Possibly Injury?

Okay, so I'm a little worried.

I keep my snake in a large tub and use paper towels as a substrate. I used to use newspaper, but he seems to like the paper towels more cause he can hide under them a bit easier. Tonight I opened his tub and noticed that there were a few specks of blood trailing from where I feed him to his favorite hiding spot. I immediately checked him all over for injuries and couldn't find one. I then cleaned his enclosure.

He just turned 1 years old and he has not shed recently. Though, I noticed when I picked him up to check if he was injured that he is very close to shedding. (His eyes are staring to cloud up a bit.)

I don't actually know if he's a boy or girl, I haven't taken him to the veterinarian yet to be checked. I don't want to try and do it myself because I've never done it and I don't want to cause him any unnecessary stress. I'm perfectly okay not knowing until I get him checked at the vet.

I was just wondering if anyone could possibly explain what or where this blood came from? He's not bleeding anymore as far as I can tell. There were no new wet spots. The ones that were there were dry and old. They weren't there when I fed him which was about 36 hours ago.

I will also add that he has never refused a meal and has always had complete sheds. I'm still a rather new BP owner but I don't think he's very stressed as far as I can tell. He hasn't shown any signs that I read about online (yawning, refusing to eat, partial sheds, etc.) He has yawned at me, but it was only once when I first changed his enclosure from a tank to a tub, which was quite a long time ago. He used to yawn at me sometimes in his tank, though since I changed him to a tub, he hasn't done it at all.

Any help would be appreciated! Normally I would rush him to the vet but since the blood was dry and he doesn't seem to bleeding anymore as far as I can tell, I decided to take a few calming breaths and try here first. (Also, after I changed his cage and put him in, there hasn't been anymore blood on the paper towels so far.)

Thank you all so much!

The blood couldn't have come from a feeder, could it?

I don't believe so? His enclosure isn't very small. I fed him on the complete opposite side of where the blood trails to. I feed him frozen hoppers. Unless he got it on himself and it dripped off...

But even so, there wasn't a lot of blood but it still seemed like too much to come from the feeder.

I didn't watch him eat, but I know he usually eats it right where I drop it and doesn't leave that spot until he's finished. Which makes it strange that there's drops trailing across the enclosure.

Sometimes the skin around Cloaca/spurs give off a tiny amount.. Usually during shedding. Nothing you would notice on the snake.. Usually on the shed itself or smear on paper substrate.


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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

Sometimes the skin around Cloaca/spurs give off a tiny amount.. Usually during shedding. Nothing you would notice on the snake.. Usually on the shed itself or smear on paper substrate.


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Would that happen prior to shedding? He's in very early stages of a shed. His eyes just became milky. He hasn't shed yet. :/

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Originally Posted by Stofey

Would that happen prior to shedding? He's in very early stages of a shed. His eyes just became milky. He hasn't shed yet. :/

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No but I wouldn't worry. If theres nothing to be seen your ok.. If there was a flesh wound you would notice.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

No but I wouldn't worry. If theres nothing to be seen your ok.. If there was a flesh wound you would notice.


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Okay. I'ma keep a close eye on him the next few days. Just to be safe.

Thanks so much for your help! :)

Both of my guesses were already mentioned above, so nothing to add there...
But...what size prey are you feeding? Hopper mice?

May I have a guess on this matter?

You fed him +- 36 hours ago.
He constricted the Prey item causing the blood droplets to spray a bit.

I reckon the blood does not come from him.

I'm thinking it's the blood of a rodent as already suggested . Maybe it spat the mouse out and starting it in a different place or something. Mine do that if they start at the middle or the wrong end of the food item ..


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Thank you all so much. I think you are right. I'm still going to keep a close eye on him, but he doesn't seem to be injured, he's acting normal and there's nothing that I can see.

I'm just a worry wart. I'm still new at owning snakes and I wanna do the best I can to take good care of him. :)

Thank you guys so much for all your help!

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Originally Posted by Stofey

Thank you all so much. I think you are right. I'm still going to keep a close eye on him, but he doesn't seem to be injured, he's acting normal and there's nothing that I can see.

I'm just a worry wart. I'm still new at owning snakes and I wanna do the best I can to take good care of him. :)

Thank you guys so much for all your help!

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For what it's worth I think it's only normal to worry over these marvellous critters !


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stofey

Thank you all so much. I think you are right. I'm still going to keep a close eye on him, but he doesn't seem to be injured, he's acting normal and there's nothing that I can see.

I'm just a worry wart. I'm still new at owning snakes and I wanna do the best I can to take good care of him. :)

Thank you guys so much for all your help!

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Yeah, better to be safe than sorry. Glad you want what's best for your little guy.

For what it's worth, my BP, Shayna, had a perfect shed last night, and as mentioned here, and has happened before (though not nearly every time), there was a tiny bit of blood from her vent/spur area. She's fine and there is no residual blood or discomfort that I can see. I wouldn't have even noticed it if I didn't use white printless newspaper and it was away from the waste she left.

Again, it wasn't even a bad shed as humidity was dead on and she shed in one piece. Not sure why this happens, but it does.

You mentioned this was before shed, so probably from the mouse. Maybe even got some blood on his nose or mouth when swallowing and wiped if after. Either way, I wouldn't worry unless you see blood on him or it's a regular thing.

Good luck and ask any questions you want/need to ask if you get worried. We are here to help.

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Originally Posted by Stofey

Thank you all so much. I think you are right. I'm still going to keep a close eye on him, but he doesn't seem to be injured, he's acting normal and there's nothing that I can see.

I'm just a worry wart. I'm still new at owning snakes and I wanna do the best I can to take good care of him. :)

Thank you guys so much for all your help!

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Sounds good. Just one more thing I noticed...

Are you feeding hopper mice?

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

For what it's worth I think it's only normal to worry over these marvellous critters !


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I agree. I love my snake a lot. He's a total sweetie. :')

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Originally Posted by dakski

Yeah, better to be safe than sorry. Glad you want what's best for your little guy.

For what it's worth, my BP, Shayna, had a perfect shed last night, and as mentioned here, and has happened before (though not nearly every time), there was a tiny bit of blood from her vent/spur area. She's fine and there is no residual blood or discomfort that I can see. I wouldn't have even noticed it if I didn't use white printless newspaper and it was away from the waste she left.

Again, it wasn't even a bad shed as humidity was dead on and she shed in one piece. Not sure why this happens, but it does.

You mentioned this was before shed, so probably from the mouse. Maybe even got some blood on his nose or mouth when swallowing and wiped if after. Either way, I wouldn't worry unless you see blood on him or it's a regular thing.

Good luck and ask any questions you want/need to ask if you get worried. We are here to help.

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So far I haven't seen anymore blood. So I think you guys are right and it was the mouse. I just never seen that happen before. o.o

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Sounds good. Just one more thing I noticed...

Are you feeding hopper mice?

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Yes, I am feeding him hopper mice. :)

I'm sure a bunch of other folks will jump in here as well, but a hopper mouse is far too small for any 1 year old ball python (I suspect that even feeding 2 per feeding is not enough for a 1 year old unless he is particularly small).

The feeding chart most commonly referenced here calls for them as feeders only for a hatchling BP's first 3 to 5 meals.
Here's a copy that I wrote down in my tracking charts (for pets, I think the frequency but not the size varies some for breeders):

Ball Python Feeding Plan
Food Item	Food Weight (g)	Male Snake Weight (g)	Female Snake Weight (g)	# of Days Between
1x Hopper Mouse	8 to 11	First 3-5 Meals	First 3-5 Meals	Every 7 Days
1x Rat Fuzzy OR 1x Sm Mouse	10 to 19 OR 12 to 17	Up to 200	Up to 200	Every 7 Days
1x Rat Pup OR 1x Adult Mouse	20 to 29 OR 18 to 32	200 to 350	200 to 350	Every 7 Days
1x Weaned Rat OR 1x Jumbo Mouse	30 to 49 OR 33 to 50	350 to 500	350 to 500	Every 7 Days
1x Small Rat OR 2-3 Mice	50 to 89 OR size depends	Over 500	500 to 1,000	Every 7 Days
1x Medium Rat OR 3-5 Mice	90 to 179 OR size depends	Not Typically Needed (Male)	Over 1,000	Every 7 Days
Large Rat	180g+	Not Typically Needed (Male)	Not Typically Needed (Female)	N/A

I have a 6 month old BP (@ 212 grams last weighed) that is taking 20-24g adult mice and will be switching over to rat pups once I get some at the next expo and I use the last few mice I have for him.

If you've been feeding that small, I think the usual recommendation is to start increasing the size of the meal one level at a time for a few meals each so you don't overwhelm the snake with something a lot bigger than it is used to digesting. You will definitely need to get a weight for your snake so that you know what size feeder you should progress up to and not end up feeding something too big.
(Something like 2 or 3 meals at small mouse/rat fuzz, then 2-3 meals of adult mouse/rat pup, and so on until you get to the weight range your snake should be eating at.)

Ok, that's what I thought. Hopper mice are too small for a BP. They eat hoppers for the first few meals and quickly move up in size.
This is a common mistake among new keepers and nothing to worry about. Just upsize your prey and feed weekly and you're good to go.
This feeding chart should help. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ae8497fd1b.jpg

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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

I'm sure a bunch of other folks will jump in here as well, but a hopper mouse is far too small for any 1 year old ball python (I suspect that even feeding 2 per feeding is not enough for a 1 year old unless he is particularly small).

The feeding chart most commonly referenced here calls for them as feeders only for a hatchling BP's first 3 to 5 meals.
Here's a copy that I wrote down in my tracking charts (for pets, I think the frequency but not the size varies some for breeders):

Ball Python Feeding Plan
Food Item	Food Weight (g)	Male Snake Weight (g)	Female Snake Weight (g)	# of Days Between
1x Hopper Mouse	8 to 11	First 3-5 Meals	First 3-5 Meals	Every 7 Days
1x Rat Fuzzy OR 1x Sm Mouse	10 to 19 OR 12 to 17	Up to 200	Up to 200	Every 7 Days
1x Rat Pup OR 1x Adult Mouse	20 to 29 OR 18 to 32	200 to 350	200 to 350	Every 7 Days
1x Weaned Rat OR 1x Jumbo Mouse	30 to 49 OR 33 to 50	350 to 500	350 to 500	Every 7 Days
1x Small Rat OR 2-3 Mice	50 to 89 OR size depends	Over 500	500 to 1,000	Every 7 Days
1x Medium Rat OR 3-5 Mice	90 to 179 OR size depends	Not Typically Needed (Male)	Over 1,000	Every 7 Days
Large Rat	180g+	Not Typically Needed (Male)	Not Typically Needed (Female)	N/A

I have a 6 month old BP (@ 212 grams last weighed) that is taking 20-24g adult mice and will be switching over to rat pups once I get some at the next expo and I use the last few mice I have for him.

If you've been feeding that small, I think the usual recommendation is to start increasing the size of the meal one level at a time for a few meals each so you don't overwhelm the snake with something a lot bigger than it is used to digesting. You will definitely need to get a weight for your snake so that you know what size feeder you should progress up to and not end up feeding something too big.
(Something like 2 or 3 meals at small mouse/rat fuzz, then 2-3 meals of adult mouse/rat pup, and so on until you get to the weight range your snake should be eating at.)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Ok, that's what I thought. Hopper mice are too small for a BP. They eat hoppers for the first few meals and quickly move up in size.
This is a common mistake among new keepers and nothing to worry about. Just upsize your prey and feed weekly and you're good to go.
This feeding chart should help. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ae8497fd1b.jpg

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Okay. Thank you so much, I didn't realize. x-x He weighs 165g right now. I'll switch him over small mice then. I just need to figure out where to get them near me. The place I normally get them near me has Fuzzy -> Hopper -> Adult mouse. They don't have the in between. So I'll have to find somewhere else to get a small mouse. Or see if I can find a rat fuzzy.

I can't order them or anything in bulk cause I can't keep them in the freezer I have. x-x I live with someone else and they would freak if they found rats in the freezer. XD I usually just go buy one a week. It might be a bit more expensive, but it's better than not being allowed to have my buddy. I don't mind the price, anyway. :P

Good luck. I only have one place anywhere near me but luckily they have a great selection. If you can't find the right size, you can probably just ask for the biggest hopper they have and at least get close to the proper size

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If you're buying from one of the big chain pet stores, you can bring in a small kitchen scale and weigh a few of the adult mice in-store. Just pull the plastic out of the box briefly and weigh it. I'd look for something around 16-18 grams to start. (Plastic should be negligible in weight)
My 6 month old started around 167 grams at 4 months old and took down 20 gram mice from the start.

I think you're on the right track for your little buddy, he'll be growing faster than you can believe with the right size food now.

(And obligatory pic of my boy when I got him at around the weight yours is at.)
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c53d206b8f.jpg

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