Need help python may be sick!

butters5620 · 02-26-09, 09:23 PM

Hi I really need some help and if nobody can help me i'll see if there is someone a little more knowledgeable about ball pythons. I've read the forums and haven't really found any helpful information. Ok so here's the problem. These pockets of blood (not dark but pinkish, sometimes darker than others) and clear liquid have appeared on my ball python. They're in the middle of him and are about 8 cm long on either side. They have been there for a few weeks and I'm afraid that they haven't gotten much smaller. He cringes when I touch them (he's actually always been a little sensitive to touching lol) so I'm not sure if that's pain or fear. He's a little shorter than 2 feet now and probably isn't even a year old (still a little baby haha). He still poops and eats but i'm worried about the little guy and I really hope somebody has some information on what I should do about these bubbles under his skin. thank you

P.S. These bubbles kind of make him look fat I will try and see if I can post a picture if people need some more info like that to help me

Kmef07 · 02-28-09, 12:16 AM

ya post some pics because i have no idea what you are talking about. i'm kinda new to snakes to i have no idea on that one. but hopefully someone will know. everyone will want you to post pics before they try and give advice though cuz no one will want to misdiagnose it.

Smilts · 02-28-09, 12:26 AM

It may be what they call scale rot but pictures as mentioned would help alot.

butters5620 · 02-28-09, 01:45 AM

well i've done some research and found that it is most likely Blister Disease. They say to take him to a knowledgeable vet (none in my area unfortunately) or place in betadine solution in early stages. I just tried to feed him and he snatched the mouse up right away as if he hadn't eaten in forever! i guess thats a good sign. I might try the Betadine tomorrow but he's still active and hopefully he will fully digest the mouse. As long as his behaviour doesn't change I think he's on the road to recovery. Also I completely cleaned his cage with nature based cleaning product and hot water so it's cleaner than it will ever be! if anybody can lend some helpful tips that would be great. I really dont wanna do the whole vet thing because that would probably stress him out to death! well i guess i'll just keep you all posted then. let ya know if things get better or worse

Chu'Wuti · 02-28-09, 10:08 AM

Also
1) tell us about how you have his enclosure set up, e.g., type & location of heat & light devices, humidity, temps, substrate.
2) tell us about his behavior--what does he spend most of his time doing? Does he soak in his bowl a lot? Does he spend a lot of time in certain areas of the enclosure? If so, what are they (the hot zone, basking spot, etc.)
3) How often do you clean the enclosure?
4) Can you see any mites on him (look like specks of black pepper or tiny black seeds) or of small dark spots between his scales (esp. look at the scales on his lighter areas)?
5) When was the last time he shed? Was it a complete shed, or did it come off in pieces?

butters5620 · 02-28-09, 12:16 PM

I have a glass reptile cage with a bowl of water in one corner and a rough stick in the middle and a little rock hut in the other corner with a heating pad under that part of the cage. the cage is lined with about an inch thick of aspen. I keep my room at around 75 degrees and i'm not sure about humidity. When I bought him the animal store told my to just buy a spray bottle and wet down the cage with it if he starts to shed. As for his behaviour, he spends most of his time sitting in his rock hut over his heating pad (which i recently just laid a thin cloth upon in case it was a little too warm). when he wants to be off the pad, he either sits behind the rock, on his rock, or on his stick. he 'does his business near the water bowl most of the time but i did find a poop hidden inside his rock house a couple days ago when i cleaned his cage (bad news). I try to clean the closure about once a month and pick up any excrement or skin I find lying around. He doesn't soak in his bowl too much that I've seen except for when he sheds. There aren't any mites on him (thank god) and that was the first thing I looked for. he last shed about 3 weeks ago and it seems nearly every time, he sheds in peices. My spray bottle broke last time he shed so I had to help him peel (I think it might've been too dry?). I'll probably need your help on the shedding because the pet store obviously doesnt know what they're doing. If there is anything wrong with the enclosure for my ball python, please let me know so I can get it fixed as soon as possible. Also any other helpful tips will do. And thats the low down on my bp. thanks for posting Chu'Wuti and plz reply soon

PS. I fed him last night and he is fully digesting properly. He doesnt seem to be malnourished or dehydrated so thats a good sign!

butters5620 · 02-28-09, 01:58 PM

But ya i'm pretty sure it's blister disease but he seems fine right now so I dont want to take him to the vet or pop the blisters (bad idea) or anything and stress him out to death. It seems like stress is what kills a lot of reptiles when they get sick so hopefully you guys will have some simple ways for me to help get my little ball python through this okay. thanks and keep posting any help you may have for me.
Also, i'm going to try and post some pictures today if I can find the camera so keep checking back!

Chu'Wuti · 02-28-09, 02:21 PM

I'm glad to hear he's still eating--that's great! Let's see what we can do to resolve the other problem so you can stop worrying about him and relax & enjoy him.

Go get a hygrometer to measure the humidity in your enclosure. You need to maintain about 60-65% humidity when your BP is NOT in shed, and up it to 85%-100% when he is in shed (one of the breeders on here always increases his BPs' humidity to 100%). That will help with the shedding problems. Spraying is a difficult and problematic method of maintaining adequate humidity; it is likely your humidity is fluctuating too much. Incomplete sheds (shedding in pieces) is a sign of inadequate humidity 99%+ of the time.

When you say his hide (rock hut) is over the heating pad, what kind of heating pad do you mean? Is it a UTH? (under the tank heater) and is the only thing between him and the heating pad that cloth you put down?

Put a thermometer right on the floor of his hide on the heating pad and find out the temps--measure several times over the day & record all the temps, as they may be fluctuating (some heating pads do not maintain even temps, others do--it depends upon the brand/quality you have). It's entirely possible that he got burned, and that would explain the oozing blood. It could take awhile to heal.

BPs need three temperature zone and more than one hide. You should have a cool/warm/hot range, with the hot between 90-95 deg F and the warm about 85 deg F; don't let the cool drop below 80. Put one hide in the warm zone & one in the hot zone at least so your BP can regulate his temperature by moving when he needs to do so.

If you can, it's best to get digital hygrometers & thermometers; you especially need thermometers measuring temps in the three zones at the level your BP lives. Those strip thermometers that stick on the glass are not at all helpful, as they only tell you what the glass temp is where the thermo-strip is stuck--not what the temp is where your BP is.

If the heating pad is getting too hot, the first thing you'll need to do is either turn it down--if that's possible--or 1) buy a better heat source that can be set at 90 deg and no more, or 2) buy a rheostat so you can regulate the heat better.

Second, there are differing opinions about treating wounds on snakes. I'm going to tell you what the authors (Rossi & Rossi) of "What's Wrong with My Snake?" suggest, but others on here may disagree, so you will have to think about our suggestions and decide what's best for you to try.

Rossi & Rossi suggest getting topical ointments, either Polysporin, Silvadene Cream (1%), or povidone iodine ointment such as Betadine, to treat the wounds. I personally would avoid the iodine, as some reptiles react badly to iodine. Rossi & Rossi suggest applying the ointment each day for several weeks to a month. They also suggest a povidine iodine solution for 30 minutes per day prior to applying the ointment, but again, I question that tactic due to the possibility of problems with iodine. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any more recent texts offering "doctoring" advice for snake owners.

Rossi & Rossi also note that burns heal slowly, and that it may take several sheds before the signs of the wounds disappear entirely. However, you should see the raw/oozing areas healing more and more with each shed.

Good luck--and fill us in on what you learn about your temps & humidity, especially in regards to that heating pad, so we can be sure we're addressing the real problem and not off on a wild goose chase!

Hang in there!

butters5620 · 02-28-09, 03:11 PM

hey thanks so much for your help. tonight I will probably go get a hygrometer and such and tomorrow I will measure the temps. I have 2 ZooMed UTH's. I keep the big one under his hide and haven't found a use for the small one yet. I put the UTH under the tank with the glass bottom above the heater, then a peice of folded paper towel above that in the cage, and top it all off with about 1/2 inch to an inch of aspen bedding. the paper towel idea is new (it just used to be insulated with aspen) and he is already starting to spend more time inside the hide. Most of the time he lays next to his hut because it might've been too hot inside. That extra layer of paper towel seems to help a bunch. I looked on his underside today and noticed pinkish lines that looked like dried blood where it oozed out. And do you know where I can buy this Polysporin or Silvadene Creme? I have no idea what those are haha. What brands should I look for? I think my heating pads run a constant temperature I can't change the heat either. and will the hygrometer automatically change the humidity to what i set it at? or does it just measure the humidity? Just keep me posted on these questions and once I buy all the stuff and make him comfortable I'll let you know how he's doing. thanks again!

Kmef07 · 02-28-09, 06:35 PM

they hygrometer just measures the humidity. if you have a screen top on your aquarium you will probably need to cover it with a damp towel or cling wrap so you can keep your humidity high enough. for example my house is only at abour 25% humidity in fluctuates in the summer because where i live the weather is crazy and always changing but you will need to increase you humidity. it probably just isn't humid enough and is too dry.

butters5620 · 02-28-09, 07:02 PM

Ya I have a screen top. how do I increase or decrease the humidity in the tank? is there something you could buy to do that automatically or do you just spray water?

Chu'Wuti · 02-28-09, 08:46 PM

As Kyle suggested, you can cover part of the screen with plastic wrap or a damp towel (get a bath towel, soak it in water, then wring out & put it across the screen) to help maintain a higher humidity. Don't cover the whole top, because there won't be enough air circulation, and that could make things worse. Try about half. Put another bowl of water in if you can, under a light. Also, when you go to buy a hygrometer, buy some sphagnum moss. When you get home, soak a couple of handfuls of the moss in warm water, then squeeze out most of the water (the moss should only be damp, not dripping, so squeeze a lot of water out). Then put the moss on top of the aspen bedding or whatever is in the hide to increase the moisture in the hide.

As you're in Idaho, your house humidity is probably running pretty low. As Kyle points out, household humidity runs especially low in the winter because your furnace dries everything out.

Some people use misters (automatic misting systems) in their herp enclosures. What kind of enclosure are you using? If you're using an aquarium-type tank, it's harder to maintain humidity unless you do the covered top, bowls, etc. For example, I'm using an aquarium type tank myself, but I don't have to do the covered top & spraying because I have a naturalistic enclosure--I have soil & plants to help maintain humidity. You can definitely increase the humidity with more water, the damp moss, and spraying more often; it's just a lot of work. You might want to look into other options. A lot of people use Rubbermaid tubs because it's easier to maintain humidity. Another option is a specially built reptile enclosure.

I was hoping Aaron or Mykee or Julian would jump in on this discussion by now; I may go ask them to check on this & make their suggestions because they have a lot more BP experience than I do and know how to keep their snakes healthy enough to avoid vet visits, which are really stressful for the snake & risky if the vet isn't herp-certified.

As for the polysporin, it's an antibiotic salve you can buy at Target or Wal-Mart or a local drugstore. Any pharmacist can tell you what to find. But before you go off and buy that, post some photos--you can upload to photobucket.com and post from there by copying & pasting the forum link they provide--so we can see what's going on and make a better judgment, OK? I'll get Aaron & the others to check on this thread.

Chu'Wuti · 02-28-09, 09:14 PM

BTW, I've been operating on the assumption that the problem is caused by burns (based on the hide over heater & shedding problem indicating low humidity). However, if the problem is blister disease, then you have very damp conditions--the aspen bedding would be wet all the time, and the snake should not have had difficulty shedding. IMHO, the shed problem and the causes of blister disease are incompatible. That's why I want some other people to come check this out before we go any further with treatment for the wounds.

Hang in there--I PM'd three other guys who are really knowledgeable, so we should have some more suggestions & info soon.

But please DO go ahead and post photos ASAP, OK?

citysnakes · 02-28-09, 10:55 PM

can you post pictures please?

butters5620 · 03-01-09, 01:21 AM

Hey it's about midnight right now in Idaho. I'm sorry I wasn't able to take any photos today. My dad had the camera at his shop. I will try and go pick it up in the morning and get pictures posted ASAP. I'm extremely glad to hear it can't be blister disease (even though I wish it wasn't burns either haha just wish nothing was wrong). But as soon as I get those pictures posted and more help starts coming in I'm going to make a list of things I will need to purchase to help my snake get through this and prevent this in the future. You are all tons of help and hopefully my dad and I won't need to spend too much money! I'm also going to post pictures of my enclosure along with pictures of the snake so you can help me turn the cage into a home. It isnt the biggest cage as you will probably see and there isnt a ton of room to work with. So keep a watchful eye on this thread for those pictures and once again, thanks for all your really useful help!