A buddy of mine sent me this picture of his ball python. He said he soaked the snake in warm water and tried to rub off the skin a few times and it won’t come off. Is this stuck shed or something else.
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Looks like scabbing from a burn to me.
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He was on belly heat before he got him. The enclosure he’s in now is a standard aquarium pretty tall with a heat lamp.
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It looks like a scrape or burn
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It does look kinda thick, it may be more then one shed cycle that is stuck. I hope @noodlehaus or @chesterhf is not right about it being a burn or scrape! you better ask and make sure it’s not or else a vet may need to treat it, if it is. If it’s just stuck shed then there are a couple of methods: Warm water soaks help, I like to include some bunched up paper towel for them to contact as well. Remember it should be shallow not deep enough for the snake to submerge fully in. Some put the snake in a wet snake bag/pillow case(something breathable)with damp paper towels or moss in a warm not hot area of the enclosure for a some hours. Then hopefully if will have come off on its own, if you need to try to help, rubbing doesn’t work as well as gently pulling from the head towards the tail. Only help if it is loose and starting to come off, you don’t want to hurt the snake, damage any scales or make it worse. Good luck helping, it’s a pretty ball python!
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I’m gonna agree with noodlehaus and chester hf, it looks like a burn or a rash. Could benefit from a vet visit to make sure it is healing ok or won’t get worse.
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Thank you all for the advice. I copied the messages and sent them to him. He’s gonna try the pillowcase idea and if that doesn’t work vet trip is in order.
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From zooming in, it looks like stuck shed, possibly many, many times.
I would definitely soak in warm water for 30 min, every other day. Each time gently try rubbing it off with either your hand or a wet towl. A vet visit might help just to see if they have any other methods of removing it. If anything is still on come next shed, I would make sure to crank up the humidity during the shed cycle in hopes it comes off with the new shed.
Do you know what the temps and humidity are, or the last few shed and if it was complet?
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Honestly to me, it looks like a burn by the way the skin looks cracked.
Your friend needs to make sure that the heat lamp is not in an area where the snake can try and wedge up against the lid or near the bulb. And make sure the temps are correct. Belly heat is just so much easier to maintain for a ball python, especially if the tank is taller. A taller tank needs a stronger bulb to have the heat penetrate to where the snake is.
The snake should also be kept on clean paper towels as well until this is figured out. If it is a burn you don’t want debris and bedding getting under the skin and into the wound. They need to continue on soaks and look into either a local reptile vet or at the very least, silver sulfadiazine cream if the area begins to slough off.
If this is a burn, what will most likely happen is the area may start to crack more and lift, but the snake will start to go into a shed cycle within a week or so. When the shed happens, that whole bit of skin on the back will come off revealing the wound underneath.
Regardless, I would soak the snake once daily in the hope that this is stuck shed and will come off after maybe a trip through a damp towel after. But if it does become a wound, until a vet can see them, continue soaking the snake daily. After the soak, fresh silversulfa cream. Don’t leave a water dish just in case the snake tries to soak itself and gets the medicine in the water. then the next day, have them gently rinse the cream of carefully wipe the area clean with gauze before letting them soak in clean water. They’ll drink if they need to there as well. Then follow up with another layer of cream on the now cleaned wound.
It takes a long time to heal. I really hope that I’m wrong and it’s just stuck shed.
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Do you know if there was a heat rock in the snake’s previous tank? That would explain a burn if in fact that’s what it is. If a wound is involved down the road, the snake should be given antibiotics by a reputable reptile vet………
If…….
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I’m more worried that they tried to climb up near an unregulated heat bulb, especially with the majority of this being on the back and not the belly…
Still possible if the snake was wedged between the rock and a corner, but I’ve seen snakes wedge into the corners on screen cages and hurt themselves before. ;n;
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Looks like layers of stuck shed.
Had this before when I got a snake from someone 
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Reach out to your friend see if there is anyway it is a burn from the light. Also some more pics of the snake and affected area and information on the cage like temps and humidity would be helpful.
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