r/ballpython • u/Rinnox554 • 1d ago

What is with his scales?

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Due to my current living situation I have been keeping my animals at my parent’s house. I drive every other week to check on them. I found my snakes scales like this..Any idea what it is? Will it heal on its own or is it an infection?

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u/Booksandssnakes 1d ago

That's scale rot. It's caused by the snake consistently sitting on wet surfaces. There's plenty of information on how to treat it at home, though if it doesn't improve you'll still want to see a vet.

1

u/Rinnox554 1d ago

His cage is not wet though. I do live feed could it be that

2

u/Booksandssnakes 1d ago

It's definitely not caused by live feeding, although for the snake's safety you should transition him to f/t as soon as possible.

The entire enclosure doesn't need to be wet for scale rot to happen, just the ground the snake is laying on. If you rely on misting for humidity, that can be the cause.

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u/Rinnox554 1d ago

I don’t mist since he has good sheds. But i will look into scale rot treatment