Tiny specks of blood? Advice please

I'm very concerned about my adult BP- She seems to be leaving teeny tiny little specs of blood on her white newsprint paper in her tank. Whats worse is, I can't figure out where the blood is coming from!

I have checked her over multiple times, and I cannot see anything that would be causing this bleeding. There is no blood around her vent, or on her nose/mouth. The only possible suspect I can come up with is a small red spot on the underside of her jaw. This red spot is not bloody, and certainly not an open wound. I have been using a dab of original neosporin on the red spot, and was waiting to see if it would go away after her shed. If not, my intentions were to make a vet appointment. Now after the appearance of these blood specks (no idea if they're related), I feel I should make an appointment for Monday.

Am I over reacting for wanting to immediately rush off to the vet's office? My BP isn't showing any signs of illness or pain, she seems completely normal- but every day I find a few new specks of blood.

Any clue what these tiny dots of blood could be from? Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

PS - Here's what's going on inside her tank; humidity-50%, ambient air temp low 80s, hot side belly heat 89-91F, cool side low 80s, had a great shed 3 weeks ago.

***Didn't mean to post this in husbandry, sorry about that.

How long have you been seeing the blood specs for? Is it after she goes to the bathroom?

I noticed them approx 1 week ago. She has both peed and pooped since the specks first showed up. Seems to be just a few specks each day, regardless of whether she's done any bathroom business.

Is it specks or like small blood streaks? I noticed you said it was an adult female and it is breeding season? Just a thought I know my females leave some blood streaks on their newsprint drives the boys wild.

Any chance you could post pics of the newspaper? Just trying to get an idea of what the specks look like...if they're not smeared around, they may not be coming from her underside. I'm wondering if the blood is being aerosolized ie blown out the nose or mouth? Any chance you can look inside her mouth?

The blood is literally just tiny dots- no smears. I have not opened her mouth myself, I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing this without hands-on instructions from a vet, I'm concerned I would hurt her by accident. However, I have been lucky enough to catch 2 yawns over the past week, allowing a great view inside her mouth and everything looks normal to me. Consistent pink color, no signs of a wound.

I will work on taking pics of the paper now.

Is she shedding or did she just recently shed? If so, it is probably from this and is completely normal. There is usually a small bit of bleeding from the vent when the skin is shed.

She typically will leave a small blood streak when her skin comes off, either that or I'll find a little blood on the shed itself near the vent.. But she shed three weeks ago.

Here's a photo of today's specks:

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...62302d8a0a.jpg

its probably from the shed, somtimes after they shed a little bit of blood will show up, it is normal for that to happen sometimes!!!!
hope this helps

Hi,

Can you get a good pic of the red spot under her chin?

I'm wondering if it could possibly be a tick and the drops you are seeing are the ticks droppings - it's only an outside idea but I thought it might be worth ruling out.


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SUPERBALLS

its probably from the shed, somtimes after they shed a little bit of blood will show up, it is normal for that to happen sometimes!!!!
hope this helps

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It is normal to see blood 3 weeks after my BP has completely shed her skin?

I'm a noob when it comes to keeping snakes, but I was under the impression that blood is only normal immediately after a shed?

Okay... Well, I've made the appointment. Hopefully the vet can help me figure out what's going on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dianna

It is normal to see blood 3 weeks after my BP has completely shed her skin?

I'm a noob when it comes to keeping snakes, but I was under the impression that blood is only normal immediately after a shed?

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Yes, they bleed a little during the shed only. You should not find new blood 3 weeks later.

I could be wrong, but that paper looks to be very heavy/course. It could be nothing more than the paper pulling/catching/irratating the snake's belly scales. Change to paper towels and see if this continues. I think you'll find its something irratating the belly. Check anything that could be sharp or course in the enclosure too.

Also check the belly scales and see if anything looks out of place. Maybe check the spurs, maybe something has irratated them too.


Good Luck!
Jim Smith