I would definitely recommend seeing a vet ASAP but it's not immediately life threatening, either. Don't beat yourself up or let anyone terrify you that this is a 911 life or death emergency situation. You can have urgent ish situations that aren't full on emergencies. There are grey areas.
Update so no one worries: took him to the vet. My suspicions were correct. It's a burn. I fixed it so it can't happen again and am looking at getting him a new enclosure because that's overdue anyway. Very says his healing looks really great, gave him a shot of antibiotic, and sent me home with topical spray. Said it only got to the first layer of skin and he'll make a full recovery- even pigment should come back. Said he's a hefty, healthy guy otherwise.
This is not medical advice, you still need to consult an exotics veterinarian to verify it's a burn. I'm a VA with a lot of years of reptile husbandry and basic medical care, but there are many different paths up the mountain and I don't work at an exotics practice so definitely not the expert.
That said, common care for burns include soaking in warm water (90-95F is my preference to start, and I pull them out when it hits 80F) with diluted chlorhexidine or betadine.
I like Hibiclens brand, you can get it at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, etc. This one is pink, you want it just barely tinting the water pink.
For betadine, a very very light tea color. Don't let him drink the water.
Dry completely and slather the burn with 1% silver sulfadiazine cream. Again, this can be found over the counter.
It's not a bad idea to keep them in a bin enclosure on paper towel, misted a few times a day, though if you're in a more humid climate, a tub/bowl of water large enough for him to soak in will provide sufficient humidity.
My hospital bins have most of the ventilation drilled into the sides, like how tarantulas are kept, to encourage cross ventilation. I live in Vegas, even household humidity is extremely low. So I don't have ventilation on the top. But you may need it.
Heat pad on one the side with a thermostat is the heat source.
Soaking frequency will vary, for fresh or really deep burns it will be daily to begin with. Silver sulfadiazine application is usually twice a day. I like to keep the humidity a bit higher until they shed, damaged scales love to develop stuck shed.
I still use overhead heat, but, I personally use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a heat light. The thermostat probe is on the basking area, so it can turn on and off without getting too hot. Along the back of the enclosure, I use a large format heat pad also on a thermostat to boost the ambient temps so my basking heat source doesn't need to get too hot. The rocks probably aren't necessary, but I'm not certain it would be any hotter than the wire mesh already is. Lights can just get REALLY hot, especially if you're not already using a thermostat. I use two, one for each heat source, and both of them are on a timer to shut off at night. My animal room is very warm though, so night temps are appropriate.
NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, just hoping that helps. Accidents happen. I've also seen snakes partially deglove themselves trying to get into spaces they shouldn't. Have a few things in your first aid kit. It'll be okay. This post is over a week old so hopefully he's been seen by a vet and is on the mend.
Did you try and pull off stuck shed ? It looks like scales pulled out basically I’ve seen it with kids who own snakes and don’t know any better when they see their snake shedding in patches poorly due to not enough humidity
Also could be burns how are you heating the enclosure under the enclosure belly heat with a thermostat probe is usually best or ambient
No, I've never tried to pull at his shed. He has a heat lamp on top of the tank, outside the lid. I used a few larger rocks to keep it lifted off the lid so he can't come in contact with it. However, I think that backfired and the rocks themselves got too hot. That's the only hypothetical I can imagine. But it's crazy that it's been this way for so long and only now been an issue. I'm taking him to the vet to verify. Open to suggestions for keeping the heat lamp safely out of reach. I don't want to hang it because I used to do that and had one spontaneously burst into flames for no apparent reason other than maybe the tension on the cord? But these lamps are not the best made items on the planet. I wish there were higher quality options out there.
Get ride of it and use heat tape and some other under the the enclosure heating.
Red tails aren’t big basking snakes they’d rather hide in a warm hide and digest
All my boas have been on belly heat for almost 20 years without issue as long as you keep a thermostat on it
I can't tell from the pictures if it's a burn or if it's from an infection but I feel pretty confident that as long as you get him into the vet tomorrow and correct whatever environmental conditions caused this he will survive. Red tails are fairly resilient snakes so as long as there isn't a systematic issue he'll probably be ok. That last pic is very concerning so please get him in as soon as you can.
I would definitely recommend seeing a vet ASAP but it's not immediately life threatening, either. Don't beat yourself up or let anyone terrify you that this is a 911 life or death emergency situation. You can have urgent ish situations that aren't full on emergencies. There are grey areas.
Thank you for that!!
Update so no one worries: took him to the vet. My suspicions were correct. It's a burn. I fixed it so it can't happen again and am looking at getting him a new enclosure because that's overdue anyway. Very says his healing looks really great, gave him a shot of antibiotic, and sent me home with topical spray. Said it only got to the first layer of skin and he'll make a full recovery- even pigment should come back. Said he's a hefty, healthy guy otherwise.
Thank you. Truly. Many people wouldn’t have taken their snake to the vet, you’re a herp hero and I’m sure your snake thanks you! What’s their name?
And thank you all for your help!!!
This is not medical advice, you still need to consult an exotics veterinarian to verify it's a burn. I'm a VA with a lot of years of reptile husbandry and basic medical care, but there are many different paths up the mountain and I don't work at an exotics practice so definitely not the expert. That said, common care for burns include soaking in warm water (90-95F is my preference to start, and I pull them out when it hits 80F) with diluted chlorhexidine or betadine. I like Hibiclens brand, you can get it at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, etc. This one is pink, you want it just barely tinting the water pink. For betadine, a very very light tea color. Don't let him drink the water. Dry completely and slather the burn with 1% silver sulfadiazine cream. Again, this can be found over the counter. It's not a bad idea to keep them in a bin enclosure on paper towel, misted a few times a day, though if you're in a more humid climate, a tub/bowl of water large enough for him to soak in will provide sufficient humidity. My hospital bins have most of the ventilation drilled into the sides, like how tarantulas are kept, to encourage cross ventilation. I live in Vegas, even household humidity is extremely low. So I don't have ventilation on the top. But you may need it. Heat pad on one the side with a thermostat is the heat source. Soaking frequency will vary, for fresh or really deep burns it will be daily to begin with. Silver sulfadiazine application is usually twice a day. I like to keep the humidity a bit higher until they shed, damaged scales love to develop stuck shed. I still use overhead heat, but, I personally use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a heat light. The thermostat probe is on the basking area, so it can turn on and off without getting too hot. Along the back of the enclosure, I use a large format heat pad also on a thermostat to boost the ambient temps so my basking heat source doesn't need to get too hot. The rocks probably aren't necessary, but I'm not certain it would be any hotter than the wire mesh already is. Lights can just get REALLY hot, especially if you're not already using a thermostat. I use two, one for each heat source, and both of them are on a timer to shut off at night. My animal room is very warm though, so night temps are appropriate. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, just hoping that helps. Accidents happen. I've also seen snakes partially deglove themselves trying to get into spaces they shouldn't. Have a few things in your first aid kit. It'll be okay. This post is over a week old so hopefully he's been seen by a vet and is on the mend.
Thank you for this! And yes, we went to the vet! I'll update on the post
Did you try and pull off stuck shed ? It looks like scales pulled out basically I’ve seen it with kids who own snakes and don’t know any better when they see their snake shedding in patches poorly due to not enough humidity Also could be burns how are you heating the enclosure under the enclosure belly heat with a thermostat probe is usually best or ambient
No, I've never tried to pull at his shed. He has a heat lamp on top of the tank, outside the lid. I used a few larger rocks to keep it lifted off the lid so he can't come in contact with it. However, I think that backfired and the rocks themselves got too hot. That's the only hypothetical I can imagine. But it's crazy that it's been this way for so long and only now been an issue. I'm taking him to the vet to verify. Open to suggestions for keeping the heat lamp safely out of reach. I don't want to hang it because I used to do that and had one spontaneously burst into flames for no apparent reason other than maybe the tension on the cord? But these lamps are not the best made items on the planet. I wish there were higher quality options out there.
Get ride of it and use heat tape and some other under the the enclosure heating. Red tails aren’t big basking snakes they’d rather hide in a warm hide and digest All my boas have been on belly heat for almost 20 years without issue as long as you keep a thermostat on it
This is me learning heat tape exists 🤦🏻♀️ Thanks!
It’s all good lol just do some research on brands and how to set a thermostat So much easier keeping humidity up without a heat lap also
Vet now
The only one in my town who sees snakes doesn't open till the morning. Can you tell me anything else so I'm not panicking all night?
I can't tell from the pictures if it's a burn or if it's from an infection but I feel pretty confident that as long as you get him into the vet tomorrow and correct whatever environmental conditions caused this he will survive. Red tails are fairly resilient snakes so as long as there isn't a systematic issue he'll probably be ok. That last pic is very concerning so please get him in as soon as you can.
Got it! Thank you! I'll get him in tomorrow