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l3atman

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hey everyone,
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was just holding my snake and have noticed a few little dots on the edges of her belly scales, just curious to know if anybody knows what they are...
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sorry this is the best picture i have the other one wont load
 

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Don't think it's mites because they are more a brown colour and appear to be marks on the scales not bugs, it could be her just her pattern but I've never noticed it bbefore is there anything else it could be? Or should I would be worried?
 
I have had a similar thing
3aa80f88-585f-77c9.jpg
if you look at his scale I did it removing him from a perch it shed away after next shed. So don't stress see if it disappear after a shed.


Cheers Brenton
 
Yeah i think it's just her colouring/pattern i wouldn't worry what type of snake do you have there? :)
 
thank you for the replies, she is an olive python, umm she has a heat cord under tiles and under newspaper and artificial grass which is monitored by a thermostat...
she also has a red light in a lighting cage and a uv above the tank, the lighting cage might get hot but it is only on during the day and have never seen her up their during the day...
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the only thing i was really worried about was scale rot but when i read up on that and look at the photos it doesn't really look like that...
she shed a few weeks ago, i cant remember if id noticed it before then, but she will probably shed again in a few more weeks so i will have another look at it then
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im pretty sure it is nothing major, probably nothing at all, just like to make sure my snakes are healthy
 
not sure if im game to test that one lol, her tank is clean as a whistle though, and she smells clean so i dont think it is that...
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what i did put in her tank recently was a new hide, made from a hanging pot plant lining turned upside down, not sure if anyone knows what im talking about, but essentially it is dried up plant bedding all stuck together to form a basket, do you think this would have anything to do with it
 
Olive pythons don't usually have spots like that on their belly scales. If these have only just turned up, then I would say it the beginning of an infection. Perhaps scale rot, or perhaps tiny burns from sitting on a hot surface (a tile with heat cord under it)?
 
Olive pythons don't usually have spots like that on their belly scales. If these have only just turned up, then I would say it the beginning of an infection. Perhaps scale rot, or perhaps tiny burns from sitting on a hot surface (a tile with heat cord under it)?

the heat cord is set up, with a thin piece of ply wood on the bottom, a layer of tiles above that, the heat cord is then stuck to those, another layer of tiles over the top of the heat cord, these tiles are then covered in newspaper and the artificial grass is placed on top of that, the thermostat keeps the temperature at 31 degrees, if it was burns i would think they would be more uniform across her body, these marks are only appearing in a small section of her body maybe 20 to 30 cm
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i think the beginning of an infection sounds more likely, i read up on scale rot, and it says it is contracted from unclean conditions, and high humidity with low temperatures, non of which she has her tank is always clean and she has reasonably low humidity and the temps remain fairly constant, with a slight drop during the night...
if it is the beginning of an infection, what would you recommend i do, pop in to the vet and get it checked out? or just monitor it?
 
Just monitor it. You'll know more after it sheds. But also rectifiy the problem if you can find it. A vet can't really do much for you, except tell you to pump it full of anti-biotics that it deosn't really need. A snake can heal from even the worst case of scale rot without the help off anti-biotics and ointments.

You say you use artificial grass. Well, unfortunately, that stuff harbours a lot of bacteria if not washed regularly. So if your snake spends a lot of time sitting on it, then chances are it's getting bacteria under the belly scales. A lot of times when someones snake gets scale rot, they are keeping it on artificial grass. For now, I recommend newspaper and a warm surface, and also keep the water bowl away from heat sources.

Also, it's important to point out that snakes can burn/damage themselves much more easily during their milky stage of shedding, if they spend a lot of time sitting on a warm surface. They are quite insensitive to heat on their bellies. The heat tends to dry out the shedding oils pre-maturely, and when they shed they end up pulling the new layer of skin off with the old. This can lead to significant scarring.
 
I agree with Serpenttongue in that it looks like necrotic dermatitis to me.
 
thanks for the great reply
ive taken the newspaper out and will give the grass the washing of a life time before i even think about putting it back in
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is there any i should do to help clear it up
 
You can't clear it up. You can only wait for the snake to shed. When this happens, it will either be gone, or be a little worse. But with each shed it will clear by itself (as long as the cage is clean and the temps are optimal.
 
You could bathe the snake in Hibertane.

You could bathe the snake in Hibertane solution.
 
okay, great thanks for all the help,
as soon as i cleaned the tank she decided to go to the bathroom which was really really great, so now im going to clean it all again...
temps are optimal, and what i will do is just monitor her over her next shed, if it clears then i will leave her, but if i notice it getting worse, then i will bathe her in Bibertane solution
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thanks again
 
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