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I bought an under tank heater a few monoths ago and it has worked fine up until about 2 weeks ago it got so hot that when i put my hand on the glass of the aquirium it even burned me and by the time i realized that it was to late and my pythons stomach was burned about 6 or 7 inches of it. He shed the other day and now the burned area scabed back up but im still really worried. Should i put somthing on the scabs or will it heal up with time.? I took some pictures so if your a snake expert email me at chereetidwell@yahoo.com and ill send them to you. Thanks alot.

2007-12-29 12:19:48 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets Reptiles

thanks for all the answers and snakes are cold blooded... ?

2007-12-29 12:52:51 · update #1

10 answers

All under tank heaters should have a thermostat attached. They can exceed 120 degrees. Now that there are scabs, it's probably not something you're going to want to put ointments on. Keep the snake on paper towel to avoid substrate in the wounds. Keep them clean with a diluted mixture of betadine or chlorhexidine. It might take several sheds before the injury heals. Keep a close eye on the snake to make sure there's no secondary infection. Get a thermostat! If all else fails, a trip to the vet might be in order to make sure that the burns are not too deep. I'll e-mail you for the pictures to see if they look very deep. Burns often look worse than they are.

2007-12-29 12:29:23 · answer #1 · answered by gallianomom2001 7 · 3 1

Galliano breeds a particulary difficult snake to keep, and knows what she's talking about, so if she says not put ointment on it, don't do it.
I had a heat mat get wet once and suddenly become too hot, much hotter than it had ever gotten before. I caught the problem right away and avoided any harm, but sometimes that sort of thing happens.
All the tips about a thermostat or dimmer switch are dead on, as well as the thermometer. If, for whatever reason, you can't get a thermometer, then a good rule of thumb is, if you can't keep the back of your hand or underside of your arm on the heated surface for a minute without recoiling or getting burned, then it's too hot for your snake. As you've now learned, most reptiles aren't smart enough to move when they start getting burned.
Burns on reptiles tend to heal quite well with minimal scaring, providing there is no infection. Keep an eye on the wound and keep the enclosure clean and sanitized until your snake has completely healed. Use distilled white vinigar as a cleaning solvent. Use newspaper or paper towel as a substrate, at least until the scabs have healed. It may take two or three more sheds before your snake looks better, but don't worry, it will heal up.
Good luck with your friend.

2007-12-29 17:32:39 · answer #2 · answered by Angel 4 · 0 0

galliano is right...UTH should NEVER be used without being attached to a thermostat or dimmer switch/rheostat to control temps. A digital probe thermometer placed on the glass surface gives you an accurate temp at all times. These mats get way too hot if not regulated. Make sure you have a thick layer of substrate, like 2 inches of aspen, as a buffer. The snake will burrow to the depth it requires.

In the meantime, diluted betadine is great for washing the wounds daily. Apply neosporin daily as well. If the wounds are that extensive, you really should take him to a vet for antibiotics. Use papertoweling for substrate until completely healed.

2007-12-29 15:05:03 · answer #3 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 1 0

Get a new (better) UTH, and take the snake to a GOOD vet. Not all herp vets are good. My snake keeping friends have all had bad experiences with vets. Anyway, a good UTH will have a thermostat of some sort attached, or one that you can buy seperately and attach to it. And get the lowest wattage that is reccomended of the tank size. Maybe one reccommended for a smaller tank. Like if you have a fifty gallon, get the one reccomended for the forty gallon. I use an 8 watt for my corn's 20 gallon, and that's never caused any problems. Also, you can use some sort of antibiotic cream on your snake's belly. Unscented, b/c snakes HATE perfume of any sort. I've heard that Neosporin works well for snakes....seriously. But double check, I may not be remembering properly. I hope he gets better!

2007-12-30 00:54:15 · answer #4 · answered by snakegrrl 5 · 0 0

yes, take your snake to the vet imediately. place him in a plastic shoe box with paper towels lining the bottom (if possible), that way his burns won't get infected. the next thing to do is to buy a thermostat. i recomend Helix, but if you don't have a lot of money, you can go to your hardware store and buy a lamp dimmer that you can plug the uth into. remember temps should be between 90-95 on the hot side and around 80 on the cool side of your tank. a good way to monitar these temps is to go to wal-mart and buy an accurite thermometer for about 12 dollars. it is tall, and will give you two readings (it has a probe), plus humidity. they're really reliable. good luck with your snake and i hope he heals quickly!

2007-12-29 15:15:52 · answer #5 · answered by trmb12 2 · 0 0

awwwww. so sorry...our heat pad blew up while we were changing our pythons water, but thank god, cuz he was reallllllly hot too....he is ok now. and I don't know about the boo boo on your snake, but if i wouldn't have caught it my snake would have been cooked and i would have been devastated...i think you need to take him to the vet....but my brother is a certified state police k-9 trainer and he said neo sporin will work for most warm blooded creatures...hope he gets well soon all my love, Aunt Johnny

2007-12-29 12:37:44 · answer #6 · answered by johnett 3 · 0 1

aww that sounds nasty. i dont no much about ball pythons but it sounds like you mite need to look on the net for a local snake vet (herpetologist) and it mite b a good plan to have those details to hand!
Hope that helps xxx

2007-12-29 12:30:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

hi there
i would get some sav from a vet ... it will heal in time ... it may take a few sheds but it will heal ... the sav is for a precaution so the snake doesn't get infected...hope this helps...

2007-12-29 12:28:13 · answer #8 · answered by reptiles r us 1 3 · 1 0

i'll just stay away from those i'll just get the heat lamp this time it burned your snake next time it might start a fire i'll just get a temp. controller for it

2007-12-29 20:04:55 · answer #9 · answered by mozark281 3 · 0 0

umm y didnt u set the heater to a certain temp....if it wasnt a heater that u can set dont u wish u spent the extra 10$ on it?

2007-12-29 12:57:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

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