I do actually have the electrolyte powder I use for my lizards… good idea. Can I mix the betadine with it or no?
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Nope, you actually want to do this one separately.
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Great thank you.
Last question I promise: how often would you suggest betadine soaks? I know daily is probably best, but for the stress factor is it worth risking?
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Do what is comfortable for him. Obviously daily is ideal, but you have to weigh whether or not the stress is negatively impacting his comfort and healing. If he is less stressed with every 2-3 or so, do that. You could also do something like 10 minutes electrolyte soak followed by betadine to compact those into one 20 minute treatment so you’re not having to switch off those as well.
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Thank you for all your advice. Much appreciated. Really hope it’s nothing serious but I’ll keep doing my best and seeing the vet as well. I guess this is how we learn
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Believe me, you’re not alone with the panic every time something is off. Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been keeping, if you care about your animals you’ll start worrying and going to all the worst case scenarios in your head. With time you learn how to stress a little less, but it never really goes away. That just shows how much you love and care for your snakes!
Waldo is in great hands, you’re doing everything right, sometimes things just don’t resolve immediately. Keep reminding yourself that, you’ll get through this and he’ll be back to giving you a little game of “Where’s Waldo?” every day in his regular enclosure soon enough. 
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Hey @sydneygeorge Sydney! Any update on Waldo’s scales? I was just wondering if he was showing any improvement or if he has eaten for you? 
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Hey! Unfortunately no he still hasn’t ate anything. At his last vet appointment they did bloodwork and the only thing “abnormal” they could find was the white blood cell was in the high end of normal. So not even technically elevated but that was the only thing they could find. They told me if he doesn’t eat by next week to come back and we will do more testing. He hasn’t ate or shed. We need him to shed so we can see if his scales are healing (since they are already damaged we don’t know if he is technically healing or not)
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Dang, I’m sorry to hear that Waldo hasn’t shed our eaten yet. @sydneygeorge, how is his weight doing? Snakes can go for weeks or even months without feeding (always astonishes me, but true) without that being a problem in itself. It sounds like he’s in a bit of a biological feedback loop. He may not want to eat because he needs to shed, while at the same time more food in his system would help towards shedding.
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His weight is staying about the same, not anything drastic at least dropping wise. I’ve taken him to multiple vets at this point and the one at at now is one of the best in my state (came very recommended) and even he is scratching his head. I’m kinda at a loss since meds haven’t worked, bloodwork is fine, and everything else seems fine other than his scale issue.
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I also don’t want to force feed. I have very mixed feelings about it in general but in this case I really don’t think it would benefit anything
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Well I am glad that the vet did the bloodwork because the high white blood cell count could possibly be the start of something down the road. That plus the fact that he still doesn’t want to eat and seems to not be able to shed all together probably does have the vet stumped. I am glad he/she is going to keep an eye on Mr Waldo!
If the vet didn’t mention to force feed if Waldo doesn’t eat on his own, I definitely wouldn’t especially since he has not lost any weight. Waldo doesn’t need to be regurgitating unwanted indigestible food.
There definitely is a reason why Waldo has not shed in such a long time and to me the poop looks suspicious that you posted. I think it was @solarserpents Olivia mentioned that it looked like an indication of digestive issues.
Definitely keep us updated on Waldo! I surely hope you get an answer soon. Keep positive thoughts Sydney! 
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Thank you! My vet is supposed to call me tomorrow with the next plan of action. I’m thinking he might want to do another round of antibiotics, he thought the cell count might be “high” because the meds were actually working and he could be coming down now off something. But it’s just going to take a lot of waiting and patience to see.
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Also @sydneygeorge Sydney I am glad that the bloodwork didn’t stress Waldo out too much. Especially since something possibly suspicious down the road as the white blood cell count showed up so the vet can keep it in mind…
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Ok. I suppose my previous post/comment is really not pertinent then……
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I wouldn’t worry too much about the white count, if it’s higher but in normal range, it’s likely an indication of inflammation or a minor infection, which could still be his body healing from the previous issues. Your vet is likely on the right track with a possible second round of antibiotics, just in case. One of the things with any reptile is that they take longer to heal, which can be incredibly frustrating when you just want some indication they’re getting better. Sometimes the best treatment is time.
As @caryl mentioned, snakes can go off food for a while with no ill effects, and so long as you’re not seeing any significant weight loss or other symptoms, I would try not to stress too much. I’ve currently got a Japanese rat snake who is on day 87 of not eating, with no ill effects. He’s kind of a jerk, does this about once a year and still stresses the heck out of me every time even though he’s still in great body condition and active.
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Thank you for the reassurance, yes I’ve been weighing him weekly and the last weigh in he may have only lost a gram so nothing worrying. I’ve also seen him drinking water quite a few times so that gives me hope. My vet told me to take him out of the quarantine setup for now and back into his bioactive tank just to help stress levels go down so he can possibly kick this sooner.
I’ve had snakes go on hunger strikes before so I’m not new to that. Even though I always worry every time it happens.
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Sounds like you’ve got yourself a good vet, I totally agree with them that back in his original enclosure could be just what he needs right now. No one ever gets used to the hunger strike, and they’re so much more concerning when coupled with other issues like your boy’s scale problems. Hopefully he’s just being a stinker and when he’s feeling tip top he’ll take a meal. I know I still lose my mind a little when I go to feed Roo and he still refuses, no matter what tricks I’ve used, despite knowing he does this and he will eat again at some point. 
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So possibly good news, Waldo took a pinkie today! I offered two and he ate one and I’ll take it! He normally eats fuzzies but I offered a smaller prey item and he actually ate one! So I’m hoping this is a good sign
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That’s great to hear! With luck this is the start of him eating regularly again.
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