Help blood blisters on my ball python

[Marvin]

We just got back from a week vacation and we have found that our 1 year old ball python has blood blisters all over his underbelly. It is also starting on his side. I want to know if any one has experienced this and if so what is it. Also what can I do to treat it. I think his breathing is also a little heavy but I can't be sure.

[DaemoNox]

Can you describe his setup and husbandry? Remember we can give advice but in most cased its best to get a vet checkup.

[Aaron_S]

As DaemoNox says, it's better if we get some information regarding the husbandry and setup. I am thinking it's scalerot, but we can't say for sure until we get some answers.

[gonesnakee]

Its scale rot. Scale rot is usually caused by a couple of things both husbandry related. Too wet or damp of conditions cause it & unsanitary conditions cause it. Substrate such as that coconut crap & dirt like crap are usually to blame for it or just plain old lack of cleaning on your part (not to say thats what caused it). Snake could have been lying in its poop or urine all week while you were gone? Who knows for sure. Right away you want to gut & clean the entire enclosure. Set it up nice & sterile with papertowel as substrate (keep it dry) & a nice big bowl of clean water at all times. You want to get some betadine (its a red fluid like iodine) try pharmacys or you may need to get it from a vet. You use it in water (diluted) a little shot of it enough to give the water a little color & give the snake a bath in it to clean its "wounds" every day. Don't let the snake drink it & make sure you KNOW the temp of the "bath water". "Luke warm" is TOO HOT BTW! You want the water to be around 80-85F which is slightly cool to the touch. Remember we as humans are almost 100F so anything warm at all to the touch is in excess of 100F (TOO HOT!). Keeping it super clean & bathing it like this should clear it up depending on how bad it is already. You will also want to get some polysporin & use it on the infected areas after they have been cleaned in the bath. If it doesn't start to look better right away a trip to the vet for antibiotics is in order FOR SURE! Scale rot is a skin infection & if left unchecked it spreads REALLY QUICKLY & can be fatal if not dealt with ASAP. Look how fast it happened over the period of 1 week ;) Anyway nice & clean & if it doesn't start to look better after a day or 2 of the above get in to a vet pronto for meds or it will not clear up as it is a bacterial infection. Good Luck Mark
P.S. google scale rot for more tips & info about it or run a search on this & other reptile sites

[gonesnakee]

Also it could be a burn. Check any UTH to make sure they are not malfuctioning. Treatment would be the same as above, Mark