Help! Normal vs. Problem in healing...

precious · 11-14-03, 09:00 PM

I am hoping some of you can help me. I have a juvenile ball python about 20" long and 6 months old. She is my first snake and I have had her about 2 months.

About 2 weeks ago, she made an escape attempt that resulted in a wicked scratch-like wound on her back (from the lid dragging on her back). I have fixed the problem so it won't happen again but that doesnt change the fact that she has this wound.

I have been keeping her cage especially clean and watching to make sure the wound hasnt worsened. I put a bit of anti-biotic ointment on it as per a few recommendations from snake pro's I have talked to. Her wound has not gotten worse but it hasnt gotten much better...

A few days ago, I noticed that she seems to be losing color along the side where the wound is. It goes down most of her body. But her other side is still the correct color. What used to be a beautiful tan is turning greyish/white. This may or may not have anything to do with her scratch. I tried to capture it in pics.... (http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/preci...pythpics2.html) In some of them (especially the first) you can see her wound but I couldn't get a good picture of it.

I have no idea how snakes heal or what is normal during that process. I did my research before getting her so I know all about normal stuff like feeding and housing but this I don't know about. I am really worried about her... Is this normal? What should I expect? What should I do? Please help if you can!!!

Husbandry: She is in a 15 gallon tank for now (I have a 37 gallon tank for when she is a bit bigger). I keep it about 90-95 on one end and 70-75 on the other (a bit cooler at night). I am using both overhead heat (just a basic desk lamp) and a UTH. Humidity about 50% (can't get it to stay at 60%) and she has a humidity box in her tank at all times (which i clean daily to keep from getting nasty). She also has hide boxes and a water bowl. She is eating a hopper or small mouse once a week and is a great eater (has been since I got her). Substrate is astroturf-type stuff. I haven't noticed any changes in behavior since her injury.

sapphire_moon · 11-14-03, 10:02 PM

first of all try an adult mouse (or rat of equal size) since they can eat something that big right out of the egg.
From what I seen of the pics.........
Why didn't you take her to a vet? If your dog or cat had gotten the one helle'uva "scratch" as she did you would be taking them to the vet! Since part of it was directly on her back bone why weren't you worried that something could have happened to her spine? If I was a snake and had a cut that deep on my spine I would be in some major pain.
She looks more triangular than roundish.

Personally I would take her to the vet. (I would have taken her when I seen it!)
The greying.......I don't know, but maybe it's an infection under her skin?

Sorry if I sounded rude or mean. But if it would have been 6month old kitty that had gotten a scratch that deep most people would have been rushing her to the vet. But if it's a snake, just throw some neosporin on it and hope for the best...........

Only my 2 cents.

precious · 11-14-03, 10:30 PM

Actually, no I would not have taken a kitty to the vet for the same injury. Many injuries can't really be helped by a doc... They just charge up the *** and tell you to do what you were going to do anyway. The scratch barely broke the "skin" only in one part. Mostly it roughed up her scales. It is not on her spine and is more on the side. Like I said before the pic doesn't really show the scratch accurately. Also, I am sure many of you are lucky enough to live near a vet that sees reptiles. I live out in the middle of nowhere in alaska and I have to drive over two hours to get to the nearest vet. Transporting a snake 90 miles+ when it is 5 degrees out (that's fahrenheit) on icy roads through the mountains is challenging to say the least. If it were an emergency I would have done it in a heartbeat. However the trip seems more dangerous than a scratch is worth. Furthermore, if I didn't get any useful input from this post I was planning to take her to the vet.

Maybe you have a different opinion. I don't appreciate you implying that I would care less about a snake than a cat. That is NOT the case. Thanks for bashing me and failing to offer any helpful information as to how a snake heals.

And another thing... all the snake books and sites I looked at before getting my snake said to feed her prey no bigger than the biggest part of her. A full size mouse is bigger than that. Last feeding she got a hopper and a pinkie.

**Andy_G** · 11-14-03, 10:39 PM

The injury area itself looks to be healing normally, but I am not sure what the colouration change is, it could also be normal. I would say that you should move her onto newspaper until she is fully healed, it will take a little bit. She looks a small amount underweight, nothing too bad, it may even be just the pictures that are making the snake look like that, either way, I would move your snake to properly sized rats as soon as possible and stepping up the food size a bit will help the weight as well.

precious · 11-14-03, 10:41 PM

Thanks Andy... I will change her substrate right away.

sapphire_moon · 11-14-03, 10:58 PM

I never based you. You asked for opinions, I gave you one. You wanted helpful opinions I said take her to the vet. I don't have a Vet close to me either. But if my snake had recieved a scratch like that then I would turn the heat up, put her in a dark box, with a cig. ligther attachment heat pad and off we go.

Try turning up the heat a little keeping it at like 95 and the humidity UP to atleast 60-70% when not in shed and 70-80% when in shed, for a few sheds. Since you didn't say what kind of antibacterial ointment you are using, try neosporin NON medicated, the pain killer in the medicated kind can harm your snake. If the wound is already completely healed up keep the humidity up for a couple of sheds. If not use what ever you are using, clean the wound, put your antibacterial ointment on it.

You can feed an adult mouse to a baby bp right out of the egg. You can feed it something the same size as the biggest width or just a little bit bigger ( don't go overboard though) just look at some of the feeding pics you find on the bp forum.....
And as Andy said change the substrate to paper until it's compelety healed.........

What kind of theremometer do you have? If you have one of those stick on ones they suck. Try getting a digital theremom (from wal mart or something) and put the outdoor probe on the BOTTOM on top of the UTH.......

As for the discoloration if it doesn't clear up I would atleast call the vet to see what it is if no one on here doesn't know what it could be.....it could be anything from normal to a lot of infection undernead the skin.
As I said, I was not bashing you. Just giving my opinion.
I hope your snake gets better.

precious · 11-14-03, 11:03 PM

Thanks Sapphire, that post was a lot more helpful. I use the basic neosporin which I think is what you were recommending. As for the thermometer... do you mean to place it so that it is essentially just telling me what temp the UTH is? Thanks again.

sapphire_moon · 11-14-03, 11:06 PM

I found this site where a guy does rescue work on snakes that have been fed live prey. I'm not saying you feed live, but if you want you can email him and see what he thinks about the scratch. Since he takes care of bites and pulled scales.......Hope he can help you if no one else can.
Here is his e-mail address----

LORI_SnakesRule@koalaskritters.net

sapphire_moon · 11-14-03, 11:11 PM

Since the uth is under the glass, yes, because that is where the snake is laying, not floating a couple of inches above it. and since I'm talking about the inside outside kind of thermometer then the inside one will tell you the ambient temp........like mine are usually about 90 on the UTH and about 75-80 degree's on the cool side during the day. Alot of reptile UTH's need to be controlled because they get to hot....ya I'm talking about the basic neosporin.

nolagurl · 11-16-03, 09:37 PM

Okay I didn't look @ the picture because my ISP is painfully slow right now for some reason. I thought you'd benefit from my store nonetheless.

I was out of town for three months and my brother was caring for one of my snakes. When I got her back she had a little area where the scales looked *roughed up* and it was white. He didn't know how it happened. Anyway after two sheds the spot is gone.

precious · 11-23-03, 11:30 PM

Well, I took her to the vet a couple days after my post. He didn't seem too concerned and said the wound was healing fine. He said it sounded like I was doing all the right things to help her get better (increased temperatures, not handling her, etc) and that I just need to give her time. He sent us off with a months worth of antibiotics to ward off any possible infections and recommended that I feed her a handful of pinkies each week instead of larger prey to keep her from stretching the wound. And I just noticed that she is about to go through an early shed, a good sign. Thanks for all your help and concern!

sapphire_moon · 11-23-03, 11:38 PM

glad she's doing better!

mykee · 11-24-03, 12:00 AM

Glad she's doing better, but it always makes me shudder when I hear of a snake getting out of it's enclosure. Poor husbandry.
Anyways, there were a few things in your previous posts that I'd like to touch on. Firstly, whatever book it is that you read that said only feed the width of the body is TERRIBLY outdated. Up the size of the food, your ball looks too thin. Don't use one book as the 'grail' for your BP info. Secondly, you mentioned that you keep a humid hide in her enclosure all the time. Not necessary. When she is in shed, yes, put it in, but if you have 50% humidity all the time, you have a decent chance of her catching a resp. infection from too much humidity. Lastly, that 'scratch' looked a lot like a burn, I'm glad she's getting better, and I'm really glad you went to a vet. Good luck.

precious · 11-24-03, 12:13 AM

The snake getting out of her enclosure is obviously my fault. But I think I am doing pretty damn well considering this is my first snake. I am learning as I go and I made a mistake. I am only human.

Before getting her I read a half a dozen books, some specific to balls and some generic to to boas and pythons. Their dates of publication ranged from the early '90's to 2002. I also talked to people I know with snakes. I thought I was going above and beyond what most first time snake owners do, but I guess you disagree.

Now that winter has hit hard and the humidity in my house is at about 15% (!!!) it's damn near impossible to get her humidity above 30% without straight up sealing her up. I have humidifiers running to try to up my ambient humidity (for my sake as much as hers). But anyway, I like the hide box & the snake & my vet like it too. She does not have too high of humidity.

And it's not a burn.