New snake having health problems

I adopted a piebald ball python a couple months ago that was very malnourished and not housed well, I brought her home, bought every thing she could possibly need and she was doing well for a while there. She got some weight on her and was filling out, she wasn't eating well at first because they were feeding frozen and we switched to live pray and she started eating very well and didn't seem to have any problems. Now she is very constipated, she has these little red scales on the side of her belly, and most recently she developed a water pocket looking thing on her side. I live in a small town and my options for the vet are very limited, and unfortunately, both vets are closed right now, I am currently out of town right now and my friend is taking care of her for me right now and I don't know what to do. I'm thinking this may be scale rot but I'm not sure since I have yet to find any photos online that look similar to whats going on with her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

A picture is worth 1000 words... but it sounds like u need a vet asap

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What type of enclosure is she in and how are you maintaining the heat and husbandry numbers? :)

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...psoaidz3qd.jpg

This is kind of an older photo of her tank when we first got her, the only difference is that I added a lof under the lamp and there is another rock like hide where the box is.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...psvcz2dugn.jpg

This is a recent photo of her for a size reference.


http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...pss9hnyen3.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...pstrs5kjxg.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...psvifvnkzu.jpg

These are photos of the red scales I was referring to.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps8ofusfiz.jpg

This is a photo showing her full tummy, though I have been told she's pooped a little since this picture was taken.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps1dxubrxv.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps1yorvhzh.jpg

And these two were the ones my friend sent me of the recent addition of the water pocket.

Thank you again.

Her stomach looks burned. Is there a heat pad under the tank? And if so do you have a thermostat regulating it?

No, I forgot to mention that, but there is nothing for her to get burned on, I do not have a rock heater or an under the tank heater for fear of burns, her day/night lamp is her only source of heat in the tank, and I have a thermostat on both the cool and hot side to make sure it never gets too hot or cold on either side for her. Also the log under the lamp isn't high enough for her to reach the lamp, plus she isn't much of a vertical explorer.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hlight=blister

that blister looking thing reminds me of this snake called Howard. I'm hoping it doesn't get that bad.

Well I realize you said that there is no under heat source, but ditch the rock idea. Under no circumstances should you get a heat rock. That WILL burn her. If it's not a burn it's more then likely scale rot that's gotten very bad. It gets dry and flakey if not taken care of right away and that means she's at, "needs to see a vet right now," status. Even if it isn't scale rot it looks terrible and I've never seen a bubble like that so I can't offer a suggestion to what it is. I think it's safe to say that you need to see a vet. If it is scale rot there are several threads on this forum covering how to help relieve her. Also is that the set up that she is currently in? Because that looks awfully big for a little snake of her size atm. These guys are easily stressed by too much space when they are little like that. And you should have an under tank heater that's hooked up to a thermostat. It will cancel out the worry of a burn if it's on the thermostat. It not only keeps the snake warm but helps with digestion. What are your temps and humidity at? I feel like the scales are a husbandry issue that should be addressed. The bubble is odd to me though. Do you spot clean her tank? Make sure there is no waste laying around?

she did say that she had no heat rock or under tank heating so there isn't any chance of burns.

I was just pointing out that the heat rock should not have even been mentioned. Not for a snake. Ever. Period. So great that their isn't one. Since its not a burn I can only imagine it's scale rot which is typically caused by poor husbandry and unsanitary conditions. I still stand by the notion that the animal should probably see a vet for the bubble if nothing else, but if the scale rot had gotten bad enough to look like a burn it should really still see a vet.

Vet vet vet and ver vet vet vet...oh did I say vet

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Yes, as solarsoldier001 pointed out, I DO NOT have a rock heater, I only mentioned it because I know that there are still some people out there that do not realize how bad it can be for a snake (or any animal for that matter) and since some people are still using them, it will still be brought into question if I am using one. I was able to set up an appointment for her today, the closest vet that does snakes is in another town and they can't see her until this afternoon. I was just hoping maybe someone had some advice for me to help her before hand.

I'm not sure what "never too hot, never too cold" specifically means. If she were my snake, I would want a UTH, with a thermostat, temp gun, and something to measure humidity. I would also give her much more privacy - cover most of the glass, and give her warm and cool side hides as well. Since the belly is irritated, I would get rid of that bedding (it is not untreated pine is it?), and go with a layer of soft paper toweles. I would disinfect the enclosure, and thoroughly rinse and dry it.

Could she have a chemical burn, either from the bedding, her own waste, or something she crawled over outside of the cage? Maybe a damp surface was recently bleached, or the carpet had cleaning chemicals on it? - just shots in the dark here.

I have read that soaking a snake in warm (90F) water can help with constipation. I would supervise her the entire time with this, and make absolutely sure that blister remained intact and unbroken during the swim.

The warm water trick does work yo help the poop. If you want to do that, just watch her like distaff suggested


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She has a heat lamp with a thermometer on both the cold and hot side of her tank so that I can make sure that it never gets too hot on the hot side or too cold on the cold side, also the thermometers have a humidity gauge. I opted to not buy an under tank heater for fear of malfunction, but also because the lamp regulated the temps in her tank just fine. He cool side never drops below 75 while her hot side remains around 90-95 during the day and 85 at night. Also her tank has a lot more privacy than pictured, the back of the tank is against a wall, and I have put things on either side of the tank to hide her better, the only thing that is open is the front and half of the top (the other half is covered with the lamp).
The tank is deep cleaned weekly with 1/2 water 1/2 vinegar solution, and spot cleaning when needed. I can try the paper towels instead of the bedding in case that is whats irritating her tummy. And I never let her roam around freely on the floor or on counter tops just so that she can't get into anything or get anything on her. I started the daily bathing in warm water a little over a week ago and it has helped her to poop a little but now constipation seems like a lesser concern.

If the under tank heater is connected to the thermostat then there won't be a fear of malfunction. The thermostat regulates it and will turn it off before it over heats to burn your snake. They need it for digestion. Snakes like ball pythons need belly heat. I'd highly suggest getting one. If you don't believe me, then do the research and then decide if she still doesn't need one. I hope you get her into a vet before her skin issues get worse and I hope she heals up for you.

Well, kudos to you for adopting her into your care! Sorry that she seems to have gotten into some trouble health wise. We all are concerned for her to get diagnosed appropriately and hope she responds to all required treatments. Listen, things happen, but the best plan for her is the vet and more kudos out to you for setting up that appointment. Fingers and toes crossed for the good news! ;) ;)

Update: she just got dropped off at the vet!

Fingers crossed for ya

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So the vet just called, she said it seems like she has inclusion body disease.

Man that's no good do you have any other herps?

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No, I don't.

Sorry to hear that.

Did the vet say how the diagnosis was established? I previously thought that an organ sample was required from a deceased animal, but the link below indicates that the inclusions can be found in a blood sample. Personally, I would want to know because as far as I can recall about IBD, the symptoms you described don't seem typical.

http://labs.vetmed.ufl.edu/sample-re...ions/boid-ibd/

She isn't confirmed to have it, its just what the vet believes is what is happening. The vet said that she witnessed a small tremor when she put Winifred in the water, and that ball pythons tend to lose muscle strength in the back half first, which is why she is constipated. The constipation also being a symptom, the red lines are probably bacteria from the waste build up. She said that if this is IBD that they will do a necropsy to find out after but that it doesn't look good and that I should prepare myself. She is giving me antibiotics for the bacteria, and giving Winifred an enema for the constipation, I also plan to ask for silver sulfadiazine just in case it might be scale rot, but other wise to wait and see how she does after all this treatment.

The vet is still unsure of what is actually happening, she still thinks IBD is a possibility, but she removed all the poop and is giving her antibiotics from the bacteria from waste build up and pain relievers from the poop removal process.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...psyvrlxmbg.jpg

I'm having a very hard time with the IBD diagnosis. Typically it takes out ball pythons within a few weeks, and according to the OP this snake has been living in isolation for months and it's also not showing any neurological symptoms. Boas have been known to be carriers for months or even years, but pythons succumb to it very quickly.

Between the antibiotics and silver sulfadiazine - which you can buy online at mountainside-medical.com if your vet doesn't have it - you should be able to clear up the tail problem. Since your vet threw IBD on the table I wouldn't bring any other reptiles home for a few more months just to be sure your snake is clean.

Interesting what the vet said about the tremor, and the lack of strength in the back end. I'm glad to hear she is treating your girl in case it is something else. I'm still curious about the skin problem and the blister.

Best of luck.

OK, re. what looked like burn marks...I didn't at first associate that with the red lines. So, I suppose those should go away with the anitibiotic (?). Poor Winifred. Sounds like she has been very uncomfortable.

Noooooo!!! I hope it's not IBD and something that's actually curable. That's terrible the poor thing. It's good that you don't have any other reptiles, IBD is deviating. I'm sorry, poor thing is probably miserable. I hope they find that it is something else and she pulls through for you.

She didn't make it.

I am so sorry.
Rest in peace, Winifred.