Chemical Burn: Help!

[azak323]

any suggestions on some things i can do in the mean time until i get her to the vet?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Switch your substrate to paper towel, clean the area with some betadine and apply a triple antibiotic ointment (WITHOUT pain killer)

What is your humidity and how do you measure it?

[giaach]

any suggestions on some things i can do in the mean time until i get her to the vet?

Take out all the hides, water dish and any fake plants ect and clean everything with warm soap and water. Clean the tank and remove any substrate you have in there now and replace it with 2-3 layers of paper towels. Keep the enclosure dry, belly rot is caused by excess moisture on the ground so keeping it dry is critical. Since your going to the vet tomorrow nothing else really needs to be done.

[azak323]

I've got her on paper towel with a UV bulb at the moment, and i'm using ZooMed repti wound-healing aid. I keep her humidity at about 60-65% and i keep an eye on it with a humidity dial.

[giaach]

One quick suggestion is to get a cheap digital thermometer/hydrometer. The analog ones are terribly inaccurate. Almost everyone on this site uses a cheap one called Acu-rite. You can pick one up at Lowes or wal mart for like 12 bucks. Also, are you only using the light as your heat source??

[azak323]

ps -- would scale rot be an explanation for my snakes' not eating? they havent had any problems in the past but they seem to be eating fewer and farther between.. i'm so worried!

[giaach]

As annoying as this might get, could you list your entire set-up.
Hides, enclosure, lighting,ect.... In the words of a friend "a snake the doesn't eat is not a problem, it's a symptom"

[azak323]

sure thing! Normally, i keep her in a 20G (unless she's at my bf's place where we've got a 30L) on aspen bedding, rock water dish that holds about 15oz, one small fake plant, and a medium sized wooden hide. I have a small heating pad under the hide, and i use a 60W (75W if the house is cold) blue UV day bulb during the day and a 75W red infrared light at night time. ambient temp is usually around 80 degrees. I was trying to keep the humidity at around 60%-80% by misting the tank down a few times a day, but i'm wondering if this is what caused the scale rot by putting too much moisture in the aspen??

[starmom]

sure thing! Normally, i keep her in a 20G (unless she's at my bf's place where we've got a 30L) on aspen bedding, rock water dish that holds about 15oz, one small fake plant, and a medium sized wooden hide. I have a small heating pad under the hide, and i use a 60W (75W if the house is cold) blue UV day bulb during the day and a 75W red infrared light at night time. ambient temp is usually around 80 degrees. I was trying to keep the humidity at around 60%-80% by misting the tank down a few times a day, but i'm wondering if this is what caused the scale rot by putting too much moisture in the aspen??

Read this: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846 This is a sticky composed by Cass who painstakingly included everything she could think of to make it easier for those herp keepers choosing to keep their snakes in a tank. It is really helpful!
As for your set-up, moving the snake from enclosure to enclosure is very very stressful and I would advise against this. Also, you need 2 identical hides, one for the cool side and one for the hot side.
You never need 80% humidity; 50-55% is fine; I bump mine up a wee bit during a shed.
Your heat source needs to be controlled by a thermostat or something that Missi was talking to you about.
I really again want to ask you how you feel about purchasing a reptile cage. I again mention this because you have not yet sunk a lot of expense into the enclosure. Purchasing from RBI (link was given by Argentra) would get you a cage made for reptiles and already wired for heat. You would still need to purchase a t'stat.
Anyway, these are my thoughts. Please do read all of the good info compiled by Cass and perhaps consider weighing it against a reptile cage!

[giaach]

Alright, unless you really need to move her back and forth from your house to your boyfriends, I would really suggest against it. Moving her from one home to another causes unnecessary stress and could be one of the reasons she's not eating. You should have TWO identical hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. The heat pad should be hooked into a thermostat to make sure it doesn't get too high. Do you have a digital thermometer with a probe to meaure the ground temp on the warm side? Humidity should be between 50% and 60% not 60% and 80%. Thats defiantly what caused the belly rot. Please do some research about proper husbandry, I suggest the care sheet on this forum. http://ball-pythons.net/modules.php?...warticle&id=59