Bloated mid section and bottom?

Hi there, so I have a ball python who isn't that old. I got him in November and he has been fine but about two weeks ago I noticed he was really bloated and squishy from his mid section to his butt. I took him to the vet and she said it was probably a bacteria infection caused by his bedding and gave me three medicines to give him for two weeks. I've been giving him his medicine and I changed his bedding to an all natural carpet for reptiles but he doesn't seem to be getting any better. He hasn't pooped in almost 3 weeks and he won't eat, it's been almost 4 weeks. He's very lethargic lately and his color is very dull. His skin seems to be drying out in certain sections, just along his back though. I keep a water bowl in his cage to soak in and drink from and I keep his humidity between 50 - 60 at all times so I am not sure why his skin is looking so bad. I was wondering if this has happened to any one who can help me out?

Ok do you have a picture of your bloated BP? Belly shot and from the side.

Here is what it sound like to me based on your description

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He's very lethargic lately and his color is very dull. His skin seems to be drying out

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Your BP is going into shed

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bloated and squishy from his mid section to his butt

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This sound like blockage and maybe a combination of gases, trying to soak your BP in lukewarm water and slightly massaging him will help.

Now I am curious about your vet, what is her experience when it comes to reptiles?

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she said it was probably a bacteria

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That sounds like guessing to me, if this is what she suspects what what test did she perform, what were exact conclusion, what type of bacteria were you dealing with?

The reason I ask all that is that many vet actually have no clue, and will act like they do often prescribing various course of treatment that are often not necessary.

And BTW talking about bacteria reptile carpet is one of the worse bedding you can use ;)

best case scenario...

the BP is building up for one of the dramatic events described in this thread:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...RAP!-literally

I have pictures but I am unsure on how to post them on here, I am new to this website and I am not sure how to do it ahah.

I have seen him shed before and it doesn't look the same as when he sheds, I have a picture but I am not sure if you can really tell. But it is random spots along his back that are dry like in between the scales.

I just soaked him about an hour ago to see if it'd help but nothing really happened.

As for the vet I went to one of the only ones that are experienced with reptiles. I live in a little place and we only have 3 very small vet clinics. She was the only one who had an opening that wasn't a month away. She didn't give specifics, she took some x-rays and said that he didn't seem to have a blockage but he did have a lot of built up gas and she said it could be bacteria from the aspen bedding i was using or mites. So she prescribed me 3 oral medicines that I have been giving me but he doesn't really look better, and it cost me a lot for a whole lot of nothing so far.

Really? The reptile carpet is bad? What is a good bedding that is good for them?

And i know this is stupid but how long does it usually take them to poop?

Here's a link on how to post photos: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=173889

Or you can download tapatalk app on your phone and post photos straight from your phone.

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here's some pictures of his bloated tummy

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps57b98334.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps692dcdf9.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps568588d9.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps8fcfddc8.jpg

and then this is what his skin looks like

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...pse07e9f47.jpg

Looks like Sausage Butt to me. When was the last time he went poop? Then again Im no Vet so just my thoughts. As for the bedding, I use Aspen as does alot of people on here. What kind of Bacteria did you have in your Aspen? Quote " she said it could be bacteria from the aspen bedding i was using".

Sausage butt? it's been a few weeks since he's pooped. I was using aspen bedding before the vet told me to change. She didn't give me any specifics, she just said he had an infection from either "bacteria" or mites from the aspen bedding i was using.

I use coco husk bedding. Many people use aspen bedding. This looks like a good case of sausage butt. My male hasn't eaten since the end of November, beginning of December. He just had a really nasty fart last night, and I thought it was my girl regurgitating. No offense to people who use the reptile carpet but I don't like it. I'm sure it's great for reptiles that don't need a higher humidity level. If he has mites look under his chin and in the creases on his belly. You'll see tiny black and spots. Freezing your bedding will help with mites, and SOME bacteria. It's funny how some vets will act like they know about certain speciies when they don't specialize in exotics. Also depending on age he might have gone on the breeding fast. I still try every other week right now, and hope that the nasty fart means he's getting ready to eat again.

Be careful holding him for now. He is likely to unload a major poop all over you! To me it looks like he has a stuck shed and he is about to poop... Btw, sausage butt is when they swell up on their back half, full of poop.

Try soaking him again for 30 minutes then wipe him with a wet rag. If it is a stuck shed it should come off pretty easily.

Yep, looks like a perfectly healthy snake to me.

Sausage Butt or Sausage Tail just means that it looks like you took a sausage and shoved it down their bodies up to the tail.
But that is all poop in there that is being saved for a nice big present. You'll probably see your snake appear normal sized again after the next shed.

When mine look like that I usually find the subsequent shed has a large BM in it. At least it makes clean-up easy.

You got taken by your vet.

Soak your snake for 20 min and massage him starting at the mid section and going toward the cloaca, whether it is gas or fecal matter if you do it right and gently it will pass.


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Yea watch when your handling him lol.
I know mine held her poop in for 3 feeds and she unloaded that boo boo on me smh hahaha.
It was funny though.

I hope it's just sausage butt and it will be over soon. I just gave him the gel medicine the vet told me to give him daily and a few minutes after i gave it to him i want to move him and a bunch of clear liquid spewed out of his mouth? he's never done it before and it freaked me out, I am not sure what it was but he seems to be fine now.

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Originally Posted by breeshockley

I hope it's just sausage butt and it will be over soon. I just gave him the gel medicine the vet told me to give him daily and a few minutes after i gave it to him i want to move him and a bunch of clear liquid spewed out of his mouth? he's never done it before and it freaked me out, I am not sure what it was but he seems to be fine now.

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He probably regurged the medicine along with any water he had drank recently. Probably stressed him out. When one of my colubrids was sick last year, she would regurge water all over me whenever I had to move or treat her or anything. A combination of stress and not feeling well.

If he's regurging the meds, you might want to try soaking him and stuff for a day or two and see if he poos before you try that again. No offense, but it sounds like your vet didn't do any tests or anything to determine whether he needed to be treated for a bacterial infection? Mine go to a herp specialist, and all the meds we've ever been given, even to take home, were injections...
If you do give him that again, try doing it in something like a feeding container where you can close him up and leave him an hour or so to calm down before picking him up and putting him back in his enclosure.

That's what i figured it was, but it still freaked me out aha. I think I am going to stop giving him the medicine and see if he poops soon. the vet i went to said that after the two weeks he would be fine but it's almost been two weeks and I haven't noticed any change. From what I know she didn't do any tests, she just gave him an xray and went off that. I wish we had some herp vets around here:/ but I soaked him last night and massaged his tummy a bit and this morning I noticed he has pooped like (---) that much so I soaked him and massaged him again today. I am hoping he will get it all out soon so he can get back to feeling better and being a happy little man.

So I stopped giving my snake medicine and I have been soaking him and massaging his belly area but nothing is seeming to help. He has been acting really weird and he just sits smashed in between his soaking bowl and the cage and hardly ever moves around. Even when I am holding him he doesn't move really, he just kind of stays in place. When I first took him out to soak him today he was flailing his head around all crazy and it didn't seem normal at all. He doesn't seem to be getting any better no matter what I try D: he just doesn't seem like himself and doesn't seem right. :(

if that were my snake I would palpate out the waste.


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Thats not normal. Maybe hes infected and the medicine is not working? Are you giving it orally? What antibiotic?



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I was giving him 3 medicines orally. But I am really depressed and heartbroken. This morning when I went to do my morning routine and take care of him I found him dead by his little branch. I cried all morning and didn't want to go to work. I blame myself and it kills me that he was so young and passed under my watch. I tried so hard to help him out and keep him healthy and alive. Every time I walk into his room and see his tank gone I begin to cry. I just wanted to let you guys know how this all ended.

Really sorry to hear he passed away :(

Me too. I wish I could have helped him and made him feel better and kept him alive. He was my baby and I was so excited to watch him grow and become a beautiful and big adult. Thank you though, I appreciate it.

Sorry :(