Any Ideas?

Okay here is the story.....

My BP has a few raised scales, with liquid type stuff under them. He doesn't seemed bother by them in general, but will move around when I feel them, as if they are bothersome them. He has a large cage, with two sides of heating. The warm side is at 90, and the other is at 70, with the humidity level at 60.
It is cold here in NY, and he hasn't eaten in about 2 months and refuses food. I haven't attempted to feed him in a few weeks, and will be trying soon.

It also seems as if he is going to start shedding soon. His mouth and head are blueish and shiny, but the rest of him isn't too dull, so not sure. Additionally, there are a few photos attached of a few concerning scales and areas. [IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psrxudhemx.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psbfvmyf9v.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psktlxkgue.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pspzemlepi.jpg[/IMG]http://s42.photobucket.com/user/sk8r...]=1&sort=1&o=9

Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful as I search for a vet in my area!

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[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pslnijfs2l.jpg[/IMG]

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Originally Posted by robynh9490

It is cold here in NY, and he hasn't eaten in about 2 months and refuses food. I haven't attempted to feed him in a few weeks, and will be trying soon.

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It is VERY important to attempt to feed him every feeding day!!!!

Even if he has refused food for you one week, it doesn't mean he will the next. You don't want him to go hungry.

Also, try to get the humidity up to 65%-75%.
If you are using a screen top glass tank, cover most of the screen with aluminum foil, secured by duct tape.

As for the scales, it doesn't look to bad to me, but I am not the person to ask on the subject.

Good luck!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HenryTheSnake

It is VERY important to attempt to feed him every feeding day!!!!

Even if he has refused food for you one week, it doesn't mean he will the next. You don't want him to go hungry.

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Uhm... no, do not attempt to feed him every day... attempt once every week. Ball pythons typically go through a fasting once a year. It can be as long as a month up to 6 months. As long as he is not losing any weight you're fine.

Humidity is fine at 60%. If he is about to shed. Raise to about 75-80%.

The scales do raise when the scales do not form properly under the top layer of skin. If there is in fact liquid oozing out of them, then that is not normal. The dry patches typically means your humidity is too low. Having it at 60% shouldn't cause the scales to dry out. Are you sure your humidity isn't lower? The larger the tank, the harder it is to keep humidity in.
t

I believe I said every feeding day. This means every time his feeding day comes around.....
Read more carefully.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HenryTheSnake

It is VERY important to attempt to feed him every feeding day!!!!

Even if he has refused food for you one week, it doesn't mean he will the next. You don't want him to go hungry.

Also, try to get the humidity up to 65%-75%.
If you are using a screen top glass tank, cover most of the screen with aluminum foil, secured by duct tape.

As for the scales, it doesn't look to bad to me, but I am not the person to ask on the subject.

Good luck!!

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The top of the tank is already covered with a little slit for fresh air. He doesn't have any signs of weight loss, and functions perfectly normal. I will be attempting to feed him again this coming Wednesday, but when you go a month with refusing food, you are going to wait a few weeks. Just saying! This isn't my first rodeo with him eating when he wants, and I wanted advice on his liquid filled raised scales on his back.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BCS

Uhm... no, do not attempt to feed him every day... attempt once every week. Ball pythons typically go through a fasting once a year. It can be as long as a month up to 6 months. As long as he is not losing any weight you're fine.

Humidity is fine at 60%. If he is about to shed. Raise to about 75-80%.

The scales do raise when the scales do not form properly under the top layer of skin. If there is in fact liquid oozing out of them, then that is not normal. The dry patches typically means your humidity is too low. Having it at 60% shouldn't cause the scales to dry out. Are you sure your humidity isn't lower? The larger the tank, the harder it is to keep humidity in.
t

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There is nothing oozing out of the spots shown above. He does seem a little sensitive when I touch them lightly, but other than that, he doesn't care. I am keeping a close eye on him to see if there are any changes in the spots.
As for the humidity, there are times when it drops about 5%-10%, but that only happens once in awhile, and I spritz the cage a little as I always have a fresh water dish. But that doesn't do the trick alone! I have the top covered except for a slit to allow fresh air into his cage, but other than that, the humidity maintains pretty well.

I've never seen raised spots quite like that before. I would worry there's a major infection that is causing absesses. Any chance you've seen them weep any fluid? Or is it just the raised bumps? If a vet could try to drain some of the fluid, they might be able to tell a lot more. Good luck.

And I agree, if I have a BP refuse food a couple FEEDING days in a row(i.e. a couple weeks with trying once per week), then I don't offer for a couple weeks to let him build up some more appetite. If it's not a hatchling, they can afford to miss quite a few meals without any harm at all. If he were a baby, then I'd be more concerned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

I've never seen raised spots quite like that before. I would worry there's a major infection that is causing absesses. Any chance you've seen them weep any fluid? Or is it just the raised bumps? If a vet could try to drain some of the fluid, they might be able to tell a lot more. Good luck.

And I agree, if I have a BP refuse food a couple FEEDING days in a row(i.e. a couple weeks with trying once per week), then I don't offer for a couple weeks to let him build up some more appetite. If it's not a hatchling, they can afford to miss quite a few meals without any harm at all. If he were a baby, then I'd be more concerned.

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Nope, no fluid as of now. But with touching, you can tell that there is fluid under them. I am keeping a close eye on them to look for them. I am having a hard time finding an exotic vet in my area, but I am still on the search!

And he is about 2 years old now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HenryTheSnake

I believe I said every feeding day. This means every time his feeding day comes around.....
Read more carefully.

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Opps... sorry. My bad. You don't have to take offense to it though. Honest mistake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BCS

Opps... sorry. My bad. You don't have to take offense to it though. Honest mistake.

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It's perfectly fine, I just didn't want people to think that I don't know something as basic as when to feed :) Thanks for clarifying!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by HenryTheSnake

It is VERY important to attempt to feed him every feeding day!!!!

Even if he has refused food for you one week, it doesn't mean he will the next. You don't want him to go hungry.

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Not really. There's no reason to try every week and waste food when you know your snake is in the middle of a fast. Like another poster said, they can do this for months quite happily. It's fine to try offering once every few weeks until they're interested again.