Is this some form of scale rot??

[shelly68]

thanks everyone i will definitely be staying and if ok will post tomorrow after seeing shane at karingal to let you know what BB's problem is..
cheers
shelly and BB

 

[shelly68]

hey all quick update on BB after being to see Shane tonight... wat a fantastic vet not to mention great guy.. could not have been more helpful, professional, knowledgable.. anyway BB looks much better tonight after having had a clean up of scales.. in short is scale rot caused more than likely by him 1 soakin so much, 2 substrate in enclosure and no consitent heat... in his enclosure we have used the green matting.. never liked it from day dot personally but hubby liked it, but not anymore.. i suppose would be suitable for a different enclosure than what we have set up at the moment for BB which is just a 4x2x2 melanime enclosure with no really good climb in it so basically he is constantly on it.... unless he is on top of his hide... secondly we have been using heat mats in his enclosure so there is no form of consitent heat/warmth other than him using his heat mat which i found to be a great and valid point.. so as he has been soaking for a week or more constantly he has not really been warming up at all... also the heat mats from what i could gather dont provide the humidity the carpet pythons need... so we have antibiotics he needs every three days by needle for 30 days, and cream(flamazine) applied every day for approx 21 days.. and then back to see shane in a month.. other than that Shane was happy with his condition etc and general health, we took in the rest of the family to have them all sexed(probed)..thanks to everyone for all your advice, support and concern..great people, great forum... Thanks to admin as well for the great job they do running this forum..cheersshelly

 

[Guest]

well thats great to hear!
hope all goes well

 

[beatlloydy]

thanks everyone for your advice and support.. it was a genuine question out of concern for my snake... as it is we are off to vet(karingal vets, Frankston) to see Shane tomorrow... was the earliest appt i could get... i have been recommended to on several occasions that Karingal is one of the best herp vets in the area so am sure he will put us on the right track... i took on all advice, have removed water tub and replaced with small bowl that BB cant soak in.. i really appreciate the advice and very much appreciate the people who understand that it was not so simple to just pick BB and rush off to vet, i know enough about animals to know that the problem at this stage was not at all life threatenin, and am of the thinking i have done the right thing by posting on a knowledgeable forum with many experienced herpers as well as contacting the vets to ask for advice.. i have also been assured that the problem will be seen to tomorrow and all remedies taken to treat BB and help him to get better soon.....

this is a valuable forum and as a newbie who loves her pets one welcomes a forum such as this to seek advice from etc etc.... i must admit i felt like deleting the post and never asking a question again..
cheers
and thanks again
shelly and BB

Can you ask the vet about the advice that was given on this forum pls and post back here? i.e..those saying keep him dry...as I thought that a way to assist in a shed was to moisten them down etc..but it could be that they are correct as it could have got infected...I am not talking as an expert in any way here... but lets hope your experience is a positive one and your feedback from the vet here can help educate us all.

Even with pictures a diagnosis can be difficult. It would be good to see what the vet says when he sees it close up.

Cheers

Michael

Doh!...didnt see your last post...pls ignore previous

 

[beatlloydy]

Good to hear that it will be o.k...Another question..what substrate did the vet recommend? ...as this is another contentious issue on this site...I had the fake grass but switched to marine carpet due to hearing snakes can cut themselves on the plasticky strands.

However, mine spends little time on the ground...Mostly on his log....for your enclosure you could find a big gum branch...cut it at 4'...soak it in bleach/water solution for a few days,...turn every 8 hours or so...rinse..scrub...spray with F10 and mount with some large screws to the side...as per my photo below.

Apart from the manual labour..the only cost is the bleach and the screws...mine loves it and stretches out...as to the hide...I use a large tile...he seems to prefer that one to the other hide which sits on the carpet.

Before anyone asks...yes there are 4 lights in there..the enclosure can be converted to 2 x 2' but I use it as a 4 x 2 and only need to run 1 light now (this is an old photo)

Also...as to the humidity...once he drys up and vet says its o.k...when you notice the milky eye...try giving him a squirt from a spray bottle of lukewarm water twice daily (morning and night). Keep this up until he sheds...works for me.

 

[Guest]

I dont even keep my GTP in that kind of sterile environment! I use branches and furniture that have been washed with water and the substrate in my tank is spagnum moss! snakes dont drop dead in the wild from touching the ground! Iv never used fake turf or carpet I just keep the enclosure clean I feel keeping animals in such sterile conditions can create problems, just as it does in humans!

 

[shelly68]

Hi Beat
the advice given on this forum was spot on.. keep him dry and dont apply any antiseptic cream until he was seen by vet... the vet actually removed all the dead tissue/scales before applyin anything onto him..
he isn't/wasnt t about to shed, its scale rot that he has aggravated by soaking in his water tub.... we got him in November and shane (vet) did say that he may have had a problem when we got him as scale rot can cause very messy sheds which he had the week after we bought him home.

so with all the things i mentioned above the problem just got worse mostly due to him soaking, bad substrate and no consitent heat... ie heat mats instead of using heat lamps.. i hope i am explaining this ok... one of the many things we did ask was how common this sort of thing was and he said very common.. from what i can gather humidity is the key to all good things correct me please if i have misunderstood this... a heat mat provides a source of heat however doesnt provide the warmth needed to create the humidity needed to aid reptiles in so many aspects of their well being.. also with a heat mat a snake will spend hours and hours on end sittin on the heat mat for warmth so another common problem is burns/blisters etc.. i learnt so much from our hour visit with Shane more than i can put into words.. ohh so so so much to learn... and so much i want to know...

the vet recommended newspaper for now. i will definitely fit him out with a log, am heading to our farm in Rushworth this weekend so will go log hunting when i get up there..
cheers
shelly

 

[beatlloydy]

I dont even keep my GTP in that kind of sterile environment! I use branches and furniture that have been washed with water and the substrate in my tank is spagnum moss! snakes dont drop dead in the wild from touching the ground! Iv never used fake turf or carpet I just keep the enclosure clean I feel keeping animals in such sterile conditions can create problems, just as it does in humans!

GTP's like super high humidity so the sphagnum moss sounds like a great choice...Darwins also like high humidity but I like the cleanliness of the marine carpet...as to the sterility...I think you have a point...I always leave a little bit of white wee stain on the carpet when I pick up droppings as this helps them with their scenting (or so I have been told).

I think you are right about too sterile...I like a nice bit of sandstone for them to rub on...a large bowl ..as darwins do like to fully immerse...2 hides..one directly under the heat source and one at the other end...and I rotate 2 or 3 fake native plants that have been put in a pot with florists foam and some pebbles on top...my darwin loves to go through that pretending he is in the jungle.

Each to their own as to how they decorate...but what Amy is saying the vet says makes perfect sense in hindsight...a combination of issues...but its great that she got it before it became a lot worse. It's all a learning curve for all of us...I have learnt so much from this site in 4 months or so. (plus I have read just about every book recently published...I am a voracious reader). I would still not call myself anywhere near an expert and I continue to pick up 2 or 3 salient points from these sort of threads each day.

 

[beatlloydy]

Hi Beat
the advice given on this forum was spot on.. keep him dry and dont apply any antiseptic cream until he was seen by vet... the vet actually removed all the dead tissue/scales before applyin anything onto him..
he isn't/wasnt t about to shed, its scale rot that he has aggravated by soaking in his water tub.... we got him in November and shane (vet) did say that he may have had a problem when we got him as scale rot can cause very messy sheds which he had the week after we bought him home.

so with all the things i mentioned above the problem just got worse mostly due to him soaking, bad substrate and no consitent heat... ie heat mats instead of using heat lamps.. i hope i am explaining this ok... one of the many things we did ask was how common this sort of thing was and he said very common.. from what i can gather humidity is the key to all good things correct me please if i have misunderstood this... a heat mat provides a source of heat however doesnt provide the warmth needed to create the humidity needed to aid reptiles in so many aspects of their well being.. also with a heat mat a snake will spend hours and hours on end sittin on the heat mat for warmth so another common problem is burns/blisters etc.. i learnt so much from our hour visit with Shane more than i can put into words.. ohh so so so much to learn... and so much i want to know...

the vet recommended newspaper for now. i will definitely fit him out with a log, am heading to our farm in Rushworth this weekend so will go log hunting when i get up there..
cheers
shelly

Yep...sounds all good...I picked up a lot from this explanation. filing that away in the old memory banks...well explained...cheers

BTW...with the farm you should be able to find an interesting log that provides some unique, assymetrical shape..the one I got dropped on our front lawn from our tree so it was like manna from heaven...just lucky it didnt hit anyone...they dont call em "widowmakers" for nothing.

 

[shelly68]

I dont even keep my GTP in that kind of sterile environment! I use branches and furniture that have been washed with water and the substrate in my tank is spagnum moss! snakes dont drop dead in the wild from touching the ground! Iv never used fake turf or carpet I just keep the enclosure clean I feel keeping animals in such sterile conditions can create problems, just as it does in humans!

what is spagnum moss and where do you get it from??

 

[Guest]

Michael even the top experts never stop learning!!
and shelly the best place to learn is in the hot seat!

 

[shelly68]

for those who do use the fake grass look or marine carpet etc how often do you change/wash this??

 

[Guest]

what is spagnum moss and where do you get it from??

spagnum moss can be bought from bunnings etc anywhere that has a gardening section usually stocks it! I dont use this for my darwins though as this would leave the ground too moist for them!

 

[shelly68]

farma like i said i was told more tonight from Shane in an hour and thanks to some of the wonderful people on this forum than i will or can remember at the moment... we actually took the six wrigglers in to shane and had them probed, that in itself was a learning curve and amazing to watch.. actually another thing i would like to mention is how quickly the scale rot spread... from what looked like a raised scale on his anus a week ago(which i presumed might be the beginning of his shed) and not knowing what was happening with him, and allowing him to soak for such long periods(i am talking day and night nearly 24/7) the scale rot had travelled a huge distance.. see i did so many things to bring it on as well... turned heat source off at night for the past week, turned it off during those really hot days... i did keep an eye on temps though but you cant keep eye on temps 24/7,,, i wonder if there is an alarm one can get for when the temp drops below a certain degree it goes off to warn you temps are low??
cheers
shelly

 

[shelly68]

oh drrrrr me i know what it is now...they use it with orchids dont they??
thanks Farma... i had to ask though as i have read about it alot in the breeding/eggs substrate topics..

 

[Guest]

The best part is if someone else has this problem, you can now help them from experience not just hear say!
and yes spagnum moss is used alot in orchids

 

[Guest]

farma like i said i was told more tonight from Shane in an hour and thanks to some of the wonderful people on this forum than i will or can remember at the moment... we actually took the six wrigglers in to shane and had them probed, that in itself was a learning curve and amazing to watch.. actually another thing i would like to mention is how quickly the scale rot spread... from what looked like a raised scale on his anus a week ago(which i presumed might be the beginning of his shed) and not knowing what was happening with him, and allowing him to soak for such long periods(i am talking day and night nearly 24/7) the scale rot had travelled a huge distance.. see i did so many things to bring it on as well... turned heat source off at night for the past week, turned it off during those really hot days... i did keep an eye on temps though but you cant keep eye on temps 24/7,,, i wonder if there is an alarm one can get for when the temp drops below a certain degree it goes off to warn you temps are low??
cheers
shelly

thermostats can keep your enclosure from dropping too low and habistat make one that will turn on when your temps get too high also, this one can be used with a small computer fan etc to suck the heat out of your enclosure

 

[shelly68]

again drrrrr i have thermostat on enclosure bar BB's who is the darwin with the scale rot.... and the heat mats i have are reptapet.... which arent controlled by thermostats(i think), my hubby does the electrical stuff.. i like the sound of the Habistat and fan idea will chat with hubby about that, maybe he can pm you to see how that works with the fan and all... cause the temps are mad in melbourne of late i am constatnly stressin about the temps in enclosures whle i am not home, to hot to cold, etc etc....

 

[Guest]

Its the same here! heat waves in summer, killer frost in winter!
feel free to PM me whenever you need too, if I can help I will!