Meet Sugar Cane!

[MdngtRain]

I finally got pics of my male coastal carpet python.  He is about to shed, and has some dirt stuck in his mouth in these pics.  He is also battling a bacterial infection that came off with the shed right after I took these pics of him.  Hopefully, he is able to remain healthy and get back his appetite.

[bad-one]

He is a super pretty boy! 


How'd he get that infection though?

[MdngtRain]

I am not sure if he had lost his appetite and got the infection, or got it then lost his appetite.  I keep bleaching his cage and decor, but he seems to get re-infected, so I am wondering if there is something I am missing... maybe when I take him out to stretch he picks something up around the house.  None of my other animals have that problem, so I'm not really sure.  The infection generally lasts only a week, as I treat it with betadine when I see it flare up (only happened 2 times so far).   It's always under his chin...  My vet is out of ideas too... could the dogs bring in something from outside that gets to him?  He's been wormed and treated for the original infection with antibiotics.
Looking again at the pics, I'm wondering if it's the plant in there... he loves to curl up in it.  I washed it off with mild soap, and bleached the outside of the pot, but didn't even think of the soil.... stupid me.  I will be removing it and re-cleaning his cage when I get home today.

[bad-one]

That's really wierd! I don't think your dog could bring anything into the house that would do this.

I'd suggest taking out all the plants/decor/substrate and putting him on only newspaper/ papertowels  with a plastic hide (for easy cleaning) and just keep it as sterile in there as possible for the time being. Whipe the affected area with betadine/peroxide and then apply a triple antibiotic or neosporin w/o pain reliefe once or twice a day. Maybe see if that helps 

Also, it wouldn't be a bad a idea to seek out another vet for a second opinion at this point. I think you could even get a culture/biopsy done on his chin to see what exactly is affecting the scales.