to ask if there are any exotic vets about?

[AmarettoSour]

Hi,

Posting here for traffic, I hope that's ok.

Briefly, she had mild scale rot after her last shed but we got some antibiotics and flamazine cream from the vets and that sorted her out. She's just had an another bad shed and it's back but this time it's a lot worse - her underbelly is all brown and at some points it's cracking and you can see the muscle underneath. She also has what looks like a blister next to the tip of her tail.

I'm going to phone the vet for an emergency appt in the morning but I'm hoping someone can give me some advice and/or reassurance in the meantime. We still have some iodine and cream left but I'm scared to bathe her in case it's too sore.

I'm so worried and it looks really painful

[SirRaymondClench]

who did?

[FightOrFlight]

Snake?

You would be better off posting on an Exotics forum OP

[FarFromAnyRoad]

YANBU to ask. Anyone can ask anything. For example - AIBU to think this is a very stupid place to ask advice on some poor creature of dubious classification that appears to be rotting from the outside in when you should be taking the poor fucker to the vet! AIBU?

[AmarettoSour]

Sorry, the first she should read 'python'!

I've tried before Flight, they don't seem a very friendly bunch as I never got any replies, could just have been that forum I suppose

[OneDayWhenIGrowUp]

Species might help!

Phone your vet in the morning. Iodine shouldn't make anything any worse. When you do get her seen, make sure pain relief is addressed too. Where are you with feeding? What environment are we in?

[AmarettoSour]

FarFrom what a judgemental post! My OP clearly states we have been to the vet and will be going back tomorrow so I'm not sure what your problem is.

[BeyondDoesBootcamp]

People can be really shitty about snakes :(

Dont have any advice, but i hope your little girl is okay

[AmarettoSour]

OneDay sorry she's a ball python She always feeds on a Sunday (rats) and is a good eater so on that front is fine. Unfortunately never been a great shredder but these problems have only came about over the past couple of sheds.

ATM she's in a small viv with just kitchen roll and water (waiting on an adult one being delivered) - I'm wondering if there could be bacteria inside the viv that's causing it however? I've cleaned it with a pet friendly cleaner but I'm at a loss to what else it could be!

[FightOrFlight]

www.theroyalpython.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1233

From your description sounds like scale rot again with the blisters.

How often do you handle the snake if you've only just noticed it's got bad enough to expose muscle?!

[AmarettoSour]

Beyond I know, it's as if because they're not cute and fluffy they're not entitled to the same level of concern! Thank you x

[AmarettoSour]

I'm sure it is scale rot again she gets handled at least every couple of days, she got an iodine bath and cream the night before last, checked on her tonight and it was a lot worse which was a bit of a shock. Last time the vet said she may need injections but when we went in decided against it as it was quite mild - I think I'm going to ask for them this time.

[FightOrFlight]

Do you have a heat rock in the tank - if so remove it ASAP.

Have you tried any of the 'ask a vet' sites, they often have people online - might help until you get an emergency appt tomorrow

www.justanswer.com/pet-reptile/

[SaucyJack]

I hope she's ok.

I am laughing at the irony of the snake owners' forum being cold and unfriendly tho.

[InfinitySeven]

Did you identify what caused the rot the first time?

Also, does your vet have an out of hours? I'd be tempted to find one. In my experience, vets prefer to see snakes with exposed muscle early on. It can cause so many issues.

Best of luck to you both.

[littleash789]

All vets have a duty of care to provide 24 hour cover- you will be charged more to be seen out of hours, but if she's that poorly please phone tonight rather than leave until morning, she must be in pain from your description. X

[AmarettoSour]

She's got a heat mat under the glass, should I remove that?

The vet said it likely stemmed from the bad shed and high humidity would have made it worse, but since then she's just been on kitchen roll with a small water dish and we've been keeping an eye on the temp

Is it likely they would want to keep her in if it could be something in the viv causing it?

[SunshineAndShadows]

Ok Amaretto
It sounds as if your vet is proactive and knows what they're doing which is good. First if all talk me through your usual husbandry set up, heat, lamps, thermal gradient, humidity and substrate. If this is a recurrent issue it's likely related to the environment in some way

[SunshineAndShadows]

Sorry cross post. Is the heat nat covering all of the viv? In that case remove it so it only covers a part big enough to bask in. If it's too warm it could easily burn her and she'll ha nowhere to escape to. What temp does it get too have you checked the bottom of the tank isn't too hot?

[SunshineAndShadows]

Dysecdysis or skin retain toon can occur if vivs are too dry and if there's no suitable substrate such as a rock or log for a snake to rub on but scale rot tends to occur if the bib is too damp and the scales soften and bacteria get in. With a heat mat an alternative possibility are thermal burns as these would cause blistering and scale loss. Heat lamps are generally better as they reduce the risk of burning

[FightOrFlight]

Sounds as if Sunshine is pretty knowledgeable so I'll back out now. My expertise is more in the 'snake food' department (rodents) than reptiles! I just put my tuppence worth in as a friend used to keep pythons.

Hope you get your girl sorted out soon

[SunshineAndShadows]

Good article from Dough Mader (reptile vet God) veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/understanding-thermal-burns-reptile-patients-proceedings?rel=canonical

I'd definitely be concerned about thermal burns - you need to speak to your vet about your husbandry set up

[AmarettoSour]

Just phoned the vet there, he said based on what I've told him I'm to bring her in tomorrow after work with a view to possibly keeping her overnight.

Sunshine it's just a heat mat that covers half the viv, good to know about the lamps though, I'll bear that in mind for when we get her new one. I might go and turn the temp down in case she's more sensitive to it just now.

DP knows more than me about the right conditions but we aim to keep the humidity about 60% and used beech chips as substrate before switching to kitchen roll (prior to that used orchid bark but I read that it's too humid for ball pythons and plus it looked disgusting)

Thanks Flight and everyone else x

[SunshineAndShadows]

Ok, beech cops are fine ordinarily but I agree that paper is better whilst she's sore. It's important to make sure she's not hogging the mat. Burns can still be an issue if she's spending too much time over the heat mat - does it have a thermostat? That'll help reduce the risk. You'll probably be struggling to get a good temperature gradient in a small viv with a heat mat so a lamp is def something to think about for the new one.
This care sheet covers the basics
www.theroyalpython.co.uk/royal_python_care_sheet.htm

[AmarettoSour]

She does spend a lot of time on the mat and I've been worried it could be making it worse, going to get DP to turn the thermostat down.

It is a real struggle to get the right balance in the small viv, the sooner the new one comes the better.

Thanks Sunshine

SaucyJack just seen your post, even tho I'm worried it did make me laugh

[OneDayWhenIGrowUp]

Sorry phone died last night, but sounds like you've gone through viv hygiene & humidity which were the main points I think. Hope things go well with your vet today