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22-Sep-06, 07:14 PM
|  | Regular Member | Join Date: Sep-06 Location: Adelaide Gender:  | | |
I have just finished reading a thread titled "R.I.P Sandy" about a little female stimson that got caught in her light cage. my husband and I were almost in tears reading about it, on Sunday we discovered that our smallest female jungle had burns all over her belly, and we were sick with worry. At first I thought that the roughness I could feel as I was handling her was incomplete shed, but as I touched it to have a look she bit me (she's usually quite calm and relaxed). When I got her in the light i noticed she also had red patches on her normally white belly. We took her down to a Reptile Retailer for advice, they put someReptile Healing Aid on her and shared some advice that I would like to pass on incase any of you have had pythons with heat mat burns or own pythons that are heated with heat mats so you could prevent burns.
To prevent heat mat burns we were told to put 4 - 5 layers of newspaper over the heat mat before putting the substrate in the vivarium, so even if they bury down to the heat mat the heat is still disfused by the newspaper. We were also told that some pythons are kept in cages that have no newspaper, gravel or any kind of substrate, and they burn themselves by going in their water bowl then staight on the heat mat OUCH!
We've also been told not to hamdle her until she had shed once or twice, unless it is for the purpose of putting a heal aid on her. Because when she moves while being handled all her scabs would open up time and time again and wouldn't have the chance to heal.
My heart goes out to Sandy's owner and anyone else that has ever lost a pet.
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22-Sep-06, 07:31 PM
|  | Regular Member | Join Date: Sep-04 Location: The far and bewildered mountainside of the strange region of Carpathia Age/Gender: 34  | | | |
If your using heat mats they should be under the enclosure, not inside. They should also be controlled by a thermostat(or similar) or of a low wattage that is safe to use without a thermostat.
Hot rocks are bad. These can cause burns to snake bellies as well, but can also cause the belly skin and the underlying oils to dry up during their milky stage of shedding so that once the skin is shed it ends up pulling the new layer of skin off with it. This can cause severe scarring.
Sitting ontop of wire lightglobe cages is another way of giving a snake burns, mainly because the cages are a small fit over the globe. They really need to be no less than an inch from the globe.
Fortunately snakes are great healers and as long as no dirt/debris gets into the wounds, they can heal brilliantly without the use of any medications. Wounds will clean up with each shed but severe scars will last the rest of the animals life in many cases.
It's always important to remember that snakes bellies aren't sensitive to high temps. They can sit on a hot surface which is burning them and never know it. This is definately something for fledgling keepers to remember.
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Now she moves with a predators guile
Beyond the firelit circle of life
She soothes your cold heart for a while
Then matches its beat, synching in with a knife.
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22-Sep-06, 07:37 PM
|  | Regular Member | Join Date: Sep-06 Location: Wagga Wagga, NSW Age/Gender: 31 | | | |
Hey thanks for the advice guys. I'm looking for my first python now, and all the advice I can get is fantastic!!
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22-Sep-06, 07:52 PM
| | Regular Member | Join Date: Sep-06 Location: Adelaide Gender: | | | |
The heat mat is wired up to a thermostat, but the guy who we're borrowing the enclosure of off said that he used to notice the heat mat got a bit too hot for his liking too. I have only been told to put the heat mats inside the enclosure, we have large timber enclosures with sliding glass doors, but I have heard of putting the heat mats underneath all glass aquarium type set ups.
Thanks for that bit of info about snakes not being able to sense heat very well through their bellies, because i couldn't understand why she would lie there sizzling herself.
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