I need help!

[Elvyra's Keeper]

I just got my first pet snake almost a month ago now. She is a BP, and she almost four months old. When I got her I noticed that she had a scale that was tinted yellow and a little damged. I didn't think anything about it because I assumed she just hurt it and it scared. About three days ago I noticed that some more scales were turning yellow and it's really bad under her head. I know she is beginning to shed because she is dull and her eyes are blue right now, so at first I thought it was because of that, but it was really worrying me so I got online and was looking up all of the snake illnesses and found that it is most likely scale rot and I have been washing her in a 50/50 solution of peroxide and water and rubing neosporin without painkiller on her scales. I also replaced her beding with papertowels and I keep it dry. But then i noticed when I'm messing with her she weezes a little, so I believe she also has the beggings of an RI. I'm worried because she is shedding, and I read you shouldn't mess with them until they are done with that, and I can't get her to soak at all. Since I have had her, I haven't seen her get in her bowel, and it is quite large enough for her. Also, when i was checking her yesterday, I found a tick on her, and I found that really strange because for the four years I have lived here, I have never seen a tick on any of my pets or myself. If anyone has any ideas on what I should do, please let me know.

[frankykeno]

Hmmm ticks? Where'd you get this snake? Pet store? You're a new keeper with a snake with ticks and a nasty belly and what may well be the start of an RI (or one it has been brewing all along). None of them are good, all three together are definitely not good.

Since this snake obviously came to you with the beginnings of this belly issue and with ticks and either has had or now has an RI you need to be calling a herp vet and getting an appointment set up. Have you contacted the place you bought it from about these issues? It isn't really something you likely can or should be messing with without vet intervention.

In the meantime what temps are you keeping this snake at? Humidity? Tank setup? Pics are helpful if you can post some. If you need help locating a vet in your area that sees snakes, just let us know.

[Patrick Long]

maybe it was a mite not a tick. i dont know what to say about the scales besides try to see a vet as soon as you can. if the snake is weezing, its prolly not a good sign. make her soak. take her out carefully and place her in warm water dont rely on her to do it. i hope this helps.

[Blu Mongoose]

Sounds like an RI coming on amongst other things. Looks like a vet visit is in order. It's impossible to do a proper diagnosis on line.

Best bet is to find a herp vet in your area and get a visit. That way the vet can take care of what the existing problems are and also check for internal parasites.

It also helps to get to know a good herp vet for future problems that can crop up.

[Elvyra's Keeper]

I have a large water bowel for her inside the cage, a log hide and a climbing branch. I keep the temps at 80-85 in the day and 70-75 at night. (that's what the book I got from the pet store said to kepp it at) When I got her, I asked about humidity and they said don't worry about it. I realy have no idea how to deal with that. I'll put some pics of the scales up later. There is no puss or blisters, it's just dry and lightly tinted. Also there is no saliva or mucus from her mouth and she only weezes when she is stressed.

[Patrick Long]

well average temp should be around 90. humidity is important. like 50 % important. 55-60 when shedding. i would seriously consider a vet.

[frankykeno]

You'll want to read this caresheet over carefully.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

Just to give you an idea, we keep all our ball pythons at 80-82 degrees cool side, 90-92 degrees warm side, humidity between 50-60%. No night drops, never dipping as low as your temps.

What are you using for a heating source? What are you measuring your temps with?

Ball pythons need two hides, preferably identical - one per side - the hide should be dark, and fit the snake very tightly in a coiled position. They do not require a climbing branch as they are ground dwelling snakes that rarely climb once they mature and if they do, they tend to fall. Ball pythons do not require a bowl large enough to soak in, in fact it isn't encouraged that they soak at all. Healthy ball pythons do not normally soak. You might see soaking especially in a ball python with mites.

Since you mentioned a pet store I would encourage you to be calling them in the morning. They've obviously sold you a snake that has problems. Ticks indicate most likely an import snake, if it's mites, they shouldn't have sold you a snake with any bugs on it regardless. If it had issues with it's belly when you got it, they shouldn't have sold it in that condition. I'd be having a word with that store manager come morning.

If you wait for her to be running gobs of stuff from her mouth you'll be making her worse. If she's wheezing, open mouthed breathing, etc. and has this belly thing going on and has some sorts of bugs on her you need to make a decision to take her to a vet and see if this store will stand up about the bill you'll face. There is absolutely NO excuse for selling a snake in poor condition and giving you incorrect husbandry information that will only make her health issues worse!

[cutler07]

she can have scale rotting

if its scale rotting after her shed usally the scales are fine. but if its RI then better take her to a vet
.

and if its a mite or tick go to ur local pet store and get mite off (good suttf) or vegitable oil to kill them

[python.princess]

it was suggested a couple times in this thread to get her to soak, but if she has belly rot, that isn't a good idea is it? i've never dealt with any of these issues but i thought you were supposed to keep them as dry as possible? someone correct me if i'm wrong!

[Elvyra's Keeper]

I have never seen any other type of bug on her (and I really checked). This is the first and only tick I found on her or in her cage. I cleaned everything out when I found that it was scale rot. I just read a lot about BPs soaking when they are getting ready to shed, so I thought she should be, but I guess since she isn't it's a good thing, right? I really thought it was a good store, it's privately owned and he owns a lot of pet snakes at home, and a lot of poisonous ones. They looked like they took really good care, and the cages were cleaned and all of the pets were used to being handled. I will go talk with them this friday, or as soon as they are open. She looked really healthy; she was the largest of her siblings, and she was and is eating very well. She never acted strange or anything, until she began the shedding process, that's what first got me worried, (she isnt coming out and moving around as much as she did) but thank you all for your advice.