I need a Los Angeles Vet for my ball python.

Any recs?

My 2008 female normal ball python looks like she has an infected scent gland that is bothering her. It's sensitive to the touch, swollen and her behavior has changed a bit because of it. I need a vet, but finding a good one that's not in Orange County but is in Los Angeles is proving to be a challenge.

Granted her behavior has always been a bit odd, but I figure I should get it checked out.

Also, I'd like to know if anyone else ran into their snakes running into this kind of issue so I know what to expect?

Thanks.

This site might help you find a good vet in the L.A. area: https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

I haven't had any snakes with this issue, & seeing a vet is a good idea. I hope you'll let us know how it turns out?

Until the vet visit consider switching the reptile onto a white unprinted paper towel substrate. I’ve seen it ( infected scent glands) in my colubrids at different times. Never in my ball python collection however. It’s very possible that it’s something different. Are you able to post pictures of it? Sorry to read about the situation and glad that you’ve taken a pro response to it by seeking reptile veterinarian assistance. Congrats to you!


:salute:

Sadly yeah, all I really know of is Dr. Greek in Orange County....
I don't know if maybe they can give you a referral for someone in LA if you give them a call. But Greek can also be a bit difficult to schedule into if you did make the drive. @_@;

Definitely give the website Boger listed a look.
I agree with Albert on moving your gal off substrate. I'd maybe even consider giving her a soak as well. It wouldn't hurt and if she does get stimulated enough to go, it may help flush the area a bit as well.

Since she's ~6 ft (Maybe 5'5"), I was going to upgrade her to a 4' maybe 5' enclosure from the 40 gallon long breeder. I've also been letting her out more often since she's antsy lately. But then this happened.

I also was going to get rid of her substrate completely. She hates it anyway. But she's also an escape artist and rarely sits still, so might be hard getting her to cooperate with anything. Always like this since I got her. Might be hard getting pictures.

It's only on one side of her body. It's a rough guess. I'm hoping it's not something more serious. I've had her since she was a baby (though I bought her). It's lump on one side, in the tail section just after the vent. She doesn't like me touching it. It's about the size of a quarter.

I have a sliding screen system, but she figured out how to unlock the sliding screen system through sheer persistence. (Also the need for the cage upgrade.) I had to weigh it down with textbooks.

She's scheduled for an appointment today. I'm a bit worried because she's an older snake. And I'm not sure if she might need surgery or not. Anesthesia+reptiles often doesn't go well according to the shows I've watched.

I'm glad you've gotten an appointment today- let us know how it goes. It could be a tumor or an infection, but at least it's something the vet can reach- not something deeply internal, so that's a plus. You have all our best wishes for your pet's good outcome.

I got her out for transport, and she's in shed. Usually when my snakes are in shed, including her, they don't squirm, but until I talked to her (I told you she's quirky), she's been moving a lot.

The bump in her tail has flattened a bit and gotten smaller (quarter to a about a nickel). I hope this is a sign it's maybe a low grade infection. Or it might be the shed is affecting the appearance. Still taking her to the vet.

BTW, because Los Angeles is so arid I usually give my snakes a shoebox-size of water, so if they want to soak safely, they can. Also, because sometimes it gets hot and it's hard to thermoregulate the apartment (I do try though) so they can cool off by soaking. The humidity in the room always stays between 50-60%. (I check it daily.)

Snakes can also get urate "stones" that they sometimes cannot pass without help, but it doesn't sound like that's what this is, because urate stones are located in the middle, just above the cloaca & feel like a hard marble- they're not at one side.

If it's just an infection, keep in mind that snakes normally have solid pus (like cheese) that doesn't usually drain without minor surgical help. Anyway, one way or another, you & your vet will get this figured out pretty soon, & hopefully it won't be a huge deal. Nothing wrong with talking to your snakes either, btw- they feel vibrations & I'm sure that your being familiar helps to reassure
her. :gj:

I used to live in So. Cal. (many years) so I know what you mean about low humidity. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

She's scheduled for an appointment today. I'm a bit worried because she's an older snake. And I'm not sure if she might need surgery or not. Anesthesia+reptiles often doesn't go well according to the shows I've watched.

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I don't gather that 14 is old for a BP.

My rainbow boa had to be anesthetized recently, and while it was scary seeing him limp my vet said snakes handle it pretty well (I was nervous too). He did fine, BTW -- I'm sure yours will too.:)

I had a pretty good vet and vet techs who seemed to know what they were doing when handling her. I chose well, I guess.

They took at look at her separate from me, because of covid, and took a sample. She probed as a male, but she's definitely a female as she's laid eggs before. lol

They're going to test it with a pathologist? I forgot the term. P-something or something like that. and see if it's cancer or a an infected scent gland. If it is cancer, etc then we'll do blood work.

She was pretty acive before we left, but even though the box I took her in is open she's not moving.

I know this is probably personification, but when I said I was going to take her to the vet before, about 3 days ago, she broke out of her cage. And then I finally found her in her cage like nothing had happened, and then this morning, I said I was going to... and slow and whispering, she was holding still... take her to the... waited. vet. and she squirmed and tried to escape. lol

Last time I took her to one was when she was about 5-ish for a respiratory infection. (Kicked up her aspen, and the dust was bad).

She's a tad bruised from the needle, so I'm putting Neosporin on it. I hope to get the results within the next week? I hope it really is minor. But you know how reptiles are. One minor thing can be a landslide of terrible.

Think positive :please: & sorry, but I don't think she's reading your mind or your words. :D

As for probing as a male but having laid eggs, maybe she's a very rare hermaphrodite, who knows? Either that or they're not so experienced with probing a BP like yours?

A rare hermaphrodite or possibly they hit a pocket if it's an abscess. The pocket may make it seem more like probing a male.

I'm hoping you get some answers with the samples! Fingers crossed that it's something simple like a small infection or impaction.

I was at the vet with my furry menagerie today. The wait and Covid restrictions can be so frustrating. Glad you were able to get your baby in so quickly. 💜

Hope the ball python has a condition that is easily treatable and goes on to thrive. Good luck and yes, stay positive, think positive.

It's most likely that they can't pop her because of the infection, so can't see. But I've done that to her (When it wasn't infected, obviously) and seen her scent glands as a baby and as an adult.

I also think it's a coincidence that every time I say vet she disappears or squirms. But I still think it's funny. I was talking to her on the trip home, because snakes obviously have ears, etc, so can recognize voices, if not words, and was telling her, you're not supposed to know what the word vet is. lol I suppose I didn't look that sane carrying a plastic box with a pillow case in it and talking to it. I mostly talked to her because all the sound from streets, etc can be really stressful for a snake, so I thought something familiar when she can't see anything might comfort her a bit.

Anyway, she was protecting her tail when I went to check on her. I don't blame her. After getting probed, a needle stuck into her, she wasn't her usual, kinda boa-ish self. She does not act like a ball python. Believe me, I have other ball pythons with prototypical behavior.

Still hoping it'll go away and it's just a minor abscess. Better to play it safe, right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

...
I also think it's a coincidence that every time I say vet she disappears or squirms. But I still think it's funny. I was talking to her on the trip home, because snakes obviously have ears, etc, so can recognize voices, if not words, and was telling her, you're not supposed to know what the word vet is. lol I suppose I didn't look that sane carrying a plastic box with a pillow case in it and talking to it. I mostly talked to her because all the sound from streets, etc can be really stressful for a snake, so I thought something familiar when she can't see anything might comfort her a bit..........

Still hoping it'll go away and it's just a minor abscess. Better to play it safe, right?

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Actually, snakes do not have "ears"- all they have are some vestigial remains of inner ear bones & their hearing is thought to be quite minimal, especially with higher frequencies- they tend to feel bass notes (& so can we if we pay attention, & especially if we're touching a hard surface that vibrates with the sound). I think it's most unlikely that your snake "hears" your voice at all, though if your voice is lower, she may feels some bass vibrations when near you- same goes for street noise. I wouldn't worry at all though about what others think when you're talking to a "plastic box with a pillow case in it" as many people have all kinds of pets these days & can relate. :D And better yet, if they ask, it's a chance for you to educate them about our mellow pet snakes, right?

I've known my share of snakes that don't conform to what most people think snakes will act like- that have more than the usual share of personality. I'm all for keeping an "open mind" whether that falls under the once-dreaded label of "anthropomorphism" or not. Humans never quite know as much as they think they do at the time anyway- there's always more to understand. ;)

You did the right thing ("play it safe") by taking her to the vet & getting this issue some medical attention. We all hope (with you) that she'll be okay- think positive. :snake:

https://www.snakesforpets.com/can-ba...ns-hear-sound/

According to this, yes. So excessive street noise, yes. Say, like a motorcycle whizzing by. And some air vibrations, which explains why she freezes when I talk to her and say, "Ah, there you are. Do you want to sit in my lap?"

She probably can also *smell* me. When I'm in the room, she always turned her head towards me, and when she's about to try to escape, takes a flick of her tongue in my direction before dashing. (Yes, I know their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell outmatches ours). She also sometimes actively comes to find me. I know that sounds weird, but a few times she escaped, then realized there was no food, and then came to my bed, slithered over me and waited. (And mind you, I really did try to secure her cage. But she managed to bop her head against the screen enough to loosen the old silicone, and then pushed out. (during breeding season). She injured her nose on the screen once. Mind you, at the time her cage was big enough and well-furnished.

She once escaped and hid under my desk and stayed there for a month. I couldn't retrieve her, but checked on her. She'd flick her tongue at me.

So, some air sounds, yes.

But definitely her behavior isn't a typical ball python by a long shot. She's female, so is supposed to be all still during the breeding season, but she's not. (My other female isn't either, so I don't know about that--maybe they didn't study enough... The most escapes I've had were during the breeding season.)

This one hates belly heat and I'm trying to figure out how to accommodate that. Her favorite hiding spots outside her cage are all heat from above, rather than below. None of my other snakes seem to care. But this one really cares. Her current favorite spot is on a book, positioned just so (otherwise she will not hide there and believe me I tried other positions, but then she disappeared or tried to escape.) on the rack system with the heat coming from above heating the snake above her. She'll sit there all day. And then I gave her a water bowl and she'll drink from the water bowl, go back and then at night want off the spot, explore and go find me, and then I let her sit on my lap under a blanket, before putting her in her cage, then in the morning, when I pass by, she squirms her head against the screen until I open the cage, and then I put her back on that spot. She's deemed it her favorite spot in the entire apartment. And I'm trying to adjust her basking spot better, a few times, but she wants *that* spot and protests until she gets it.

She likes to greet the sun in the morning. She'll come out at dawn, stick her head out. When she was smaller, she'd also try basking in it. And then go back to hide in mid-morning to evening. She begs for food, too, by putting her head on the place where I put the rats usually around the time I feed her.

Also, I think ball python sense of direction is better than we give credit for. She managed to navigate back to her open cage when she escaped where her water bowl was.

None of my other ball pythons do this, though. They all go back to their hiding spots easily. They hide for most of the day, and they don't care where the heat is coming from. Her daughter, though, begs for food, like she does.

She does not like me touching her head--which is to be expected, but she'll freeze in place if I use a q-tip and have neosporin on it. (This one confounds me. Every other snake always runs away.) I do periodically check her mouth for mouth rot and check her teeth, especially if her sounds are a bit off.

Iunno, they definitely have personalities 'cause they have preferences and different behaviors. She's really quirky for a ball python.

Waiting for the results of the test. Her tail is a bit swollen from where they were drawing blood, but I figure that's normal given what happened. She's still treating it as sensitive. (Doesn't let me touch it, hold it, and holds it in such a way it doesn't touch objects. I'm doing a thorough clean out with F10 sc. TT It hurts me I can't upgrade her like I planned though. It'll be a few months before I can upgrade her to a bigger cage. She deserves at least a 4-5' cage. (I want a 6ft, but my apt is too small)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

https://www.snakesforpets.com/can-ba...ns-hear-sound/

According to this, yes. So excessive street noise, yes. Say, like a motorcycle whizzing by. And some air vibrations, which explains why she freezes when I talk to her and say, "Ah, there you are. Do you want to sit in my lap?"

She probably can also *smell* me. When I'm in the room, she always turned her head towards me, and when she's about to try to escape, takes a flick of her tongue in my direction before dashing. (Yes, I know their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell outmatches ours). She also sometimes actively comes to find me. I know that sounds weird, but a few times she escaped, then realized there was no food, and then came to my bed, slithered over me and waited. (And mind you, I really did try to secure her cage. But she managed to bop her head against the screen enough to loosen the old silicone, and then pushed out. (during breeding season). She injured her nose on the screen once. Mind you, at the time her cage was big enough and well-furnished.

She once escaped and hid under my desk and stayed there for a month. I couldn't retrieve her, but checked on her. She'd flick her tongue at me.

So, some air sounds, yes.

But definitely her behavior isn't a typical ball python by a long shot. She's female, so is supposed to be all still during the breeding season, but she's not. (My other female isn't either, so I don't know about that--maybe they didn't study enough... The most escapes I've had were during the breeding season.)

This one hates belly heat and I'm trying to figure out how to accommodate that. Her favorite hiding spots outside her cage are all heat from above, rather than below. None of my other snakes seem to care. But this one really cares. Her current favorite spot is on a book, positioned just so (otherwise she will not hide there and believe me I tried other positions, but then she disappeared or tried to escape.) on the rack system with the heat coming from above heating the snake above her. She'll sit there all day. And then I gave her a water bowl and she'll drink from the water bowl, go back and then at night want off the spot, explore and go find me, and then I let her sit on my lap under a blanket, before putting her in her cage, then in the morning, when I pass by, she squirms her head against the screen until I open the cage, and then I put her back on that spot. She's deemed it her favorite spot in the entire apartment. And I'm trying to adjust her basking spot better, a few times, but she wants *that* spot and protests until she gets it.

She likes to greet the sun in the morning. She'll come out at dawn, stick her head out. When she was smaller, she'd also try basking in it. And then go back to hide in mid-morning to evening. She begs for food, too, by putting her head on the place where I put the rats usually around the time I feed her.

Also, I think ball python sense of direction is better than we give credit for. She managed to navigate back to her open cage when she escaped where her water bowl was.

None of my other ball pythons do this, though. They all go back to their hiding spots easily. They hide for most of the day, and they don't care where the heat is coming from. Her daughter, though, begs for food, like she does.

She does not like me touching her head--which is to be expected, but she'll freeze in place if I use a q-tip and have neosporin on it. (This one confounds me. Every other snake always runs away.) I do periodically check her mouth for mouth rot and check her teeth, especially if her sounds are a bit off.

Iunno, they definitely have personalities 'cause they have preferences and different behaviors. She's really quirky for a ball python.

Waiting for the results of the test. Her tail is a bit swollen from where they were drawing blood, but I figure that's normal given what happened. She's still treating it as sensitive. (Doesn't let me touch it, hold it, and holds it in such a way it doesn't touch objects. I'm doing a thorough clean out with F10 sc. TT It hurts me I can't upgrade her like I planned though. It'll be a few months before I can upgrade her to a bigger cage. She deserves at least a 4-5' cage. (I want a 6ft, but my apt is too small)

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This is long post & I'll comment in the same order as what you've written-

We're in agreement (also w/ this & other articles) as to what snakes can actually "hear".

How she perceives you when in the room: unlikely to be "scent" if she's in her enclosure & depending on the distance & air currents in the room. Snakes see motion pretty well, but they just don't rely on vision to know for certain what's heading their way- to narrow it down takes all their senses (touch, scent, warmth). I'm not sure how far away snakes w/ heat sensing pits can detect body heat, so that may also be part of her recognition. In my long association with snakes, their vision seems mostly to recognize the approach of either prey or predator, until whatever it is gets closer & their other senses can help distinguish which one it is.

Seems odd that she'd not like "belly heat" but maybe it's too hot? What is the accurate temperature inside her home where she can contact the warmth most directly w/ substrate pushed away???

Sense of direction: not only BPs but all snakes MUST learn their way around in nature (using all their senses as best they can) so they can find their way back to safety (shelter from excessive heat or cold, & from predators). Snakes are very hard to test, but some attempts have been made, using touch & scent cues designed for snakes, that reportedly showed they learn their way around as well or better than rats in mazes. So keep that in mind. :cool:

I also know from personal experience that snakes learn & remember things better than most people believe. I also agree with you that snakes, not just BPs, have their own personalities too. But we only see what we are willing to acknowledge when we do see it, eh? ;) It takes an open mind, so not all will agree there, but that's okay. I'm quite sure that you see more interesting behaviors because you clearly spend more "quality time" with her than many others do with their pet snakes, & provide her with an enriched environment with periodic activity outside her enclosure- this all makes perfect sense. If you kept a child locked in a room for years, they'd not learn things either- they'd seem very clueless, & of course, you'd be charged with child abuse too. :rolleyes: (I'm not, however, suggesting that anyone lets their pet snakes "free-roam" their houses -either indoors or out- without close & constant supervision, as there are dangers for them at every turn for which their instincts leave them unprepared, & because inevitably they're much better than we are at playing "hide & seek".)

She's obviously in good & caring hands with you. :gj: Thanks for sharing your thoughts & observations. :snake:

Results came back. It's an abscess. Not sure how she got it. I'm relieved it's not cancer or anything. She'll be put on antibiotics for 30 days. (She's going to hate it.) It's injections.

I'm going to pick them up probably Monday.

The anti-belly heat issue, not sure if it's because her belly was burned as a baby. (The thermoregulator was not powerful enough. I invested into an inkbird.)

Still working on cleaning her cage. I cleared out the substrate. I'm keeping her somewhere separate of the cage until I get it completely cleaned.

She mostly turns her head towards me when I make noise and is out of her cage.

About her being on antibiotics- I wouldn't push food during this time: antibiotics are a little hard on their body & may also reduce their appetite- nothing to worry about, but I'd plan to add reptile probiotics to her prey* AFTER she finishes her course of injections, because antibiotics don't discriminate between bad bacteria or the "good" bacteria in their gut they need to digest properly. (*I assume you don't feed live- best way is just to pack the probiotic powder into the dead rodent's oral cavity.)

Glad it's not cancer- this (abscess) was the more likely issue, so I'm not surprised.

reptile probiotics? Could you clarify? I've never seen them in a care guide before...

Anyway, it took most of the day, but I cleaned out her cage with f10SC (diluted properly) all substrate and put in paper towels. I'm still trying to figure out why she hates her cage, but she's been pretty chill since the visit, probably because she's still hurting. I'm putting on neosporin on the tail area to help relieve some of the pain until I can pick up her meds on Monday. Meds need to stay frozen, so I'm bringing ice packs.

She's left with two hides, and one water dish. I hope the med help her with her abscess. I'm still trying to trouble shoot the hides situation. Also, why she loves that astronomy book so much and if there is a way to find a surface that feels similar to that which can transmit heat or find a way to heat her from above. (She rejected the tile--stopped going inside after that. Hated terracotta pot saucer (filled it with substrate), hates the rough substrate and kicks it aside. Kinda tolerate the rough texture of a bonsai bowl (I'm trying to improve the hide that goes over it so it covers more properly. Also hated the fake rug texture too. --;; So fussy. Any suggestions for what to put as substrate for her hides would be welcome. So she's not trying to climb out all the time. I'm thinking about doing coconut coir chips on the cool side since she likes flipping her water dish when she's in shed and then sitting on the substrate, and maybe a different substrate for her hot end. I'm willing to adjust per snake.

Also, she is currently in shed. And hasn't eaten in a month, she's well over 2500 grams, she should be OK, right?

Reptile probiotics: Nutribac or Bene-Bac. There may be others, but these are the 2 that I'm familiar with. They're safe & helpful for the snake's digestion, but NEVER give them WHILE the snake is receiving antibiotics- ONLY AFTER the medication is done.

Neosporin is not the best choice- and NEVER use the "pain relief" variety on a snake- it's toxic to them. If you have already, please wipe it off a.s.a.p. A little of the regular Neosporin is safe for use on a reptile wound, but anything with a petrolatum base (as Neosporin ointment has) is also known for causing skin problems in snakes -it can really mess up future sheds for a while- so use it very sparingly if at all.

Better choices for wound care: Vetericyn ointment (for reptile use) it's water-based, but I don't think it's a pain relief formula- I know of nothing you can use topically for that on snakes, & I doubt that your snake is having much pain anyway. Also safe for wound care is povidone-iodine (brand name is Betadine), diluted to look like weak tea, applied topically to prevent infection. (Vetericyn is available online or in some pet stores, Petco & maybe others; Vetericyn is just the brand name- they make products for many kinds of animals, so make sure you're getting only what is intended for snake-reptile use.)

As I mentioned before, abscesses in snakes are generally composed of solid material that will not drain- they're usually removed surgically, but that's between you & your vet- you might want to ask them why you're only doing antibiotic injections, if that's the plan? It seems your vet is either suspecting or trying to prevent a wider infection? It would be good to know their thoughts- or perhaps the lump isn't large enough to bother with surgery, or it has shrunk?

She's fine being in shed & not eating right now- as I said earlier, with antibiotic injections + the stress of seeing the vet, it's better she doesn't eat right now anyway- the last thing you need is a regurgitation. Also, she may shed more frequently for a while now- that's how snakes heal- when they have any sort of wound to heal from, they shed their whole body as a means of repair, so don't be surprised if sheds come more frequently for a while.

You'll have to experiment for what she likes as a substrate & hides, but keep in mind that snakes generally like traction & things they can hang onto, since they have no hands or feet to help. For the time being though it's best to use white paper towels (layered) while your snake is dealing with an infection. ;) Snakes usually prefer hides that they only just fit into snuggly- they feel safer that way, with only one door & a low ceiling- "cave-like". In other words, they want the opposite of what magazines like House Beautiful "sells" us humans on...snakes aren't into grand entryways or high ceilings. ;)

Got meds today. Braved the weather for them.

She's recovering from the original visit and starting to move around a bit. I tried to update the hide, but Iunno, she might be rejecting it. (I took a melamine dish, and ground into it a hole big enough for her yesterday. Underneath that is the bonsai bowl which helps with heat distribution and a paper towel.)

I gave her the injection, but then she moved, and now I'm worried I effed it up, ya know. TT I'll be monitoring her for the next 48 hours to make sure I didn't eff it terribly.