1st Time Snake Mom, Scale Rot

[MamaKiwi]

Hello!! I'm Kiwi and a month ago I got a gorgeous girl named Wednesday at a reptile expo. She's a mystic potion ball python born 9/9/19.

She's lavender with a white line down her back, and white lines coming from her eyes. Perfectly sweet snake. Zero agression, even when in shed. She has eaten every 5 days like clockwork, even in shed (took her a little longer since I didn't realize she was in shed but she ate and no regurgitation).

My 1st time snake mommy concerns: she has not pooped. I realize this is somewhat normal for snakes, but I've had her 6 weeks, no poop, and she eats every 5 days.

She is also always in her humid hide. I've discouraged it by taking the lid off, because I've noticed dry, brownish scales on her body, which I'm afraid is scale rot.

Can I feed her something larger than a mouse? Is that why she's not pooping?

Can I bathe her with potassium permanganate? I heard it was good for their skin.

Thank you in advance.

[Aaron_S]

Congratulations on your first snake.

1. I'd be feeding the snake rat pups. Probably every 7 days instead of 5. I find when my snakes eat too small of meals that they don't poop as often because their bodies are using up all the energy they can from it.

2. No need for a bath.

3. What is the substrate you're using? Once you get to five posts you can post pictures and I'd like to see what these scales look like.

4. Snakes like to hide in secure spots. Ball pythons aren't super active unless it's at night so I'd be looking for movement at that time of day. I would just get more secure hiding spots so she isn't always in the humid hide. What is your current humidity in the enclosure?

[MamaKiwi]

Congratulations on your first snake.

1. I'd be feeding the snake rat pups. Probably every 7 days instead of 5. I find when my snakes eat too small of meals that they don't poop as often because their bodies are using up all the energy they can from it.

2. No need for a bath.
Thank you for responding.

1) It's hard to find rat pups in my area. I will keep looking and was told that male mice are larger and will try those till I find rat pups closer than an hour away.

Right after I posted this I went to clean her enclosure and she left me a spicy meat ball (a poop).

2) I bathed because I heard it was good to encourage the movement of her bowels. Also, I got potassium permanganate to help with the scale rot. Is it true that it works?

3. What is the substrate you're using? Once you get to five posts you can post pictures and I'd like to see what these scales look like.

4. Snakes like to hide in secure spots. Ball pythons aren't super active unless it's at night so I'd be looking for movement at that time of day. I would just get more secure hiding spots so she isn't always in the humid hide. What is your current humidity in the enclosure?

3) Yes I took photos in anticipation.

4) I sleep pretty soundly at night but do notice her moving around if I wake up. Whenever I take her out to handle her she grips onto me, which I've heard is good. She is never aggressive and often just hangs out with my daughter and I, happy to sit on our laps.

[Aaron_S]

Thank you for responding.

1) It's hard to find rat pups in my area. I will keep looking and was told that male mice are larger and will try those till I find rat pups closer than an hour away.

Right after I posted this I went to clean her enclosure and she left me a spicy meat ball (a poop).

2) I bathed because I heard it was good to encourage the movement of her bowels. Also, I got potassium permanganate to help with the scale rot. Is it true that it works?



3) Yes I took photos in anticipation.

4) I sleep pretty soundly at night but do notice her moving around if I wake up. Whenever I take her out to handle her she grips onto me, which I've heard is good. She is never aggressive and often just hangs out with my daughter and I, happy to sit on our laps.

All sounds good.

I don't know what the potassium thing is though. If it's truly scale rot and it's early in the illness then a clean and relatively dry enclosure will heal it up just fine.

Rat pups are suggested because switching balls from mice to rats later on in life tends to be difficult. Rat pups may be a little smaller than adult mice but rats grow far larger and you'll need less of them later on for feeding.

[MamaKiwi]

I think being in her humid enclosure constantly to help her shed has exasperated the issue. I took out the moss and put a paper towel, she still loves it in there.

[Aaron_S]

Likely because it's the most secure feeling hiding spot. Get similar sized hides in other areas of the enclosure.