Umbilical Area/Belly Button Not Healed

I have a 5 day old ball python whose umbilical area/belly button is not healed over and closed. The yolk sac was absorbed within the first 24 hours or so. Most hatchings that I have seen are pretty much closed soon after the yolk sac is absorbed into the body. The area doesn't look too bad, the snake is active when handled, weight is 71g, and appears in normal condition for a 5 day old ball python.

I was wondering if I should treat this is some way or just leave it alone. I am keeping this snake in a heated shoebox rack on clean wet paper towels. I have attached a picture (hopefully it's attached).

Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

I would suggest keeping the umbilical area clean with neosporin or bactroban. It is an unusual sight as I have not seen it before. Keep its paper towels clean and I would suggest keeping the towels dry, with the neosporin it will be moist enough and keep from being infected. Clean the area and apply the neosporin, do it at least twice a day. The area should heal in quickly, when it shed it may bleed, use a little preasure on the area to stop the bleeding, then continue the neosporin until it scabs over or closes. Good luck and let us know how it does. That is what I would do personally, hopefully someone has delt with this before and can give you better advice.

Wow, we were not alone.

This season we hatched 2 tiny babies that had not absorbed all the yolk and had umbilical openings almost an inch long. One was from a half slug egg and hatched at 16 grams and the second hatched at 40 grams. It was very sad to put them down (both beautiful little pastel girls) but we had them in the freezer just minutes from hatching.

Your animal seems to be in a lot better shape than ours and we wish you the best of luck.

P.S. we have no idea why this happened to our 2 girls.

Could that be an umbillical hernia? I've never heard of it with reptiles, but it seems a lot like those that I've seen in puppies and birds. I really don't know the symptoms and causes, but I hope he gets better!

by any chance, was there a section of the umbilicus that did not immediately detach? I have seen similar things when a piece of the "cord" dries and is removed traumatically (either by somebody pulling it, or it getting caught on something). Regardless, keep it on SLIGHTLY damp paper towels...start with dry, and just let a tiny bit spill when you place in the water bowl. As for the ointments, I'm not a huge fan - petroleum based products will cause a lot of scale shedding (this makes a darned mess) and will tend to make foreign matter cling to the area (not a big deal on clean paper towels, but when it defecates...). If you do opt to use it, LIGHTLY swab the spot 1-2 times daily for no more than 3 days, then leave it alone. keep an eye on it... any signs of drainage, or redness of the surrounding area (or a change in color of the affected area) - have it checked by a vet

Awww, poor baby...I hope for your sake he gets better. =(

Only thing I can suggest, is if it does't clear up soon you might want to get him checked by a vet. I do hope some of the other members suggestions help you out though.

Good luck with him!

The area appears to be healing. As suggested, I treated the area with Neosporin once a day for three days and just lightly misted the sides of the tub with water. I'll stop misting after the first shed but for now I think the extra humidity is needed.

Attached is a new picture.

It's looking good. Thanks for the update, I had been wondering

Looks well on the way to recovery. Good work.

Looks very good, keep it up, hey that little snake has an Outie for a belly button