Possible Problem

My youngest son and I 2 baby ball pythons, one male and one female. Today, my son and I noticed that the male has sort of a flattened area (top to bottom) on the rear 1/2 to 1/3 of his body, it's an area about 3 inches long. This is the first we have noticed it. Nothing unusual has happened to him, he ate this evening with no problems. He is eating small adult mice. Nothing has happened to him, i.e. squezzed, dropped, stepped on. Cage is kept at 80-82 on cool end with warm end 90-94. He has a hide, and we keep fresh water in bowl at all times. Anyone seen anything like this?

how 'flat' is the area compared to the regular cross section of the bp? Is there anyway you can take a picture? When was the last time the bp deficated? The more details the better....how long have you had them?

i noticed you said you have one hide. you should have 2; one for the cool side, one for the warm. that can't contribute to him being flat though. sometimes my BP's look flat at there rear when they've just pooped, has he pooped in the past couple days?

We've had them since 9/21/05. Monty went poo yesterday. And I will try and get a picture once the mouse he ate this evening is digested. And will get another hide for both snakes on the cool end.

Thanks,
Bryan

1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.2 Corn Snakes

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Originally Posted by bryanerb

Monty went poo yesterday. And will get another hide for both snakes on the cool end.

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mine look kinda flattened sometimes after they poop too.

and, are you keeping them in the same cage? thats a HUGE no no!!

Probably just because he pooped.

You should really separate your snakes.. it's been discussed to death on this site, but snakes do not do well together.. it stresses them out, and if one is ever sick, you can't tell which one it is.. etc etc. They may look 'cute' curled up together, but trust me, they are not affectionate animals in the least, they are designed to live alone.

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Originally Posted by Shelby

Probably just because he pooped.

You should really separate your snakes.. it's been discussed to death on this site, but snakes do not do well together.. it stresses them out, and if one is ever sick, you can't tell which one it is.. etc etc. They may look 'cute' curled up together, but trust me, they are not affectionate animals in the least, they are designed to live alone.

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They can eat each other too...

Yep.. there was a very graphic set of pics somewhere of one BP that ate another.. not much size difference either, quite amazing!

can anyone show me a link of that? when i asked this question when i first joined someone mentioned that too, but they couldn't show me the pic. i really want to see it.

Each snake has it's own cage.

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Originally Posted by bryanerb

Each snake has it's own cage.

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That is great to hear :)

I can't find the link to those pics..

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

how 'flat' is the area compared to the regular cross section of the bp? Is there anyway you can take a picture? When was the last time the bp deficated? The more details the better....how long have you had them?

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I have taken photo's of Monty and uploaded them to my gallery.

Thanks for all the quick responses.

Here are the pics....
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ed1_373072.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ntyResize2.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...tyResized1.jpg

That does not look normal to me...have you felt around on the area? if so, is the bp jumpy when it is touched? is there any possible way something could have fell on it?

No that's very odd. He didn't have this when you got him?

It looks like it could be a spinal deformity.. but those don't just appear overnight.

I'd say a vet visit is in order.

Where are Adam and Becky when you need them :) I am sure one of the two may know what may be wrong.

Yeah.. well, Becky is signed on.

There isn't anything in his cage that could fall on him. As far as I know nothing fell on him, he isn't jumpy when I touch him there.

Oh my, poor baby. It really does look like a spinal deformity. Can't say for sure without looking at radiographs taken by a veterinarian. Does it seem especially tight or firm/hard in that area?

No he didn't have this when we got him. He gets around just fine, he can move his tail and has good strength. ( He likes to wrap his tail around your finger and hold on) We have noticed, since I first posted, that it appears to have gotten shorter in length. Sometimes depending on what he is doing it isn't as noticable. But I agree, a Vet visit is probably in order.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Oh my, poor baby. It really does look like a spinal deformity. Can't say for sure without looking at radiographs taken by a veterinarian. Does it seem especially tight or firm/hard in that area?

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Not especially tight, but the ribs in the area do feel odd.

Odd as in how? Mushy? When he moves around, and you have your hand on that area, can you feel the muscles moving/pulsing?

I just wonder what is going on with that area since he didn't have that problem when you got him.

It's firm, ribs feel somewhat lumpy, and they stick out more there, not smooth like normal.