Scale rot healed, now she's/he's turning yellow!

[karmella]

I changed the bedding to aspen. I installed a heater below her glass tank so the base/bedding is warmed as well as night time heat from above. Her scale rot has healed completely and her belly is completely smooth and shiny, except evenly turning yellowish. She refuses to eat and sits in odd looking positions and rarely moves. She does drink. Do you know what the yellow is about? She's an orange snake and she's only about 15 years old and not 18 or 19 like I previously stated.

[AliCat37]

Are your heating devices regulated??

[karmella]

Yes. The heater is directly below her favourite cave and the heat lamp is directly above (as always) and it seems that the aspen in her cave gets moved around so that when she's curled up in the cave she's laying directly on the warm glass and parts of her belly are exposed to daylight where the aspen has been moved (no where near sunlight).

When she had scale rot, there was a different bedding in there so I removed it and replaced with aspen... could there be something in the aspen that changes her colour?

[AliCat37]

Okay, but are they regulated? Is your UTH on a thermostat and the light on a dimmer? Honestly you only need the UTH

[karmella]

the heater under tank is always set to the same temp and the above heat lamp is a red light which I just turn on at night and off during the day. I don't check the temp regularly but it doesn't fluctuate that much.

[smigon]

You don't need a heat lamp, it is actually doing more damage than good. Corns come out at night because it IS night and there is no light! A heat lamp can dry the air out so much that your snake may have a bad shed. You say you have a UTH but you still haven't answered Michelle's question of "do you have a thermostat?"!

You say you don't check the temperature regularly and it doesn't fluctuate much, but you need the thermostat to ensure it doesn't fluctuate at all!

What is the temperature on the warm side of the viv, on top of the glass directly over the UTH but under the substrate? How are you gauging it?

[karmella]

I've had the above heat lamp her entire life and she's NEVER had a bad shed. I feel the bottom glass in her cave to make sure it's not too warm. I don't have a thermostat in her tank, I never have. I just keep the source of heat at the same all the time.

[Doggey75]

I see no problem with the heat lamp because I use one too. But having an unregulated UTH is very dangerous. Even if it doesn't feel hot to you. It can be very hot to the snake.

[karmella]

It anything it's too cool because when I touch it, the air is a bit warmer than it. There's no way it's too warm.

[karmella]

the temp in her favourite cave directly above the heater and under the light is 25'C (the air, not the glass, which seems cool to the touch)

[AliCat37]

You can't say that it's too cool, your body temperature is much warmer than what your corn should ever be. You need to get both a digital thermometer with a probe and a thermostat. The yellowing if the scales, to me, sounds very much like minor burns. That is why I brought it up.

[karmella]

I used an instant read thermometer from my kitchen and touched the glass with it and it was 30'c... from what I've read, it shouldn't be more than 29... that glass felt cool to me! I'm sorry I didn't check it earlier... I'll let you know in a couple days the result. Thanks for the help.

[smigon]

So what were the results?

[karmella]

She is still very inactive, such as almost motionless unless I encourage her to move around. She hasn't eaten since after the healing of the scale rot (a couple months). I haven't taken her out to see exactly how yellow she is now, but it does appear that the yellow has mellowed. Could she be going through hibernation??

[Nanci]

She might just be nearing the end of her life expectancy. It's a range, not a set number, and some people unfortunately have to be on the lower end. I hope it's not that.

[karmella]

She is old and I don't know exactly how a snake dies from old age, but I'll find out. She's had a very healthy life up until the last 4 months. I'll keep this post updated.

[karmella]

Very sad to say but Karmella died last night. She was a kind snake, didn't complain much, kept to herself mostly. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have bought her since for many years I've felt guilty for having her, she belongs in the wild to live her life like it was intended. She's slithering free now. Rest in peace my Karm, the past 15 years have been a pleasure. Now, can someone tell me what I'm suppose to do with a 5foot dead snake in the middle of winter?

[Spencer]

I'm sorry for your loss.
I assume burial.

.from dust to dust.

[karmella]

I'm actually looking to see if I can donate her body to a highschool biology class today. She hadn't eaten for a few months so I wonder if she died from old age or from some sort of blockage that prevented her from eating (doubt it, but I don't know). I'm almost certain it was old age based on the facts.

[Spencer]

Well to be honest, no ones dies from old age....they die from complications related to old age.old age is the dumbed down version

[karmella]

I'd really like to find out what those complications were, but I'll probably never know. I did try to get her out of this slump that she was in for about 4 months, and at one point after a shed she ate and seemed back to her old self, but not for long.

[Nanci]

That seems to be how older snakes go, though. They just slow down and pass without much fuss. I'm sorry for your loss. If it makes you feel any better, she had a nice, stress-free life with you. In the wild, her chances of surviving even one year are very slim, and then she would have predators, parasites- heat, cold- even the stress of reproduction. With you, she had nothing to worry about for many, many years. The fact that she lived so long is testament to your good care.

[karmella]

Thanks, that was nice to say.

[smigon]

Oh, I am so sorry for your loss. You did right by her, let her live a great life uncomplicated by living in the wild and providing her with a happy, healthy safe life.

[vetusvates]

Haven't thought of that lately.

If old age killed,.......Methuselah must have been a pretty fast sprinter until his 969th year.