My ball python is developing these skin lesions

I've had her for 4 years, and about 4 months ago some of her scales starting turning a little odd brownish colors, I put ointment on and the coloring disappeared a bit, but today i checked her and now she has some small red spots which are much more numerous now. they go along her spine. I live in nyc so im not sure if bringing her to a vet is an option? Does anyone know the cause? shes kept in a 40g breeder with dirt substrate and a big hidebox and 120w daybulb and small undertank heater. thank youhttps://imgur.com/a/vfr9D

Does she have mites?

Upon looking more closely those really look like mites to me. I would strip her cage out. Put paper towels down. Sanitize everything and only have her water bowl and hides in there after sanitizing them. Get prevent s mite and treat.

Someone needs to to tell you proper treatment with the prevent a mite.

Could be fungal especially having it living on dirt. Should be qualified reptile vets in the area so I would suggest making an appointment and definitely improving the husbandry

How could she get mites after all this time?

I don't think those are mites. I think that is dirt from the dirt substrate (the tiny sprinkling of brown)

Much more concerning are the lesions along the spine. I don't suppose you feed live and leave the rodent in ?

Honestly, it looks sort of like burns or blisters. Blister disease usually starts along the belly, or sides, though.

You say you have a 120 W daylight. That is some powerful light (and heat). With the colder temps this time of year, did your ambient temp in your room drop ? Can the snake get close to the heat lamp, like lay across some decoration and get the back closer to the lamp ? Even from a few inches away, such a strong heat lamp can put out burning temps. And it would make sense for the blisters to be along the spine, then..The part of her body closest to the heat source..

Post a picture of your setup ..

The blister part makes sense, she got out of her tank about 6 weeks ago ( right before the red marks started) and we found her in the boiler. The snakes can only get maybe 6 inches from the light while basking if they really want, but i never see them that close, they're usually a good 8 inches away. and i just turned the bulb to 125 from 100 since winter is starting and my room tends to be on the cold side. I will definitely switch out to aspen bedding, I honestly thought dirt would be a better substrate because natural. Thank you for that response <3

https://imgur.com/a/zeTlt setup

Those look almost like burns or maybe scrapes from when she escaped, though you'd think they'd have appeared before now.

I would put her in a super-clean environment, paper substrate, two plastic hides, and a water bowl in case it is a fungal disease but those normally start on the belly. Clean the discolored areas with diluted betadine and then apply Vetericyn to them.

Also is your UTH regulated by a thermostat?

Not sure what a UTH is, but humidity is typically around 70%

UTH is Under Tank Heater.

If you turned up the heat lamp and the snake can get within a few inches, that can certainly cause cell damage resulting in scales blistering and dying off. Make sure they cannot get anywhere near close to the light or lay on anything that gets super heated by the light.

Get a thermometer with a probe, or better yet, a heat gun. Take the temperature that this wood under the light reaches. A snake on top of that wood is even closer to the light. You need to be able to make sure about the different temperature gradients in your setup.

You say snakes..do you have more then one in the same cage ? Or do you have similar setups for more then one?

The problem with using dirt from outside is it can harbor unwanted pathogens that can explode in closed conditions with two of the very things that make them grow: heat and humidity.

Whatever the root cause it definitely looks like it has become irritated or infected. If fungal, antibacterial ointment will do nothing to kill the infestation. You could try antifungal cream but I would not recommend it personally. A vet visit is worth the knowledge of what it is instead of just throwing remedies at it in the hope of finding a solution.

As you stated, it has come back and more numerous so please for your happiness and your snake's health, please get it checked by a vet.

I got 2 as babies and I've kept them together since

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Originally Posted by lemonpie1

I got 2 as babies and I've kept them together since

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They each need their own enclosures. It may appear that they are 'cuddling' in their hides, and it does look very cute, but this is actually a struggle for dominance. Whoever is closer to the heat source, if they are huddled over the heat source, is the dominant snake. This is stressful to both of your animals and will lead to higher chances of illnesses and possible injuries if they are not separated.

@ dirt from the outside -- this is only bad when you're not doing a bioactive setup. Bioactive setups are utilizing the bacteria in the soil to help support your insect clean-up-crew, and the CUC tends to get rid of the bad stuff after a cycle or two. But if you're not doing bioactive, something a bit more sterile is better, especially when your animals are injured. You can switch to some other kind of substrate later, but for now while your animal heals you'll probably want to go to paper towels.