee]

did the vet give you and kind of cream/ointment to put on the burn or any special cleaning instructions?