Please help :(

[Atticus23]

So my poor little ball python Atticus is sick. He has gotten a red belly twice (not anything to do with shedding both times) and I took him to the vet. we got antibiotics, everything seemed to clear up and go away until the other night I took him out and his belly was the reddest I have seen it yet. Not bright red but pretty dark pinkish orange almost. He also has not been eating which he is always very picky about and never eats during the winter but I still felt it was too early to start those shenanigans yet so I kept trying and he kept refusing. I took him to the vet the other day and they did a blood test and culture on him, bloodwork came back fine and i have to wait a week to find out the results of the culture but she said she pulled out stuff from his lungs during the test so there is definitely something going on in his lungs. He is breathing fine normally but when irritated lately which he never gets irritated but during the vet visit and the car ride there he would do an occasional hiss or maybe wheez. it sounds like a sigh out of your nose almost like hes like UGHHHH this again. anyway she told me to try to feed him again this week so i did and beautifully he ate finally but before feeding i noticed a weird scale. never seen anything like this on him before and it looked like trapped dirt under the scale but looking closer the scale looks weak and soft and under it looks freshly pink. I am really hoping this is not scale rot on top of something going on with his lungs and that its just dirt stuck under there or something. I am so paranoid right now because I don't want him going through all of this and I feel like it is my fault. I keep all the temps right and the humidity as high as I can and the vet says they are all perfect. I also have two hides and lots of plants, a big water bowl thats always fresh and i spot clean and do big cleans often. the only thing i worry about its when i spray a lot to get humidity up that it gets trapped and the substrate stays too wet for too long. the vet suggested i change to the soft carpet as substrate to avoid this so i did and i am hoping that helps. I really hope i did not bring this sickness on him and i am devastated that he is in discomfort and I am hoping this scale will not be something else that will lead to more sickness. Please let me know if anyone knows what this scale could be or if it has anything to do with his lungs. his color looks a bit off right now i think because he is sick but anyway i just desperately want to help him. I am calling the vet in the morning as well but i was hoping for some info tonight on this from anyone who is experienced. its the same picture just zoomed in, it is only one scale. thank you!

[Kibbleswhites]

I think you are over thinking this. The poor guy ate and seems to be getting better. He looks like he is in shed and has quite a bit of other stressful situations to deal with. I would leave him be, total darkness without touching him at all until he sheds then reevaluate. Remember, stress is just as deadly to most reptiles, birds, and even some mammals as infection.

[Atticus23]

Thank you for calming me a bit. this whole situation has been incredibly stressful on me. I love him so much it is just hard to handle but I am doing everything i can to make sure i get him help. I am leaving him in darkness to rest I just wanted to try to feed him which thankfully worked so he will be left alone again now for a good while. I don't intend to cause any extra stress on him I would hate to do that I just snapped a quick picture to be sure because I know you guys are full of good info. Thank you for reassuring me, I really hope everything is ok with him and i will leave him be to rest and recover.

[I-KandyReptiles]

If his belly is turning red, it's probably a burn (if its not before a shed).

What are you using to heat his enclosure?

If it's a UTH, it needs to be hooked up to a thermostat.

It's a good sign that he's eating though and that your vet is actually doing a culture.


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[Atticus23]

I am using a heat emitter on the top of the tank. I have an undertank heater but I usually never use it because the emitter seems to be enough so it can't be a burn on the belly. Plus she confirmed that the red belly was due to whatever is going on in the lungs. I just am nervous about this scale I saw since it looked weak and was peeling off from one corner it seemed.

[purple python]

First off, as already commented, stop bothering him. Too much stress and and messing with him could make things a lot worse, leave him be for a while. From the pictures he looks like he is going into the shedding process. Keep an eye out for other signs he could be shedding. The scale looks okay to me - my snakes will sometimes have a weird random scale here and there.

My thoughts are that your humidity could be too high, too much moisture can cause irritation and I've seen it in the past with my snakes. If he is sitting on wet substrate all the time there is a risk of scale rot developing. I try to keep my humidity right around 60%, only bumping it up higher for shedding and females sitting on eggs. I use cypress mulch and it retains moisture well and I usually don't have big fluctuations in humidity and I don't have to spray all the time.

Belly heat is better for ball pythons and I would say use the UTH over the emitter. Check your hot spot. Is your heating hooked up to a thermostat? Can you accurately tell the temperature of the hot spot? A temp gun is a great tool to have if you don't already. Keep a hotspot of 88-90F and the enclosure should also be large enough for him to move between temperature gradients.

As far as hissing goes - my snakes do it all the time, at random and thats just fine. I have one female in particular that is always a chatter box. If he's not wheezing or drooling or having difficulty breathing, I wouldn't worry.

Keep us posted on his condition.

[Atticus23]

I had already mentioned I am not taking him out just to hang out and be annoying. I took him out one time because the vet told me to not because I just felt like it. She said he had to eat and to try to feed him. I have not touched him since then or before then so I am not doing anything to bother him except for what the vet asked me to do once. I have a several digital thermometers in the tank and I am able to control the temp of the emitter with a gauge. Temps are all right humidity is only about 55 right now but I am not using the substrate I was before that got wet which became the concern to me about his scales. Hopefully it's just a weird scale and it will get better soon.