EMERGENCY* Bad skin disorder

[crispy505]

I just noticed this tonight. This must have happened recently. The wounds stink. I noticed he didn't get all of his skin off the last time he shed. I have no idea what to do. Please help.

[crisstyle21]

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never seen that!!! Yo go to a reptile vet very quickly. dont even wait for any other posts. For your bps sake you need to rush and go!!!..wow. :eek:

[dr del]

OMG


ok First thing - you need to get that poor snake to a vet asap.

it needs to be put in a sterile enclosure with a substrate like newspaper and kept totally clean. possibly some topical antibiotic without painkillers in it but I would wait for more expert advice than mine about that.

What happened and when was the last time you know he was alright?

Did he get burned in the tank by the heater or something?


but vet - definately vet.


dr del

[keeb]

That was the grossest thing I have ever seen on a snake. (

Get him to a vet ASAP!

[jglass38]

I would echo what everyone else is saying. A herp vet needs to see your snake immediately. It looks more to me like blister disease than a burn but I could be wrong. Either way, follow Del's advice and get the snake into a sterile environment until you can get it to a vet.

[crispy505]

Um, I would love to get him to a vet. I really would love to do that. However, it's 10:00 here.

[tweets_4611]

When was the last time you looked at him? It doesn't seem like that would develop over night...I would check and see if there is an animal hospital somewhere around there. Alot of them stay open quite a bit later. That really needs to be looked at.

[sweety314]

VET, NOW! CALL!! Most vets have an answering service or take vmail and will call U back. Set up something for tomorrow, Monday at the latest, but you must put him in a sterile environment. Newpaper or paper towels. REMOVE THE WATER BOWL and keep him warm!

Snoopy's was healthier than that, but the vet's culture showed it was pseudomonas not belly rot. Either way, you've got to keep the snake CLEAN, DRY AND WARM!! until you can get him to a vet.


Good luck! He's going to need special care and MEDICAL attention.


*Keeping fingers, toes and eyes crossed for you!*


RuLyn

[recycling goddess]

oh my goodness that is horrible looking. i can only imagine how you feel seeing your snake like that

tomorrow is sunday... try to find a vet who will do an emergency visit. i know mine does (and yes he's a herp vet).

please keep us posted.

[Sausage]

Wow! What a horrific thing to let happen to your snake! :eek: When was the last time you cleaned out the cage? Sometimes when they wallow in their own filth for a while, they can develop blisters and whatnot.

I would recommend putting him on some newspaper and make an appointment to see a herp vet ASAP. You can dab on some neosporin(the kind w/o painkiller!) on the wounds for the time being.

[recycling goddess]

and IF you have any more snakes... make sure you quarantine this one!

[Evan Jamison]

Looks like necrotic dermatitus (scale rot) to me, but could be a burn. Either way, he obviously needs medical attention, and soon. For the time being, you can 25% hydrogen peroxide with 75% water and very gently clease the infected area. At this point the real concern is that the infection will go systemic, and he will go downhill fast, so topical treatment is not enough. Like Derek said, keep him on a dry clean substrate, and get to a vet ASAP.

As far as the cause, how wet do you keep that coconut fiber bedding where he hangs out most of the time? How often do you change it? do you have an under-tank heat source, and how it is regulated?

I hope he heals up after treatment.

-Evan

[TheAudOne]

Yeah I would call the emergancy vet atleast and see what they say to do to hold you over tonight if they cant see him....

I'm with the others in believing this cant happen over night...was he sitting in wet bedding or burned?

Gosh the poor thing Good luck and let us know what happens...

[crispy505]

Ok, guys, we've called every emergency vet within 50 miles. No one knows anything about reptiles. They have someone coming in on Tuesday who does reptiles, but she is about a half hour drive away. No one is open on Sundays. I really don't see how I can get him to a vet immediately. Is there something I can do until then? I've put him in a dry cardboard box. This must have happened in the last couple days. I see him every day and I haven't noticed this. His cage has been dry, but this is obviously some type of infection. I know a little bit about it since I am pre-med. Unfortunately, for all I know about reptiles, antibiotics could kill him.

[dr del]

Wow! What a horrific thing to let happen to your snake! :eek:

I know you are only speaking out of your love for the animals but lets not phrase things in that manner if at all possible.

We do not know how it happened or what other factors may be in effect. The O.P. needs help and advice on emergency treatment more than anything else at the moment so let's focus on trying to help his snake as best we can till he can contact a vet.

To crispy505,

Do you have another tub/tank you could place him in just now? even a non herp vet may be able to offer some advice if you direct him to the pictures or even suggest a fellow vet available to help at this time of night.



dr del

[crisstyle21]

Looks like a burn then too much moisture :eek:

[sweety314]

Newspaper or paper towels. If he's in a cardboard box, then keep him WARM. His body is really stressed right now, and you don't want other problems like an RI to add to it b/c he's gotten too cold. Take out the water bowl so he doesn't try to soak and make it all worse.

[Gooseman]

That looks bacterial more than anything. Has the substrate been changed recently? My guess is that the snake is wallowing in it's urates and causing damage. At this point you need to be scanning the yellow pages for any vet that may be open within driving distance while your snake is sitting in a warm dray tub thats been cleaned and disinfected.

[crispy505]

That looks bacterial more than anything. Has the substrate been changed recently? My guess is that the snake is wallowing in it's urates and causing damage. At this point you need to be scanning the yellow pages for any vet that may be open within driving distance while your snake is sitting in a warm dray tub thats been cleaned and disinfected.

I changed his bedding last week. Thanks for the help everyone

[Gooseman]

I changed his bedding last week. Thanks for the help everyone

In that case bacterial probably isn't the cause...

[crispy505]

this is the girlfriend when i changed the bedding it was still a little moist would that have caused it

[Gooseman]

Moist as in soggy or just damp? It's fine if it's damp because coconut husk generally helps prevent bacterial growth and increases humidity, however if it's actually soggy then it's no bueno.

[bznj1]

Freezer!

[bznj1]

Not the snake!!

[jglass38]

Freezer!

Unnecessary and plain stupid.

[TheAudOne]

If its bacterial would a warm sea salt solution work well...being its better for humans in that it doesnt kill the good bacteria while it fights the bad? I've always wondered about this.... and in our house try to use they "dont put anything in your wounds you wouldnt put in your eye" motto to live by...I used this on furry animals in the past...just never really thought about that and snakes though *shrugs*

[jglass38]

Not the snake!!

What then?

[TheAudOne]

Unnecessary and plain stupid.

I agree

[Gooseman]

One question. Is is crusty or gooey?

Just wondering b/c I'm trying to think of all the possibilities.

[bznj1]

What then?

The Dumbass that owns the snake!

[Sausage]

I know you are only speaking out of your love for the animals but lets not phrase things in that manner if at all possible.

Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound accusing or like a scold...
Let me rephrase: "That looks horrific!"

Bad wording on my part.

@bznj1:
Please, that sort of stuff is totally unnecessary!

[Gooseman]

The Dumbass that owns the snake!

thats uncalled for. we should be worrying more about how to get the snake help right now then name calling!

[mricyfire]

:eek: That made my eyes water...I don't know what I would do if that happened to my snake.

Hope he gets better!

[sweety314]

One question. Is is crusty or gooey?

Just wondering b/c I'm trying to think of all the possibilities.

With all the open wound, root cause may become secondary (temporarily!) to the much higher risk of infection. It's a lot!! of the snake's length, so the snake is going to need something systemic too (antibiotics).

Been there w/Snoopy. It's tough, scary and concerning.

Gently debride the dead tissue w/the H202 and water like Evan suggested, and keep the snake quiet (so he doesn't keep crawling/stressed and damaging the healthy tissue that's exposed) warm and dry until you can get to a QUALIFIED HERP vet.

[TheAudOne]

It's so sad I cant imagine how bad you have to feel ... it's a learning lesson...if you ever figure out what happend to cause it...again keep us posted and try to ignore the jerks on here that obviously are perfect and have never made mistakes!

[Sausage]

Where's that link that lets you see all the qualified herp vets in your state... that could help this guy out.

[bznj1]

It's so sad I cant imagine how bad you have to feel ... it's a learning lesson...if you ever figure out what happend to cause it...again keep us posted and try to ignore the jerks on here that obviously are perfect and have never made mistakes!

LMAO! Tosha?

[Sausage]

LMAO! Tosha?

Please, stop trolling this thread. We're trying to help this guy with his snake.

[Gooseman]

With all the open wound, root cause may become secondary (temporarily!) to the much higher risk of infection. It's a lot!! of the snake's length, so the snake is going to need something systemic too (antibiotics).

True, in this case your going to need to treat the symptoms directly rather than the underlying cause. However, to treat said symptoms a qualified VET is needed to properly diagnose and treat. We really can only throw out suggestions based on what we know. I feel a place like bp.net is more suitable finding the underlying problem if it is husbandry related (which is most likely the xase), and how to privide primary care until said vet can be found.

EDIT: Just read over my post and it sounds like its calling your advise unhelpful sweety, I just want you to know that is not the case at all.

[crispy505]

I've cleaned everything. He's in his cage on a layer of newspapers. I cleaned the wounds with 25% h2o2. I would've put him in salt but I bet that would hurt like hell and he would bite me. His outer skin is coming off in pieces. The cage was not moist; my gf is dumb. It was just a small spot under his water bowl. The skin is crusty and it's on about half his length.

[Phreak]

Sooo sorry to hear about this happening to your snake. I hope you and your snake get through this ok. Best of luck.

[Sausage]

From your last pic, it kind of looks like he shed, but there was no skin underneath to replace it.

[TheAudOne]

well the salt solution shouuld be highly diluted...as bad as it looks at together it atleast looks slightly better after being cleaned up...gosh I still and cringing.. I can only imagine how that snake has to feel!!

What are you using to heat the tank? Might of said that already an I missed it..if so sorry!

Is he ever allowed out of his cage to stroll around? This could be a chemical burn perhaps..bleach on the floors etc. etc....hmmm... rack your brain lol I have no idea but cant wait to know what comes about this...

[Sausage]

Yes, please, do tell us how you heat the tank and how the tank is set up. That way we can help you so that something like this can be prevented next time.

[Gooseman]

Is he ever allowed out of his cage to stroll around? This could be a chemical burn perhaps..bleach on the floors etc. etc....hmmm... rack your brain lol I have no idea but cant wait to know what comes about this...

Speaking of which, is there any chance that last time you cleaned his tank you used a bleach solution and not gotten it all out? Because I really dont think thats a UTH burn... I'm leaning towards bacterial, chemical or scale rot...

[bznj1]

Speaking of which, is there any chance that last time you cleaned his tank you used a bleach solution and not gotten it all out? Because I really dont think thats a UTH burn... I'm leaning towards bacterial, chemical or scale rot...

It is scale rot! The poor snake is not being takin care of properly! End of story.. Please more bad karma for me. for thinking this guy Should Never own another reptyle!! What a place!

[crispy505]

The cage is heated with a under cage heat pad. Last time I changed the bedding, I sprayed the cage with lysol then wiped it out before putting down the bedding. Could that has caused it? It doesn't make sense that the damage is only on the lower half of his body. It does seem likely this could be originally caused by a chemical burn. It seems too severe to be only an infection.

[TheAudOne]

The cage is heated with a under cage heat pad. Last time I changed the bedding, I sprayed the cage with lysol then wiped it out before putting down the bedding. Could that has caused it? It doesn't make sense that the damage is only on the lower half of his body. It does seem likely this could be originally caused by a chemical burn. It seems too severe to be only an infection.

thank you!!
*pats herself on the back*
I'm hardly ever right..let me enjoy this

And it couldnt of started as a chemical burn...exposed flesh like that is more sensitive so then it could of either gotten burned by the heat or turned into scale rot from being exposed and then moist...or all 3 together....

Also love, what are you using to monitor the temp of that heat? A uth with out a thermostat/dimmer in our house reached over 110....

[Sausage]

The cage is heated with a under cage heat pad. Last time I changed the bedding, I sprayed the cage with lysol then wiped it out before putting down the bedding. Could that has caused it? It doesn't make sense that the damage is only on the lower half of his body. It does seem likely this could be originally caused by a chemical burn. It seems too severe to be only an infection.

Do you have a thermostat to control the temps of the heating pad? Also, do you have a thermometer? This may be a burn...

[xdeus]

I don't think it's a chemical burn if you wiped out the Lysol. How are you controlling the UTH? Do you have it connected to a thermostat or rheostat, or just plugged in directly to the wall?

Did the snake move the substrate around and lay directly on or close to the glass? Do you have any way of measuring the temps in the cage?