Help pls..advice on unknown injury or infection on my darwin..

[simonandtoni]

Good Afternoon All,I'd really appreciate some assistance on this one.My darwin girl has has her first ever bad shed just over a week ago, at which time I soaked her in a warm bath for approx 20 minutes and then gently removed the problem skin.A day after, I noticed a couple of lifted scales and that she had also moved through a fresh defecation, so I removed her and cleaned her with warm, wet paper towel.We've been away for a couple of days and I pulled her out to check her again and she has what looks like an infection - I have attached a couple of pics.I think that maybe she's picked up some nasties after the bad shed & moving through a pile of poo and she now has an infection as she's a little pink around the area under the scales also. (see pics)There is a very small amount of clear discharge coming from the area.There are no heating or lamp issues in her enclosure where she could have been injured/burnt.I'm pretty keen to wipe her down with a betadine solution and if it gets worse in the next 24-48 hrs, I'll vet her.Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Cyann]

im no expert but may it be scale rot???

 

[simonandtoni]

update

unsure....has anyone used betadine on their reps for infections?apply directly or dilute?

 

[Sarah11]

yeh betadines ok but keeps a close eye on your snake till it dries. i have used it undiluted. be careful about how often you apply it because it can slow down new tissue growth. however if i were u id get that checked out as it might b more than just an infection.

 

[CamdeJong]

The discharge makes it likely to be an infection as you said, I've used betadine undiluted with wild snakes, just lightly douse the area and surrounding scales once, maybe twice a day. If you notice it getting any worse or the pink colour and discharge not clearing up within a day or two get her to a vet, and give her a fair bit of warmth (with a lamp preferable rather than a mat) to facilitate the healing process.

 

[simonandtoni]

I really appreciate the info.
Since putting Betadine on her last night and again this morn, I do not think she has improved at all, so I have applied a thin layer of chlorohexidine surgical scrub at 40g/l (or 4%) to the area.
I also have her booked in at the Nicklin Way Vet Surgery with the herp specialist at 6:30 this evening.
I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Ramsayi]

Tail tip also looks a bit wrong.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Tail tip also looks a bit wrong.

That too. It looks like scale-rot to me - a bacterial infection frequently caused by damp substrate. Apart from when you apply medication, keep the area as dry as possible. Remove waterbowls, and offer water only once or twice a week for an hour or so.

Jamie

 

[Cockney_Red]

Dont look like scale rot, unless you hadn't noticed the blisters that preceded....get to a "rep" vet asap, could be an impact injury...hope I'm wrong.

 

[simonandtoni]

4 Ramsayi - her tail is ok, the shed came off cleanly when I soaked her, but it does look a bit funny in the pics.
4 Cockney - I use butchers paper as substrate and it's changed nearly every day.
i did not see any blisters prior to the bad shed & if it was an impact injury, it would only be in one place, but she has the same lesion a little further up and has lost a couple of scales today.
off to vet in 45 minutes.....

 

[Darlyn]

Good luck, keep us informed.

 

[simonandtoni]

Update: I took her to Nicklin Way Vet Surgery, Warana and consulted with Dr Doug Gray and Sam, a UK vet nurse who has a particular interest in reptiles. They were sensational. She has a nasty bacterial infection that has spread further than the original pics show. She's had a shot of Baytril antibiotic and will have the same every two days for at least a week. I am also applying Flamazine (silver sulphide) cream once daily as well as cleaning her with a 1:20 solution of Chlorhexidine surgical scrub (4% or 40g/ltr) I purchased from a chemist. It most certainly looks as though a bad shed and then covering herself in her own poo has planted the bacteria and I assure you, it has spread very quickly and I am most pleased I took her to the vet at the very the first opportunity. I've had a couple of requests for updates, so will do so over the coming week with her progress. Might sound like small prob to some, but this snake is a part of our family and (fortunately?) this is the first serious bacterial infection we have had to deal with. I hope that this thread may assist others, just as other people and similar threads have kindly assisted me.

Update - she is looking much better this morning. It seems the infection has been halted and it is not as inflamed as last night. just washed her in the chlorhexidine mix and worked the solution gently into the infected areas. Silver cream again tonite and back for second injection tomorrow. It was startling just how quickly the infection spread and how aggresive it was. hopefully, she's on the mend.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Mmmm... that's very interesting. Quite unusual in my experience for a contact infection like that to develop in a snake. The skin must have been broken during the bad shed to allow the infection in. Do you know if, during the blue (milky) phase, the old skin may have been torn and allowed infective material to contact the developing skin underneath. That's the only circumstance where I've seen infection result like this.

Snake skin is usually very resistant to pathogens like this unless there was a break in it. Could the snake have snagged it on something when trying to shed, especially as it was having difficulty this time?

Good news that it's on the mend, and nice to see Chlorhexidine being used instead of Betadine - it's a very effective disinfectant and far less irritating to the animal.

Jamie

 

[Wookie]

unsure....has anyone used betadine on their reps for infections?apply directly or dilute?

Betadine is a great antiseptic. Undilute is best, keep away from eyes, nose and mouth however. Clorhexidine is even better though .

 

[simonandtoni]

Hi Jamie,
She rarely shows any signs of shed prior to throwing her skin - no milky eyes or even discolouration anywhere, so other than by knowing when she should shed by dates and watching her behaviour, I never really know excatly when she's due.
I was away for a couple of days prior to this shed, so I did not see any damage to her and she certainly did not have any marks, scratches etc before I left as she is out and handled regularly (every couple of days other than after a feed)

This was, however, her first ever bad shed and it was messy - bits and pieces all over the place, so it's not unlikely that she may have rubbed herself too hard against one of the branches in her enclosure, although there are not too many 'edges' in there (see pics in my profile page of their enclosure)

She shed overnight and looked good the night prior, so if she had injured herself, I would say that it was in the night trying to get it off.
When I soaked her the next day and removed the rest of it (at least 1/3rd of her skin) I did see a small patch of roughened or abnormal scales on the side of her stomach.
The next day, she pooed in her hide and it went all over her, including that damaged area and when I cleaned her, I just simply could not get it all out from between/under her scales.

I have just returned from the vet and she's had another injection and will again on Saturday.
The infected area, which became quite significant very quickly, is now dry, has no discharge and has improved dramatically.

She's just had another chlorhexidine wash and is tucked away in her hide.


Simon

thanks Wookie, the infection appeared to respond very quickly once I used the chlorhexidine wash...

 

[benjaffa]

do you know what dosage the baytril is ??

 

[simonandtoni]

do you know what dosage the baytril is ??

it's a 50ml injection on the p/work but it'd be 0.5ml I'd reckon by the amount in the syringe.
will confirm if you like.

 

[Fantazmic]

Tel me how is she going with having the washes and cream on......I bet it's a two person job lol

 

[simonandtoni]

Tel me how is she going with having the washes and cream on......I bet it's a two person job lol

she's such an excellent handler and despite her size, I can wash her and apply the cream on my own.
I just have a large tub and put her in, lift her gently and as she comes up out of the tub naturally, I just apply everything to her exposed belly and it's all happy days.
No stress, no struggling - all good..
Mind you, my 6 yr old boy insisted on helping tonight and we just finished applying the cream and put her back in. he's a good lad....

 

[Raina]

it's a 50ml injection on the p/work but it'd be 0.5ml I'd reckon by the amount in the syringe.
will confirm if you like.

Baytril 2.5 % Injectable solution: 0.2 ml per 1 kg sc once daily. 0.2 ml is equivalent to 5 mg enrofloxacin. It comes in a 50ml bottle. Invoices can be confusing, it just means that they removed 0.5ml from a 50ml bottle for the injection, as your snake must weigh approximately 2.5kg. Hope this helps anyone using injectable baytril at home. Please note, however, that baytril injectable comes in 2.5%, 5% and 10%. So please please please ensure you're using the correct strength.


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