Please forgive me if I repeat a suggestion someone has mentioned- this is a long thread and I’m a little pressed for time so I can’t read it all.
I’ll share some of the info I found when consulting Mader’s 2nd ed. of Reptile Medicine and Surgery, but that isn’t a substitute for a visit with a reptile vet. I do not have the experience to say decisively, but those look like 2nd degree burns, and I know those are extremely painful. Though reptiles tend to heal burns better than mammals in general, 2nd degree burns are still serious.
First degree burns that aren’t super extensive can be treated at home. Second degree burns need veterinary attention, especially because they need pain relief meds. Some treatments that a vet might perform (like wound debridement) should NOT be attempted at home.
After cleaning the wound (I would personally use dilute chlorhexidine), topical treatment I would use is silver sulfadiazine cream. Antibiotics (my guess is injectable ceftazidime) are used to prevent secondary infection. Fluid therapy helps offset fluid loss from the burn. Daily cleansing of the wound is part of facilitating healing, which can take several weeks to months to heal. My guess is that bandages are not used for snakes, but I can’t say that for sure. If they are used, they generally should be changed daily.
If you don’t have the medical training to debride a reptile burn (i.e., if you aren’t a reptile vet), I would recommend against popping any blisters or picking any scabs. I’d also suggest housing with either no substrate or paper towel to minimize risk of infection.
I hope that helps! Sending your baby my best healing vibes!
2nd degree was what i thought as well, so its good to hear another feel the same. I have made no efforts to pop or remove scabs as they are important for protecting against infection, and i am certainly not trained to do so! I know it must be painful for the animal, when i first started treating her a week ago, she would just hiss non-stop the whole time, it appears the pain has died down significantly as i can pick her up amd treat her without her trying to snap at me or hissing. She appears to be reacting well to the cleansing baths, and she is in a no substrate tub with external heat :). I have to pick up the Vetericyn that @ballornothing recommended to try and lessen her pain further and give an additional layer of protection against infection.
Sorry to see this happened. I’m a big fan of regulated heat tape for all my snakes. Radiant heat panels I’ve heard are great in situations requiring more heat.
The only thing I’m a little unsure of in your “hospital setup” is the hide. It appears to be a cut out water bowl with semi sharp edges. Almost all my ball pythons with hides will sort of grab the edge and squeeze themselves in. With those edges not being real smooth I would think it might be harmful to the wound as it enters the hide.
I use these Pangea hides and they are extremely smooth all the way around, including the entrance hole. The plastic they use is smooth and easy to keep clean. I use the small size for babies up to around 300 grams and the medium size for sub adults up to about 1000 grams. One on the cool side, one on the hot side.
Edit Actually, upon further inspection those hides are slightly different than the ones I have. I noticed it says “with texture”. They might not be as smooth as the ones I have. I still think they’d be better than a hand cut hole with semi-sharp edges. These are the ones I actually have but they’re out of stock in medium, they may have stopped producing them in favor of the “with texture” ones. If you want one I’d be happy to send you one though!
I definitely appreciate it. The hides edges arent as sharp as they appear, when i cut it out, i actually did so with a soldering iron and smoothed out the edges by melting any sharp edges away, it certainly isnt as pretty as some, but no risk of cutting the snake or picking off the scabs normally i use corkbark hides, but for her, i wanted to use plastic for more cleanliness
Very good, it’s tough to see the edges in the photos. I just assumed because it was hand made that it was cut. I also use a cheap wal-mart soldering iron all the time but for making nice holes in tubs that need more ventilation. That’s probably the only way I can think of to make a clean hide entrance without sharp edges. Fingers crossed for this little one!
I have high hopes, especially now that i have a good topical treatment besides just diluted betadine baths. And yes, i had made a prototype i tried cutting amd it was sharp as heck xD thats why the second one was melted haha, especially since i have 3 scaleless, so if they need a plastic hide, i need to be sure all of my hides are smooth as they dont have scales to protect them.
Dang, I’m sorry this happened to your girl. Kudos to you, @verinium for posting this. It’s always good to be reminded about safety issues. We all get busy, and there’s a human tendency to assume that conditions or situations which have been safe will continue to be so. Sadly, it ain’t necessarily so. This is s great reminder to recheck setups for safety. Because …
… they can all be like that.
Hope your girl heals quickly and completely.
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Some of my low wattage heat mats struggle to get to ball python temperatures (depending on location temperatures.) you just need to have the lowest that cant quite reach the temps you need (with a thermostat of Corse) and your ceramic will do the rest and give the boost, and the ceramic doesn’t need to get so hot before the thermostat kicks in
I do this except for I do radiant heat panels more expensive but is much better looking
Oh sounds interesting. Are they the flat ceramic plates that have a lower temperature because of the grater surface area or something else? Sorry i was out of the hobby for a few years.
Radiant heat panels are manufactured directional radiating heat sorta similar to heat tape, but incorporating a lens and housing to direct the heat where it is aimed. They are hands down my favorite heat source.
It looks like the textured ones has a slight external texture, but still quite smooth. Should still be easy to clean. My BP hides wherever, but my boa will only use stone/ceramic type hides. He doesn’t even like laying on the Coco block for some reason lol. That said, there’s also fully enclosed hides that are 3D printed on Etsy that may be another alternative. Smooth ABS (PLA isn’t great when heated, tho for BP temps should be fine either way)
From what I have read RHPs are essentially fully enclosed, safe to touch, longer lasting CHEs. I like CHEs when used externally but internally I worry about this exact situation - currently building a 4x2x2 for my boa and bought Steel Mesh that’s similar to the top of an Exo Terra (have to get the right hole pitch, 10 or so is good, and make sure it’s steel mesh as that doesn’t conduct heat) then going to staple and seal it about the exact size of a 2 bulb or maybe a 12inch circle, to still keep in most humidity.
The steel mesh could be wrapped around the bulb cage to help prevent things, or used after using a circle bit to drill a hole for a lamp to sit on, tho I know drilling a hole in a 400$ PVC enclosure prob feelsbadman lol.
The steel mesh is cheap tho and can be very useful for this kind of thing, even setting up more arid species in large plastic tubs, or even getting UVB in a more enclosed one etc. Just a thought, I wish you luck!
Also so glad to see comradery and understanding here int his thread, I see so much “One way is best always in every situation, and if you disagree I have a random article that proves I’m right” elsewhere like Reddit or FB lol
That is a myth. Petroleum jelly is fine for use on minor burns, however should not be applied first as it can hinder the first aid steps of cooling down the area due to its water repelling properties. It is meant to be used as a dressing after the fact, but should be covered in order to prevent contaminents getting in, which in this case is why i chose not to use it because it needs to be changed often to keep it sterile, and i dont have the time to properly change a dressing 3 times a day. Attached are some documentation, one about its use, and the other about the risks of using it as a first aid measure rather than a dressing afterwards. In fact, alot of times the inflamation is actually caused by an alergic reaction to antibiotics in products such as neosporin, and if they had used pure vasoline (petroleum jelly), the issue likely wouldnt have occured.
(The last one is based on a persons hand, but it applies to any with the alergy and many dont realize that the antibiotic ointments are the cause.
Do you have any source for that? Im going off of medlineplus.gov and NIH.gov which are reputable government websites. Im absolutely open to discussion, and if im mistaken, thats fine, but ill need an actual scientific article or some other reputable source of information besides hearsay (I have seen the vaseline myth quite a bit, but have yet to track down any science behind it.) So if you have information i dont, id love to give it a read!
Here is a NHS source as well, so it is UK recommended as well.
I notice you specifically mention open wound, perhaps thats the difference here. The vaseline recomendation on all 3 sites is 1st degree burn, meaning it isnt an open wound, but rather damage to the skin not penetrating through. In my situation the wound is 2nd degree at best, possibly pushing 3rd degree. So in my specific case, vasoline is not recommended.
OK,
no Vaseline on fresh burns for humans or the old idea of butter,that retains the heat and is a bad idea as holding in the heat it will increase the damage.
As for snakes, the risk after the event once cooled, is the oil will be spread to other parts of the snake clogging pours and damaging their natural oils.
Gotcha, ill have to look into that. Ive seen people around saying its bad, but usually the arguement always amounts to “because its a petroleum product” with no real sources or reasons for why that matters. The point if it is to keep the wound moist to expediate healing, as scabbing slows healing down significantly, but if there are better products to the same effect, and studies showing petroleum gel causes issues, that would definitely be good to switch
normally i use corkbark hides, but for her, i wanted to use plastic for more cleanliness