iHerp Answers: Burns on belly

iHerp Answers!

Problem?

Search Create an Account, It's Free!

Home > iHerp Answers > Burns on belly

Burns on belly

Posted By:

iashia

In Relation To:

Pantera [1.0.HP.BP]

I picked up my het. Pied male a few days ago n i noticed some marks on his belly that i thought were burns, but a friend of mine *without seeing a picture* said it might be scale rot. Ill attach some pics. I treated him with a betadine soak in warm water. What else should I do to help him heal? Does it look like scale rot, or more like a burn?

Attached Photos:


Points:	150
Topics:	Skin
Tags:	Ballpython, Belly, Burn
Species:	Pythons > Pythons > Python regius
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Accepted Answer

6/26/2010 6:58:08 PM

Sonja K. Reptiles

Looks like a burn to me, but no matter, I would recommend putting neosporin on the areas.

Author Comment

6/26/2010 7:05:12 PM

iashia

I can do that. I dont understand how it happened. He only had access to half of the pad, and it was under an inch of apsen shavings and he was in a cardboard cereal box. Anyways, it happened. I was curious, when im soaking him in betadine solution, what if he drinks it? on the bottle it says to contact a poison control center if ingested. If its diluted enough, will it hurt him?

Member Comment

6/26/2010 7:11:28 PM

Sonja K. Reptiles

Honestly, I have never used a betadine solution, although I hear people say they use it all the time. I'm naot familiar with it, so I can't give you an answer to that question. The one time I had a BP get a burn on its belly, I just soaked in regular water and used the neosporin (or generic equivalent). It might take a couple shed cycles for it to be completely gone, but I was amazed at how quickly it started looking better. The best thing to do to prevent it from happening in the future would be to invest in a thermostat/rheostat.

Assisted Answer

6/26/2010 8:21:24 PM

Aimee

yeah, I agree. depending on the type of uth, some can get very hot even when you think they're not. a thermostat is the only way to go if you're going to use belly heat. the big deal with burns on snakes is the same as with burns on you - your biggest challenge is to prevent infection. the tissue will heal on it's own with time. neosporin is awesome. I would ABSOLUTELY NOT let your snake drink betadine, even a tiny bit. you might gently swab with a betadine solution a few times a day - but I think neosporin is a better bet. slather that stuff on there often and don't let it dry out. it'll make him a little slimy (aren't snakes supposed to be dry, lol?) but you don't have to worry about toxicity. the temperature thing is always tricky when the seasons change, too. I'm not sure about you, but over the last 6 weeks the ambient temp in my house has gone up 10-15 degrees depending on time of day. this makes a big difference to my herps. the opposite is true in the fall. good luck with him

Assisted Answer

6/26/2010 8:21:29 PM

Carusima

Neosporin or the betadine soak work equally well (The betadine is supposed to be mixed in with water to look like light tea, which is fine if they drink it), I've used both. At least those don't look like bad burns, where chunks of the skin are hanging off, so they should go away in one good shed. Stuff like that tends to be caused by heat rocks. For the time being, until the next shed (If you're not already) just house him on paper towels so it aids to the healing process.

Author Comment

6/26/2010 10:21:05 PM

iashia

i did that right away, hes on a good thick layer of paper towels n i took the belly heat away for now. i picked up some neosporin from the store n ill start aplying that tonight. Thanks guys for helping me out =) I'll post again when he heals with pics.

Member Comment

6/26/2010 10:33:49 PM

Jeffriey

Could be a combination of both. It does look like scale rot but brought on by a soiled area over a heated area. The fact that the affected scales sort of swirl down in a line makes me think it's from exposure to hot spot while the snake was curled up. Scale rot caused by just poor husbandry would be in more random spots. In either case burn or scale rot treat it the same way. I would just put a topical oinment like neosporin as suggested. I don't see any redness or serious infection so you can probably skip the betadine now and yes get it on to a dry surface as recomended. It should clear up on the next shed or two.

Member Comment

5/14/2011 3:41:34 PM

nalassbob

looks exactly what my pinstripe is going through wow i even thought it was my post yeah i would say a burn ive been soaking mine as well

You are not logged in. If you would like to participate (it's free!), you must log in, or Become a Member!