rescue Bp please help (blister like areas)

[liltattyprinces]

Here's the problem i took in a rescue she was kept with other snakes one of which was already given to me a week b4 i took in this one, When she came to us she was covered in bite marks from her head half way down her body from feeding the snakes together, she's approx 1 yr she went into shed and came out looking a little better but still had some problem areas where the bites were the worst, I cheack on her to find she's in shed again but there are a couple blister like spots that have a clear fluid in them i' have just been using polysporin (sp)? on the bad bite areas and applied some on these blister like spots, any advice would be helpful my daughter convinced me to take this one in i wasn't going to, I would just hate it if we lost this sweet little girl she's the sweetest little thing Please help i'm going to make a vet app after she comes out of shed thanks for taking the time to read this :)

[Pixie]

Sounds like blister disease which is caused by too humid and "wet" conditions. It should clear up the next time the snake sheds, until then keep it dry and warm.

Only when you see the next shed coming up, give the snake a humid hide to help it out.

Congrats on taking in a rescue :)

Pixie

[liltattyprinces]

Thanks Pixie, actually quite a few of our snakes are rescues. The temps and humidity are fine cool area is between 74-78 hot side is between 91-94 and the humidity is a constant 50-55% i'm inclined to think it is due to the bites the blisters are in areas where the bites were the worst as there are no probs humidity wise actually if anything keeping humidity up is a problem, She's in a hospital tank just the bare basics(disposable hides and water dish). I'm going to pick up some betadine (sp?) today and apply that to the affected areas. My daughter actually has been the one treating her with my help, she's doing an excellent job with her 1st rescue i'm just terribly worried about this little snake and would hate for my daughter to loose her 1st rescue that she has taken on.

[Pixie]

Sounds like you're doing everything perfect to rehabilitate your snake. I'm sure it'll be in tip top shape in no time!

Blisters can happen fairly quickly and from my experience were due to conditions that were too wet. It doesn't have to be a very long exposure: i.e. snake tiping it's water dish and making it soggy for a while.

I would guess that the bite marks and scars are making the skin more vulnerable to the blisters.

Great work with the rescuing and teaching your daughter to follow in your footsteps :thumbsup:

Pixie

[liltattyprinces]

Pixie, The problem is that i use dishes that they cannot tip over for that exact reason, i don't want to have to contend with soggy substrate so there have been no incidents of that that's why i'm inclined to think that it is not blister disease, i'm at a loss here as to what is going on, I'm more inclined to think that it could be due to infection due to the bites and poor husbandry proir to comming to us.

[stkkts]

Just had a similar experience with a coastal....well, minus the bites. She had 2 areas that had small blisters under the skin. I kept her very dry, didnt offer any humidity when she went into shed, and when she came out, she was perfect. On the bite marks, the betadine is a good idea. I would give the blisters time to heal on their own. I didnt offer any humidity when the animal went into shed, because I would have preffered assisting her with a bad shed, and drying her off thoroughly following it, than keeping her humidity up, and risking the blisters not healing. Fortunately the shed was complete and perfect.

Good luck!

[Corey Woods]

Do the blisters have clear liquid in them almost like water? If so I've noticed those are caused when you remove ticks and the blisters develop about a month after removing the ticks where they were attached. I've attribited this to trauma to the skin where the ticks were dug in and ripped out. If the snake didn't have ticks then the same thing could happen if there was trauma to the skin (from bite marks). If the blisters are filled with clear fluid run your thumb over them to pop them............they will be gone after a few sheds.

Corey
PS If the blisters are filled with clear fluid they aren't blister disease (which are blisters on the belly filled with black fluid and black scales that almost look like they've been burn on a BBQ)......So, keep your humidity up and keep him warm if it isn't blister disease.

[liltattyprinces]

Corey, to my knowlege she had no ticks but you never know, as i said she's a rescue. so god only knows m,I was told no but i find in dealing with rescues half of what your told is BS, and the rest you take with a grain of salt, This was not done through a rescue group ppl just hear about us through a friend of a friend and tend to dump their unwanted and mistreated pets here.

This is deffinatly not blister diease it is clear watery like fluid that easily is poped by running my thumb across it. Is it ok to use the betadine on these areas as well i hope so as i have been doing so.
Thank you everyone for you help and responses :)

Laura-Lee L

[stkkts]

nooooo dont pop them!!! It is most likely blisters disease. My coastal just go over this (she got it from the conditions the breeder kept her in) The fluid is clear. And while talking to a very respected breeder (Will Leary), he told me to definately not pop them. The fluid is acidic to already formed scales. There were 2 spots. One was not popped, one was, and the scales looked rotted in that area.

http://home.comcast.net/~udasco/scalerot5.jpg
this is what it looked like when it popped on its own.

following the shed it looked like this:
http://www.moreliapythons.com/gallery/data/500/219shed1.jpg

see the black burn like circle to the right of her head? thats the one that popped. Its should clear up fine for the next shed. But the one that I didnt pop, it healed perfectly this shed. Please dont pop anymore. And you dont need to apply any betadine or neosporin. Just keep the animal dry, the substrate dry (paper towels or news print will be best for now) and it will heal on its own.

[Corey Woods]

I brought in 13 WC balls years ago......All had ticks and all had atleast 15 blisters on them......I popped every one of them without problems and without any marks on them after they shed (they looked perfect after they shed). You don't need to use betadine/polysporin on the areas....but you can if you want to (it won't hurt and if their is any bacteria their those will clean it up).

Good luck,
Corey

[Syco]

I don't have any advice on the blisters, I just wanted to say "good luck" with your new BP! Why do people want to get these animals just to mistreat them? :mad:

[liltattyprinces]

Thanks for everyone's help she's out of shed and looks great except for a bit of scarring in the areas that were really bitten up but refuses to eat now, ahhh well gotta love your bp's eh?. Again thanks for all the advice guys i really appericate it.
Laura-Lee l