:( bad burn on snake has been to vet and is being medicated but will not eat

[kala83]

so first of all I feel like a total and utter piece of **** for what has gone on with this poor lil guy and it would have never happened if people had told me to avoid the hell out of under tank heaters.

but i was mis told to buy something that has now harmed my ball python.

he has fairly bad thermal burns on his under carriage.

I was given some medical lotion to put on his under carriage everyday until the burn got better and for the most part it looks like it has.

its browner looking like its scabed over more...but I sitll need to just keep medicating him and keeping it clean.

the thing that concerns me more then nything he seems active but he has not eaten now in almost a month. He is pooping and peeing a lot clear and white poo and since he has not eaten anything I can not tell at all just in the world he could be pooping out. He just pooped and peed on me and the poor lil guy looked like it hurt him cause he looked at me in this scared defensive look. As if to ask me "oh god mom what did i Just do"

I have gotten super bonded to him over the course of him getting sick and me taking care of him so I am getting super concerned and worried about him....like I think really any mom would get about their kid.

I know I need to keep giving him the meds but I feel like he needs to eat.....a lot of people I have spoken to insist I do not try to force feed or even assist feed. But I really think he needs nutrients back in his body I mean wouldn't him eating properly help him heal?
the vet after I took him in seemed amendment that she wanted him to eat as soon as he could she did push for the matter of doing an assist feed or force feed. But his body weight is low.

some of the people at the clinic made the comment of maybe giving him carnivore crtical care by oxbow.........I contacted their office and left a message with them.

but I kind of want othr opinions about what I can do to help him.

lol yes I am being a damned protective mother hen I am sorry.

[Aaron_S]

1. Undertank heaters are one of, if not the top, choice for heating ball python enclosures. They simply need to be used correctly and with a thermostat preferrably.

2. As for your snake. You say his weight is "critically low" what does that mean?

3. A month is fine for a snake to go without eating. I'm going to guess the vet wants to force or assist so as to cover all their bases. It is not needed currently and when you're sick or injured do you feel like eating all that much?

4. Once the snake goes through a shed cycle. And it should be soon the healing will take a drastic turn for the better. That's how snakes get better. They shed and it will take a few for your snake to look a lot better. I presume it will eat once it sheds.

[SnoopySnake]

First off, there's nothing wrong with under tank heaters/heat mats. They're supposed to be on a thermostat or burns happen. I would not assist/force feed unless the snake is looking severely underweight/losing weight quickly. What are your temps, humidity, enclosure details, how often are you offering food, what methods have you tried? Clear and white isn't feces, it's urates. Perfectly normal even in a snake that isn't eating. Don't handle him unless absolutely necessary, until he's eating normally. A month really isn't that long to go without food.

[kala83]

First off, there's nothing wrong with under tank heaters/heat mats. They're supposed to be on a thermostat or burns happen. I would not assist/force feed unless the snake is looking severely underweight/losing weight quickly. What are your temps, humidity, enclosure details, how often are you offering food, what methods have you tried? Clear and white isn't feces, it's urates. Perfectly normal even in a snake that isn't eating. Don't handle him unless absolutely necessary, until he's eating normally. A month really isn't that long to go without food.

the only times I am handeling him at all is to medicate him with the medicine I got from the vet I put him away immediately after I do so.

but I know that him being handled a lot is probably contributing to his not wanting to eat.

and ok fine you guys can think how ever you want to about heat mats but it severaly burned him.

its also been upwards of two months that he has not eaten I should have been more specific about that when I mentioned it.


and even my vet said this not the first time she has noticed that this kind of thing happens with them where she works.

I actually need to go out and get thermostats for the tank........I have been wrestling a lot of other things in addition to taking care of him......
but I am going to go and do that tomorrow.

sorry to offend anyone in here but I personally after al this do not like using her tank heaters anymore.

I didn't realize it was hurting him cause throurgh the subtrate it felt just warm but he was moving the aspen and getting down toward the glass and noticed myself that it was WAY to hot even for me......

[kala83]

1. Undertank heaters are one of, if not the top, choice for heating ball python enclosures. They simply need to be used correctly and with a thermostat preferrably.

2. As for your snake. You say his weight is "critically low" what does that mean?

3. A month is fine for a snake to go without eating. I'm going to guess the vet wants to force or assist so as to cover all their bases. It is not needed currently and when you're sick or injured do you feel like eating all that much?

4. Once the snake goes through a shed cycle. And it should be soon the healing will take a drastic turn for the better. That's how snakes get better. They shed and it will take a few for your snake to look a lot better. I presume it will eat once it sheds.
I don't recall saying crtically low.....but if If I did my apologies. what I mean by his weight being low is that I can feel his spine. I heard someone say its not good for them to be at that kind of weight.

[SnoopySnake]

She probably sees it a lot because a lot of people don't know that they need to be regulated by thermostats. A thermostat is going to control the temp of the heat mat and will not allow it to get any higher then the set temp, preventing burns. Lamps are just as dangerous without a thermostat, if not worse. I really don't want this to deter you from a correctly used UTH as they really are great when properly controlled. Especially for ball pythons. Back to the feeding issue, the other questions I asked need to be answered to help figure out why he isn't eating. Feeling his spine is fine, post a pic so we can see how underweight he is.

[kala83]

:) as I said before not trying to be mean just really freaked out by hurting him when I did not intend to do that at all and I really feel guilty about doing it to him....

I will defiantly go out tomorrow and find a thermostat to put inside the tank it seems a good idea if I am using a heating light or....a heater.

I do think bringing him again at some point to see her would not be a bad...thing...but I am usually for the side of taking a vet at their words since I am going to vet tech school myself. (again I mean no disrespect towards anyone here.

since I want to keep handling him as little as I can will try to post up pics of him when I get him out to medicate him again tomorrow? do you all want to know the meds she gave me? whatever it is it has seemed to work and help out a lot.

[kala83]

if I did want to look at getting a thermostat what kind would you all recommend that I look at? would it work with this tye of heat pad or do I need to get another this one is still on the under side of the tank...but I am not sure if it would not would work with a thermastat?

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/712258537714414649?q=reptile+heat+mats&client=ubuntu&hs=FzW&channel=fs&biw=1215&bih=677&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.&bvm=bv.98476267,d.cGU&tch=1&ech=1&psi=BcSxVbe3DIXLogT5rbnICg.1437713415526.3&prds=paur:ClkAsKraX1h1hnPx8byfb6btskJp2sEm5XikK5l1 blMLispKLx0X0uinmYX3gjHSzJFKnKRq1Gh0ZM-tW0hkzK9AJ-M_HU1N-0UVIQHOyujgHlcqYW0IdQRvUxIZAFPVH73c0YL-jdvpnwe9NgPiOU5qFTP_mw&ved=0CEgQpitqFQoTCIXD3uz78sYCFUWdiAodfiUFkg&ei=CsSxVYWWGMW6ogT-ypSQCQ

[SnoopySnake]

You might have to order a thermostat online. Not sure how locally available they are for you but look on Amazon for hydrofarm digital thermostats. Inexpensive and get the job done. It will work with the heat mat you have. If you're going to take the vets word over ours anyway then why ask...? Post pics as soon as you can. How long have you had the snake, did it eat for you before this happened?

[Aaron_S]

I don't recall saying crtically low.....but if If I did my apologies. what I mean by his weight being low is that I can feel his spine. I heard someone say its not good for them to be at that kind of weight.

Do you know the actual weight of the snake 2 months ago and now? Just feeling for the spine isn't really a good way to measure weight.

I keep and breed ball pythons. Trust me. 2 months isn't an issue in most cases. And as you've presented it, this looks like "most cases".

As for the heater. Whats done is done. **** happens. Thermostat will regulate the temps of the heat source. I personally use heat tape as belly heat running under my tubs and they work perfectly fine.

As suggested, hydrofarms and cheap and effective. I prefer herpstats myself though. More spendy but it can't be beat.

[kala83]

You might have to order a thermostat online. Not sure how locally available they are for you but look on Amazon for hydrofarm digital thermostats. Inexpensive and get the job done. It will work with the heat mat you have. If you're going to take the vets word over ours anyway then why ask...? Post pics as soon as you can. How long have you had the snake, did it eat for you before this happened?
sorry but did not say I was going to vet opinion over yours, but maybe I mis phrased that wrong I just have a lot of people say some fairly ugly things about veterinarians and ones that deal with reptiles in the past few weeks since I have taken to the vet.

and I don't really feel that’s fair, with out the vet I would not have been able to get him antibiotics that helped him not get a worse off bacterial infection. And I would not have gotten him medicine that he is on now that is obviously being helpful to healing him.

I stated in my first post on here that I wanted to get second opiniones on the matter which btw my vet even suggested I do! I simply don't believe that someone that has gone to regular college for four years then spent eight more years in vet school is totally without knowledge about what they are talking about about. But some not everyone I have spoken to but a few have been fairly rude towards the opinion of an AVMA acredited veterinarian and as a person that works in that feild I find that really rude. People like us work hard to do what we do and we care a great deal about people and the animals we see and take care of, but we are people and we do make mistakes. But She probably has run across people that have not delt with need to have a thermostat to regulate the heat in the tanks properly.

so to her a heating pad is bad, cause it seems from her experience it is bad.

but again i apologize if what I said was misunderstood and viewed as differently then what intended cause I was not trying to do that.
and I was not trying to be disrespectful towards anyone. I just feel that I did the right thing taking the animal to the vet, and I have gotten just a lot of negative rude, hurtful feedback from people and I am getting to a point where I am just tired of hearing people say rude things. When I am doing all I cant to care for an animal that I made sick without intending to.

besides I remember correctly now in ALL states if you don't take an animal to a vet or get them the proper care they need, its a felony. Cause its viewed as negligence if you don't.

I have had the snake for probably about two months and three weeks. When I got him home for the first time I was told to let him adjust to the tank....and I was told three weeks was a good time to allow for that. Don't know how true or untrue that was.

but I left him alone he was beginning to shed and that was when I noticed his burn....before I picked him he was eating on a regular weekly basis of once a week adult live mice.

I do have a preference for that I would like him to eat frozen and I do not know if he was eaten them before or not. I did try offering him food once and he did try to eat it but it did not work out. and he got pissy about it...so I left him be so as not to stress him out.

[kala83]

Do you know the actual weight of the snake 2 months ago and now? Just feeling for the spine isn't really a good way to measure weight.

I keep and breed ball pythons. Trust me. 2 months isn't an issue in most cases. And as you've presented it, this looks like "most cases".

As for the heater. Whats done is done. **** happens. Thermostat will regulate the temps of the heat source. I personally use heat tape as belly heat running under my tubs and they work perfectly fine.

As suggested, hydrofarms and cheap and effective. I prefer herpstats myself though. More spendy but it can't be beat.

I do have a food weigher in my house that I have used with my other animals that i could get a weight off of him tomorrow when I medicate him again.

[kala83]

I am also going to call my local pet store here in town and inquire as to if it would be possible if they could order in one of the thermostats you mentioned it does look pretty nice and I think that getting his set up to a point where the temp is right will help his health turn back around....and he will be able to shed better.

which is key for what he needs right now for his health.

[Aaron_S]

Each of your posts make me ask new questions. You need to tell the full story from the beginning.

When was the last meal the snake had? First it was a month, 2 months and now 2 months and 3 weeks if I read correctly.

What do you mean it tried to eat but it didn't work out?

What are your temperatures, hot side and cool side? Humidity levels? What are you keeping it in? Hides? Substrate? All that jazz.

I don't care about your vet since they can't answer these questions so no need to defend them anymore. Simply give us more info and we can do our best to assist you.

[SnoopySnake]

Yes^^ just answer the questions...also how often you're offering food, what you've tried to get him eating

[kala83]

as of recently I have only tried to feed him about once every two weeks, I am trying to give him pinkies since I felt that something that would not fight him back would be a good idea just because he is still feeling ill and needs to heal up.

I did not want to further damage him or cause him injury. I was intending on going and getting some thermometers to track his temps but we only have decent pet store in town and by the time I could have gone and picked up some they were close I am actually literally heading out the door here in a few mins to go get some.

and will be taking some pic of him as requested since he is out and sunning him self right now.

[Aaron_S]

as of recently I have only tried to feed him about once every two weeks, I am trying to give him pinkies since I felt that something that would not fight him back would be a good idea just because he is still feeling ill and needs to heal up.

I did not want to further damage him or cause him injury. I was intending on going and getting some thermometers to track his temps but we only have decent pet store in town and by the time I could have gone and picked up some they were close I am actually literally heading out the door here in a few mins to go get some.

and will be taking some pic of him as requested since he is out and sunning him self right now.

Now we know what part of the problem is/was. You weren't properly set up with everything from the start.

Poop happens. We can't go back in time so we can only work on going forward and fixing things.

Make sure you get good thermometers. You're better off returning the stuff to the pet store and buying an infrared temp gun. Spend the money, they can be had for cheap, for best accuracy.

As for feeding, the snake most likely doesn't see the pinky as a prey item so it won't eat. You're doing yourself no favours by attempting this method. I recommend using a rat pup. They still have their eyes closed so will do no harm to the snake.

[ManSlaughter33]

Get a scale. get a thermostat and a temp gun, leave him alone unless applying medication. Monitor your temps and humidity. That's our main job as owners ( and feed )
you don't need to forcefeed him. They eat when theyre ready usually..
Your vet should have and probably weighed him while you were there and would have mentioned if he was critically thin/underweight.
Ball Pythons are notorious for not eating. Mine hasnt eaten in 2 months and shes not losing weight or crotically underweight.

There is alot of great advice given here by Aaron and Snoop and others. I would read it all thouroughly.

Good Luck

edit: my wireless keyboard is dying, don't mind missing letters

[kala83]

Now we know what part of the problem is/was. You weren't properly set up with everything from the start.

Poop happens. We can't go back in time so we can only work on going forward and fixing things.

Make sure you get good thermometers. You're better off returning the stuff to the pet store and buying an infrared temp gun. Spend the money, they can be had for cheap, for best accuracy.

As for feeding, the snake most likely doesn't see the pinky as a prey item so it won't eat. You're doing yourself no favours by attempting this method. I recommend using a rat pup. They still have their eyes closed so will do no harm to the snake.

ok I can probably do that..... its sounds lame but my biggest issue with feeding him live is I do actually own to pet rats of my own....but I do understand that he does need to eat I would just like it personally if I could get him to eat frozen.

I have also heard people say that snake can be more prone to biting if they get too used to eating or biting at live pray....

but I know that for right now I really just need to do what I need to, to get him to eat. Even if I am not a fan of doing it.....it not really like I am doing it to my own pets....and this does not have to be something I continuously do.

[Aaron_S]

ok I can probably do that..... its sounds lame but my biggest issue with feeding him live is I do actually own to pet rats of my own....but I do understand that he does need to eat I would just like it personally if I could get him to eat frozen.

I have also heard people say that snake can be more prone to biting if they get too used to eating or biting at live pray....

but I know that for right now I really just need to do what I need to, to get him to eat. Even if I am not a fan of doing it.....it not really like I am doing it to my own pets....and this does not have to be something I continuously do.


It is a myth you heard. It isn't true about the biting if they eat live prey.

You can try frozen thawed first. Still use the bigger meal.

[kala83]

its not really a myth its a theory and theories can be proven false, but i think most even on the forums would agree there is more benafits to feeding frozen then live. I have tired giving him pinkies like I said but I do agree with you guys that he might not get that its food.

I have tired feeding him adult mice and he does seem interested he is probably just still feeling bad and does not want to eat and I can't say I blame him on that.

am going to try getting some mice and rat fuzzies and pups frozen ones and try feeding him again.....i am since I tred to see if he would eat a mouse frozen tonight gonna wait a bit to try again with him. I read some other threads on here that warming the head a lil more after the whole body gives them kind of a warm target area to aim at, and that its worked for a few people.

so might try that, can I find adult frozen rats that are a bit small? lol sorry I know even to me that sounds like I am phrasing it odd....but he seem like he is just a yearling or so, so I am not sure if he could or could not eat a whole adult rat or if I did I'd like to get him a small one and see how all that goes.

[Aaron_S]

its not really a myth its a theory and theories can be proven false, but i think most even on the forums would agree there is more benafits to feeding frozen then live. I have tired giving him pinkies like I said but I do agree with you guys that he might not get that its food.

I have tired feeding him adult mice and he does seem interested he is probably just still feeling bad and does not want to eat and I can't say I blame him on that.

am going to try getting some mice and rat fuzzies and pups frozen ones and try feeding him again.....i am since I tred to see if he would eat a mouse frozen tonight gonna wait a bit to try again with him. I read some other threads on here that warming the head a lil more after the whole body gives them kind of a warm target area to aim at, and that its worked for a few people.

so might try that, can I find adult frozen rats that are a bit small? lol sorry I know even to me that sounds like I am phrasing it odd....but he seem like he is just a yearling or so, so I am not sure if he could or could not eat a whole adult rat or if I did I'd like to get him a small one and see how all that goes.

Sooo now that you're back from the pet store what are the temps and humidity? Pics of set up? What's the weight on the animal?

You seem to push back on all advice given.

Yes it is a myth because it is not a theory anymore. It has been proven false a long time ago so now it is fact.

Again, it's a fact. The snake does not view mouse pinks as a food item. It isn't "he might not" it is "he does not".

I've been doing this a really long time and as I said I keep and breed these.

Anyway, until you answer the basic questions there's nothing else I can do so I won't be responding anymore. I do not have time to go in circles.