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 bad shed & Scale rot

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T O P I C    R E V I E W
lozy89 Posted - 06/05/2011 : 12:21:59
Ok so woke up to find that Twiglet had attempted to shed....

Found her with some patches of shed hanging off her etc, looking pretty scruffy and patchy.
So I rushed out to get some moss and gave her a moist hideto see if it would help her.

She seemed quite lethargic and wasn't bothered about moving about she just wanted to lay still so she was left overnight in her moist hide.

This morning her shed looked a bit more loose. and a little bit was sticking up on her nose where it looked like she had tried to start getting it off again. I was worried for her so i damped my hands and started stroking her head with my finger and slowly and gradually it started peeling away, she sat still whilst I did this and let me carry on, she seemed quite relieved. It came off until about a 1/3 of the way down her body (as it became patchy there and had already had quite a bunched up piece of shed still attached to her) I started to help her with these pieces, It was going well until it started to feel a bit more tight and dry the further i was going. Some of the bunched up parts that came off her seem to have the colour of her scales on them and I am soooo worried about this and am beginning to think I shouldn't have helped her but I was worried that her body would damage being under unshedded skin??

It all seems to be off her now but her underside looks terrible :'( :'( It looks dry and like the scales are in a bad way (I would describe it as looking like there may be some shed still on there but im pretty sure its not that) another worry is that her top end slithers normally (looks normal too) but her bottom end seems to look sore when she slithers and like she wants to elevate it...this is making me worry for her.

Forgot to mention I had soaked her in a warm water bath yesterday before putting away for the night, and again just now after her shed was removed because she looked so sore :(

Both eye caps and the tail tip are now off so these are not a worry.

I will try and get some photos now but I am worried that she will be like this forever??? or will she heal?

(there was no humidity in he viv prior to shedding, she doesn't usually have a problem and has plenty of branches rocks etc to help etc, In the future I am going to provide a humid hide prior to shedding, also she laid a clutch of eggs a couple of weeks back, didn't eat whilst she was carrying them but fed after they were laid)

***thread title edited by HannahB***
20   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
mikerichards Posted - 01/12/2011 : 14:51:25
excellent, good job.
Kath Posted - 01/12/2011 : 08:18:38
Hi lozy, very pleased that Twiglet is well again.
lozy89 Posted - 30/11/2011 : 23:43:04
Sorry guys aint been on here in ages... Twiglet has made a full recovery! :) thank you Mike Richards for all your help :)
lozy89 Posted - 30/05/2011 : 19:06:31
ok
mikerichards Posted - 30/05/2011 : 18:03:02
if you mist then she will get wet, just leave her be!
lozy89 Posted - 30/05/2011 : 14:41:15
So I shouldn't mist her or anything??? just keep doing what i'm doing?
mikerichards Posted - 30/05/2011 : 14:30:19
just leave her be, she will cope. If for whatever reason she does not shed in one piece, then you can help her with it, but until she needs help, just let he get on with it.
snakes cope a lot better on their own than we give them credit for, they have been this way for thousands of years, the fact that they are not only still alive, but flourishing should say enough to everyone!!!

The only time snakes need our intervention is when we do something wrong!
tordyjo Posted - 30/05/2011 : 14:23:23
hope the shed goes all ok and she's back to her old self soon, has been a good thread for learning, but another question for the pot so to speak - how would a snake cope in the wild with something like this, where they don't have their human friends to help?
lozy89 Posted - 30/05/2011 : 12:02:26
ok, so Twiglet has finally gone blue, just waiting for her to shed, but im really worried about how its going to go!

What should I do? she is still being kept totally dry, and f10 is being applied daily. I just don't know what to do for her shedding as i'm worried its going to all be patchy and stuck on her in different places and cause her more damage!
lozy89 Posted - 20/05/2011 : 20:27:48
ok thank you for all your help and advice! I will keep everyone updated :)
mikerichards Posted - 20/05/2011 : 19:38:31
its absorbed by the skin, there will be no remnants! use cotton buds to apply, because unlike vaseline, it melts really quick the warmer it gets, and skin temp turns it to liquid really quick! Yes do it daily, for a week at least, or until its starting to look better.
lozy89 Posted - 20/05/2011 : 13:45:32
ahhhh! well i have just ordered some off the net, hopefully it will get here soon, I will let you know how we get on with that... btw..should it be appplied daily? should i remove the old remnants of it before fresh layer?
mikerichards Posted - 20/05/2011 : 10:54:18
no more than the iodine will.

Bear in mind though that scale rot is caused by a fungus, thats why being damp is bad, damp + warm = great fungal environment.
F10 is an antifungal, its not a cream as such, its more like vaseline, its absorbed by the skin, the skin doesnt get wet.
Mamma Posted - 20/05/2011 : 10:24:53
I hope shes ok and feeling better soon x
lozy89 Posted - 20/05/2011 : 09:55:32
about the drinking: yeh already thought of that so she is put in just water first then after shes drank it, the iodine was added. I'm going to search for some of that cream now, will the cream not just make her moist?
mikerichards Posted - 20/05/2011 : 09:31:51
iodine bath? not a good idea, snakes have a habit of drinking a liquid they are sat in, assuming its water.
The snake needs to be kept spotlessly dry, as i said, use f10 cream, its antibacterial, anti fungal and anti-everything else too. I dont know where you can get it from, but a quick look on ebay or a google will find you an online shop that sells it.
Dont worry about the not feeding, the snakes probably very uncomfortable, i would expect the snake to shed quite a few times in the next couple of weeks, regeneration so to speak.
lotabob Posted - 19/05/2011 : 23:42:45
Ah Mike when you put it like that its more clear that its not a burn. As Lou says I too have learnt a lot on this thread. Thanks!

My fingers are crossed for a swift and full recovery.
lozy89 Posted - 19/05/2011 : 23:41:28
thanks, I have offered her a small mouse today but she wasn't interested :( will try again next week.

I have just given her an iodine bath and I think it was a bit stronger than usual as she really didn't want to be in it. It seems to have lightened up her scales (by which I mean made them slightly whiter and not the browny colour you can see in the pics above.) Didn't take any photos but will do tomorrow. I have decided (whetehr i'm right or not???) that I am not going to give her any more baths now, just to let her remain dry and see what happens?

I gently dried her out after her bath with a hairdryer to ensure she was totally dried. I am going to continue to change her towels everyday.
what should I do when it comes to near her shedding time? no signs of it yet but what should i do?

Also is this normal?? I have noticed a couple of scales coming off here and there, not loads but a couple. is this normal?

I havent taken her to a vet yet, I phoned up the ones around close to my area and they all said they dont specialise in reps! none of them sounded confident at all, so I am trying to avoid vets if possible, I know i'm probably going to get everyone saying that I should still take her but seriously, they all sounded rather sketchy when I mentioned it, and told me to try a different vets. So this is my reasoning, however, if shes shows signs of taking a turn for the worse then of course, I will have no choice.

There is a animal event thingy being held this saturday where you take your pet along for advice etc, I will check that out and see what they have to say.
mikerichards Posted - 19/05/2011 : 23:08:58
With permission, i have these pictures of a royal that was burnt, just to give you an idea.

Day 1




Day 5



Day 16



Not a massively bad burn, but bad enough to cause some potentially serious issues.
Just gives you a comparison.
Sta~ple Posted - 19/05/2011 : 10:33:20
Please keep posting pictures as things change :D

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