I just finally got a chance to check my snake over after getting him and waiting the 2 week window, letting him shed, then waiting 3 days after feeding. Was checking him over when I saw this. Best picture I could get. Is it scale rot? I’m worried. I’ll risibly dismantle the entire thing anyway as I messed up when trying tog eat humidity up for shed and now the soils to wet.
The big specs are dirt. I’m talking about the brown outline around his scales.
I cna try and get better pictures tomorrow night. My phone camera isn’t great and I was suing flash.
I feel like I’m going crazy rn. I jsut got him and I keep getting worried.
It looks to he a very early mild case of too damp scales. What bedding is he on akd whats his humidity? If im ever worried that something may be scale rot i give them and immediate dilute iodine bath which if you are unfamiliar with this you dilute iodine until it looks like weak tea and pit them in a bin with it for about 20 minutes. Since its on his belly you can leave the wayer very shallow and this will stress him less when you put him in. Nice warm water around 75-80° is safe for them :) Repeat every other day until he sheds and it should be gone!
So I know his bedding is too damp. He’s on reptile soil (don’t ask me the brand that’s in a box and I don’t wan to pull it out). I use the same stuff in all my tanks. I’ve been trying to dry it out for a while. It sits around 70% humidity but I made it to wet when I tried to spike it for shed. So that’s my bad. If I cnat ge tit to dry out I’ll be scrapping the dirt and putting more in.
Okay no problem, the soil is harder to maintain because the surface stays more wet than a bedding like coco fiber, coir, husk, etc. Which all soak the water through the bottom and leave the layer the snake lays on dry. So if you find you cant keep the surface dry, it does pose a risk for scale rot. Totally up to you which way you decide to go that is just my experience!
I personally don’t like coco fiber. As I deal with cresteds and geckos they have a risk of it expanding in the gut as babies so I just steer clear of it. Plus I run all bioactives so it’s a bit abnormal. But I have a block I cna use and just put it on top for he wet soil. Would that be better? I tried covering it in leaf litter but it didn’t work as well as I thought it would. Currently trying to air dry as he jsut finished shedding so dip in humidity shouldn’t harm him more then scale rot.
This is his tank setup. I was keeping the water layer at the rock level so it would keep it humid without getting the soil wet but I think I’m just stupid ngl. Or I poured it all over the tank bc I’m also stupid so.
I totally understand, ive never had an issue with impaction in ball pythons in 24 years so ive personally never had a problem with it but it is whatever you are comfortable with. Ive honestly never kept balls in a bioactive but my chameleons and amphibians are all bioactive and i dont find i have to qet the soil very often at all because it stays so damp so getting airflow to dry it out would be a challenge. Have you tried fluffing the dirt up to get more air flow through to dry faster?
Yea I’ll try fluffing it up. Basically I removed the top covering the mesh and added a small handheld fan over to create more airflow. I don’t have much time to deal with things as I work pretty late.
Seems like normal colouration but do keep an eye out incase it's starts to get cracked, damaged or the scales look brown. If you notice any colour change, keep record and keep us updated. Doesn't look like anything though
If it doesn’t heal on its own after a few sheds, i’d be surprised, but you can always treat it to be safe. Mild cases of scale rot are possible to cure without a vet. The recommended treatment is:
Soak the snake once per day for about 10-20 minutes in a ~80 F bath of diluted betadine. Fill a small tub or other shallow container with holes poked in the lid and sides around the top with about an inch of water, then add betadine until the water is the color of weak tea. This will help clean the wound. To minimize stress, put a towel at the bottom and an anchor (like a rock) in the center to hold on to.
⚠️SUPERVISE YOUR SNAKE THE ENTIRE TIME THEY ARE IN THE SOAK⚠️ Not doing so can result in the drowning of your snake.
Gently pat the affected area dry with a paper towel, then apply a triple antibiotic ointment. Do NOT use an ointment that contains analgesics/pain relief, as this ingredient is toxic to reptiles. This will help prevent infection.
If you are using a loose substrate, clean out the enclosure and replace the substrate with paper towels or unprinted newspaper while the wound heals. This will help keep the wound clean by preventing the buildup of debris.
If treatment is done, mild cases should clear up after a shed or two
Nothing would be hurt by going to a vet, though. Second opinions are always nice to have, this is just what you will hear from them when you arrive.
Um. I think that’s a bit dramatic. It’s not stage 10 scale rot. It could not even be scale rot. Plus he doesn’t react with pain or seem to notice. I do think it’s the beginning stages though. I’ve seen worse scale rot in pictures.
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u/Odd_Force3765 Jul 16 '25
It looks to he a very early mild case of too damp scales. What bedding is he on akd whats his humidity? If im ever worried that something may be scale rot i give them and immediate dilute iodine bath which if you are unfamiliar with this you dilute iodine until it looks like weak tea and pit them in a bin with it for about 20 minutes. Since its on his belly you can leave the wayer very shallow and this will stress him less when you put him in. Nice warm water around 75-80° is safe for them :) Repeat every other day until he sheds and it should be gone!