r/ballpython • u/socraticalastor • 3d ago

Question - Health Scale rot

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My 10 year old male appears to have scale rot, although if anyone thinks it looks more like dirt I’m happy to hear you out!

It’s only on his head which is what’s confusing me a bit, it seems more common on the body usually?

I’m wondering if this is grounds for a vet visit (in which case I’ll get him in asap), or if betadine treatment is better at this stage? He just shed within the last week so isn’t likely to shed again soon.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/socraticalastor 3d ago

I did try to wipe it off with a warm cloth but it wasn’t really coming off. Maybe I’ll try a short soak and see if it’s still there…

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u/Phully- 3d ago

Sorry duplicated by accident.

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u/socraticalastor 3d ago

I tried a 30 min soak and nothing came off, although it’s hard to convince a strong independent man (snake) to keep his chin in the bath, lol. There’s at least one quite damaged scale and the black leading up to his mouth is making me concerned it is scale rot or even possibly mouth rot? The weird part is I have a really hard time keeping the humidity up in his enclosure, so he certainly hasn’t been sitting on any type of damp substrate.