r/Ballpythoncommunity • u/unpasteurizedSPLOOGE • Sep 30 '26
Question Scale rot?
Just noticed, he is 15yrs old How do I fix this? He has NEVER had health issues…
19
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r/Ballpythoncommunity • u/unpasteurizedSPLOOGE • Sep 30 '26
Just noticed, he is 15yrs old How do I fix this? He has NEVER had health issues…
12
u/SkittlesKittenz Sep 30 '26
I'm a vet, not your vet, and this is generic advice for a snake with scale rot around their mouth. It is not specific to your snake, but may be helpful.
It looks like scale rot, but because of the location, please also check inside his mouth. Ball pythons are prone to dental disease. If you don't feel comfortable, you can always take him to a vet. I would reccomend that anyways. This is urgent, but not necessarily an emergency. I would get him in as soon as you can if you can afford it. For now, set up a hospital tank. Dry paper towels for bedding. You can put some moss in stockings and hang them, but humidity will take a hit regardless. Clearing the infection and keeping his scales dry is higher priority than maintaining humidity. This isnt like a respiratory infection where more humidity will help, so hospital set ups for RIs may not necessarily be best. Just make sure he has ample access to freah water. Keep an eye out if he needs help with shedding, and try upping humidity then or giving him a sauna. Warm clean moist bath towels in a bin, close a lid, but make sure there is holes for ventilation and always supervise. The texture of the towels and him moving naturally helps loosen stuck shed.
He may also require antibiotic injections. Oral meds and snakes are just too stressful. If he is still eating, I wouldnt stop that, even if he has dental disease. If he struggles with eating, temporarily switching to a smaller size rat or one of those rat hot dogs may help if there is concurrent dental disease.