Burmese/Sir Lanka

Question
about 3 years ago I took in 2 Burmese pythons so I thought..turns out I have a Sir Lanka Python. These snakes were in horrible condition..Kept locked in a tank with a blanket and no water or heat..they both had badly bent scales and the one in question was and is extremely aggressive. Turns out it's his breeds nature. (so i was told) Now the problem is I got them both looking great..(although the Burmese seems to always have one eye cap never fall when he sheds) But out of no where (3 years mind you) my Sir Lanka has what I first thought was scale rot..(no change in habitat to cause it) I replaced aspen with newspaper and smaller water dish..It seemed to be getting better. I just checked him and he still looks pretty bad. One small section of his under belly is discolored and flaky, (i would say about 6 in. he's around 7ft)right about half way down his body the top side is extremely dry and unfinished shed. He also seems really skinny. I worry we aren't feeding him enough.. I feed all my snakes from every 20 days to once a month. I read somewhere his heating pad may be the issue, but he's had the same one since I got him, with no previous issue's. I am going to buy the bath treatment and ointment tomorrow, but I want to make sure this couldn't be something else.. He doesn't seem to be in any pain. I just cant get past it being scale rot, yet I'm keeping his tank dryer then ever and it seems to be irritating his top side. This is also ONLY on the lower half of his body. His behavior has not changed. He may be extremely aggressive, but he's my baby and only I can handle him without being bit. Any info or advice would be much appreciated. ( his last shed was almost 4 months ago..very odd for him) thanx in advance :)

Answer
Hi Stepanie,
    Good question with a lot of info. It is obvious that you really have your stuff together. It sounds like you are doing all the right things. I would keep it dry in there. Get some triple antibiotic ointment and put it both areas. Neosporin is the brand name, but walmart brand equate works just as well and is 1/2 the price. If it gets worse, go see a vet. If you want to be super aggressive, get some lincomycin from a farm store and inject at a 1ml per 60 lbs ratio. a good way to weigh the snake is to weigh yourself and then weigh again with the snake around your neck. The injection should be just under the skin, then rubbed in a bit. I have found that this works quite well as a cure-all for almost any type of infection that a snake may get. IF you go this rout, make sure that this is just under the skin. Any deeper and you can hit a lung or other organ.