My adult BP finished shedding 4 days ago. While in shed he always stays in his hide box so I won't see him for over a week. As usual, after his shed he was cranky for the first 2 days. Typically after 24-48 hours he goes right back to being a total sweetheart.

On the third day after his shed, I noticed some strange behaviour from him. He was acting aggressive and downright angry- he was making "darting" type movements in a similar manor to "hunting mode". I figured, "hey, we all have bad days" and decided to give him some space. Today is the fourth day after his shed and his bad attitude continues, so I've started to worry. I decided to take him out of his tank and inspect him to try to figure out what's wrong. I noticed that his vent appeared red, so I quickly grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. While taking pictures, he opened his vent slightly and I realized it looks much worse than I initially thought.

While taking these photos I fully expected him to strike me, fortunately he did not, but he was in his striking position virtually the entire time. He was NOT pleased that I was touching him, or even near him. I literally had to use a towel to get him back in his tank. I thought covering his head would be the easiest for both of us, though I feel extremely guilty for upsetting him so much. He is typically SO tame, so I am wondering if his new found aggression is caused by being in pain.










I should also mention that 1 month ago I took him to a vet to get a "physical" and also to have his feces tested for parasites. One of the first things my vet did was probe him (at my request) as the vet visit continued, I realized just how inexperienced she was. She seemed to lack basic snake knowledge. Now I'm wondering if it's possible she damaged him while probing him. I am extremely new to snakes (got my BP in august) so I don't know if the probing could be a culprit, but it is the first thing I thought of.

I have double checked the stats of his tank, everything appears normal. Ambient air temp is 81F, hot side belly heat is 91F, humidity is around 50%.

Also, he peed both solid and liquid right after his shed, it appeared very yellow (no blood) but I thought perhaps he hadn't been drinking much water during his shed, thus causing his pee to be so yellow. He hasn't pooped for 1 month, but I'm not extremely surprised because he chose to fast for over 2 weeks after his vet appointment. Typically I feed him every seven days, he refused two meals in a row, but has since started eating again.

Sorry to make such a long post, but I am really worried about him. The thought that he could be in pain is very upsetting.

I would appreciate any thoughts/ideas as to why his vent would look this way. I do not have a day off from work until Monday to take him to a vet (I found a much better one than the one who probed him) however, I might end up taking a morning off from work if he does not show immediate improvement.