Half of Ball python paralyzed

Hello, Yesterday i noticed that half of one of my ball python is " loose" she does not move it and is lethargic a little? She is about to go to the vet in an hour, so fast responses on what it could be is appreciated! She was not like this last week, and she has not ate for me yet.

she might have hurt herself and is avoiding moving it because it hurts.

Good luck at the vet, but without more details on the situation (age/size of snake, where it came from, your setup, temps, etc etc etc) all we can say is that's not normal and good job on going straight to a vet.

I am not sure of age, she is a rescue so getting her to a vet is all the more important. I'm guessing a 05. Temps are 89-93, setup is a 91 quart tub in a rack, heated with flex watt, she is 1200 grams. I'm in a rush so my typing is a little messed up, sorry!:oops:

Edit, substrate is newspaper, I'm using an accurite digital thermometer. Temps are measured with a Thermo.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

I am not sure of age, she is a rescue so getting her to a vet is all the more important. Im guessing a 05. Temps are 89-93, setup is a 91 quart tub in a rack, heated with flexwatt, she is 1200 grams. Im in a rush so my typeing is a little messed up, sorry!:oops:

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91 QT???? lol a lil big?

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Originally Posted by Hotshot

91 QT???? lol a lil big?

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Its the floor space of a 41q

Matt,

I hope everything's ok. If she's fine, since you're having trouble getting her to eat, you may want to consider getting her a smaller enclosure - with a much lower ceiling. Sounds like she's not felt "safe" if she hasn't eaten for you. You got her the same time I got my girls, who've all had 3 or 4 meals for me now.

Good luck and let us know how she does!

My other one is in a 32Q, and 1100 grams. She is going as well to the vet. I'm 100% sure it has to do with something the previous owner did, my friend who is taking me is getting ready to go.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Matt,

I hope everything's ok. If she's fine, since you're having trouble getting her to eat, you may want to consider getting her a smaller enclosure - with a much lower ceiling. Sounds like she's not felt "safe" if she hasn't eaten for you. You got her the same time I got my girls, who've all had 3 or 4 meals for me now.

Good luck and let us know how she does!

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OK, just got back from the vet. We have two good news and one bad news. Good first.

1. My friends snake who had belly rot was checked out, and shed while we were there to reveal a clean white belly!
2. My other rescue got another clean bill of health.


and the bad...

Orange( we had to name her on the spot and that was the color bag she was in) Possibly has IBD because of how she is behaving. The vet said that he is not 100% sure, but she has the symptoms. She had x-rays to see if she have a injured spine causing the paralysis, but it showed up perfectly fine, but she had gas on the spot where it was happening. He said that it might not be IBD( which i know is very bad) but he does not want to rule it out until we can get proper testing. He gave her a bacterial shot because it could be neurological problems. If she is any worse next week the best thing he thinks is to put her down. I think i missed a few key things in this post,
I am a little shocked. I can tell she is getting worse. She is going into SUPER qt and the rest of the rescues are going to go into see if they have IBD if it is proven she has it. She will be going back next week. I really need some support on this from you guys, any help is appreciated.

From what the UF vets told me,
You cannot prove a snake does NOT have IBD, unless they test it's brain.
You can prove a snake HAS IBD by blood tests, or by liver biopsy.
I hope it's not IBD, and there is a large amount of jumping right to IBD, I believe because it's such a very serious issue. Hopefully it's something else.
I'd also wonder why she has gas right there.
Best wishes, and I hope she either gets better, or you get a diagnosis.

What vet did you see?
If there is anything i can do let me know.
Trey

Appalation animal hospital in ellijay

Check with
Brad Wilson, DVM
Veterinary Clinic West
763 Whitlock Avenue SW, Marietta, GA 30064
(770) 424-5484
He has seen some of my snakes and is highly recommended. Just to get a second opinion. He is the exotic animal specialist.

Wow! Good luck with that! I am so sorry! Did you just get the rescue in that shape? Hang in there and keep trying to see what it is. My thoughts are with you. Keep up the good work rescuing and helping! :gj:

ibd????

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

OK, just got back from the vet. We have two good news and one bad news. Good first.

1. My friends snake who had belly rot was checked out, and shed while we were there to reveal a clean white belly!
2. My other rescue got another clean bill of health.


and the bad...

Orange( we had to name her on the spot and that was the color bag she was in) Possibly has IBD because of how she is behaving. The vet said that he is not 100% sure, but she has the symptoms. She had x-rays to see if she have a injured spine causing the paralysis, but it showed up perfectly fine, but she had gas on the spot where it was happening. He said that it might not be IBD( which i know is very bad) but he does not want to rule it out until we can get proper testing. He gave her a bacterial shot because it could be neurological problems. If she is any worse next week the best thing he thinks is to put her down. I think i missed a few key things in this post,
I am a little shocked. I can tell she is getting worse. She is going into SUPER qt and the rest of the rescues are going to go into see if they have IBD if it is proven she has it. She will be going back next week. I really need some support on this from you guys, any help is appreciated.

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just wondering if her enclosure was recently treated with provent-a-mite,if so how was it done? hope things go well.

Just to put this out there, I had a baby ball python a while back that had a lot of health issues. She had some gas buildup at one point about a third of the way down her body and it appeared as though the last half of her body was paralyzed for several days until she passed it.

I pray for a good turn out, but whatever the result....what you did for these animals needs to be applauded..

Personally, I'd want you there if I ever needed help.....just don't take me to a vet :P

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Originally Posted by mlededee

Just to put this out there, I had a baby ball python a while back that had a lot of health issues. She had some gas buildup at one point about a third of the way down her body and it appeared as though the last half of her body was paralyzed for several days until she passed it.

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This sounds like the case, there was gas on the spot where she seems to me paralyzed. I'll give her a bath to rehydrate her from the meds and see if she farts. Thanks for this post though, it gives me hope! Was its head lethargic?

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Originally Posted by OhBalls

I pray for a good turn out, but whatever the result....what you did for these animals needs to be applauded..

Personally, I'd want you there if I ever needed help.....just don't take me to a vet :P

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Thanks, anything for the snakes. She is doing a little better today, but i do want to say that she is for sure getting better. We will keep giving her shots and see how she does. When we take her back next week to have some more testing done.

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Originally Posted by mcavana

ibd????

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IBD is a severe neurological disorder. There is no cure and its always fatal in Balls and Boas and its extremely contagious.

Matt,

I'd also recommend that you consider seeing Dr. Brad Wilson as well - he came highly recommended from three different independent sources to me (the Atlanta Zoo Reptile Department, the GA Herp Society and BW Smith).

As far as I know - there is no conclusive test for IBD on living snakes. IBD kills pythons in under 30 days. How long have you had them?

We have had the resuces for a month and a half now. Does that rule out IBD???

Unless they were exposed to any other animals outside of your own home in that time (even someone else's brought into your home), I would think that yes - it would rule out IBD.

Again - I'd still recommend considering seeing Dr. Wilson for a second opinion. He's in Marietta.

I went with Matt to the vet in Ellijay. The vet was very caring for Orange and also worked with us on helping the snake. He did the x-rays for free because he knew that Matt really cared about his snake and knew what he was doing. I think he also knew that the x-rays weren't going to help diagnose the snake. All the the x-rays said was that the snake was fine but had a lot of gas. We are hoping that the gas is what's causeing it and it will pass. The vet said that only 1 out of 10 people that come up there know how to take care of reptiles and really care. He also helped me with my snake with belly rot. She shed yesterday and all the bad scales came off. I just hope that with Orange it is not IBD and something that can be cured or passed. I have the other 2 rescues and they are not showing any signs of IBD and are feeding and doing great. This is just a weird sight to look at.

Taking from Jen H's loss, she had her animals for well over the few weeks/months that we all rule as IBD prime territory. I dont know if they ever found out what it was, but I think with as little as any of us know, we shouldnt rule out anything especially something as serious as IBD until the specialists have time to work on it.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Taking from Jen H's loss, she had her animals for well over the few weeks/months that we all rule as IBD prime territory. I dont know if they ever found out what it was, but I think with as little as any of us know, we shouldnt rule out anything especially something as serious as IBD until the specialists have time to work on it.

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Jen's animals weren't suspect of having IBD, but some other type of virus instead. And even then, the team that was supposed to test the bodies mishandled them and let them deteriorate past the point of being able to test them. I've not seen any other updates since then from her. I do need to go check her blog. To my limited knowledge IBD doesn't result in blood being expelled from the lungs as were the symptoms of her animals.

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Originally Posted by Brimstone111888

IBD is a severe neurological disorder. There is no cure and its always fatal in Balls and Boas and its extremely contagious.

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Just to clarify this a bit. IBD is NOT ALWAYS fatal in Boas. Many Boas can carry IBD for years without perishing. However, this is not the case in Balls, as most of them will die within 3 months.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Jen's animals weren't suspect of having IBD, but some other type of virus instead. And even then, the team that was supposed to test the bodies mishandled them and let them deteriorate past the point of being able to test them. I've not seen any other updates since then from her. I do need to go check her blog. To my limited knowledge IBD doesn't result in blood being expelled from the lungs as were the symptoms of her animals.

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Sorry Rab, i just thought it jumping the gun to say it's ruled out IBD because of how long he's had the rescues.

I thought that it wasn't necessarily always a few weeks that IBD kills pythons and we know too little to rule something completely out because of the time line.

And you may be correct, Connie - from what I've learned from Adam - it kills in under 30 days from exposure.

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Just to clarify this a bit. IBD is NOT ALWAYS fatal in Boas. Many Boas can carry IBD for years without perishing. However, this is not the case in Balls, as most of them will die within 3 months.

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Opps and thank you.:gj:

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

This sounds like the case, there was gas on the spot where she seems to me paralyzed. I'll give her a bath to rehydrate her from the meds and see if she farts. Thanks for this post though, it gives me hope! Was its head lethargic?

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No, her head was not noticeable lethargic. She had other issues, the main one being an immunodeficiency, and the gas which caused the temporary seeming paralysis was just one of a host of issues she had--luckily that one was fairly minor and able to work itself out after several days time.

Any updates?

Did you go to a cat/dog vet or a vet that is experienced with reptiles?

To not be able to diagnose the problem and say that "it might be IBD" sounds to me like the vet just didn't know what he was doing and trying to save face. IBD makes quick work of ball pythons and if your snake actually had it, it would be dead by now, and your other pythons would probably be beginning to show symptoms as well.

I'd find another vet...

Hey guys, she did not make it. I was about to take her to the vet Rab and mx recommended after my friend brought the the shots i was giving her to me( She gives them the shots because she was shown how too when her snake got Belly rot) to show the vet so He would know what she was taking. I wish i had taken her earlier, but She was so bad yesterday she likely would not have made the trip.
This has been a really hard time for me, I pray that no other snake gets this.

Matt, I'm sorry that you lost her - would you consider having Dr. Wilson do a necropsy on her so that you can find out what happened and to see what precautions if any, you need to take with the rest?

I am so sorry. Will you be taking it to the vet for a postmortem diagnosis (to r/o IBD?)

I really do not have the money to get a necropsy done, Money is a little short to spend on dead animals because I had to buy alot of things for the snakes( a new temp gun, a few snake bags, a good pair of tongs, more flex watt, hides, and some cleaners for the tubs) I have a hunch on why this might have happened. 5 or 6 days ago i attempted to feed her, and I went to the bed across the room from my rack to watch TV( the make sure everything went OK) she was perfectly fine until that day. The mouse started to jump to get out, I watched him do it about ten times. Out of all odds, could he have landed on her head to cause this? I did not see him land on her head, but from the angle i can see starting a few inches from the bottom of the tub so I do not know.

I don't think a mouse could land on a snake's head hard enough to damage it.
Not saying it couldn't happen... but I doubt it, myself.
I'd think maybe that gas bubble is the culbrit. Your snake sounded like their snake, and if the gas bubble was behind some blockage, then that could have done her in.
I'm so sorry she did not make it, and know that you did everything you could to help her. HUGS.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

I really do not have the money to get a necropsy done, Money is a little short to spend on dead animals because I had to buy alot of things for the snakes( a new temp gun, a few snake bags, a good pair of tongs, more flex watt, hides, and some cleaners for the tubs) I have a hunch on why this might have happened. 5 or 6 days ago i attempted to feed her, and I went to the bed across the room from my rack to watch TV( the make sure everything went OK) she was perfectly fine until that day. The mouse started to jump to get out, I watched him do it about ten times. Out of all odds, could he have landed on her head to cause this? I did not see him land on her head, but from the angle i can see starting a few inches from the bottom of the tub so I do not know.

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I can understand money being tight, but I would argue rather than looking at it as spending money on a dead animal, it's something that you are doing to see if what she had was something that will affect your living animals. I would think the knowledge would be worth it in the end. Did you call to ask how much a necropsy would be?

No - I don't think that the mouse caused this.

I'd agree that it's money well spent if there's any concern that what killed this snake could possibly affect others in your collection. Many vets will work a payment plan on a sad situation like this so it's always worth asking.

I'm so sorry you lost her. :(

I am sorry that she didn't make it. Do keep in mind that a necropsy is definitely not money spent on a dead animal--it is money spent to protect the rest of your animals.

FYI, my vet charges $25 for a necropsy--it's not always as expensive as you might think.

If something like that was happening I would definitely have a necropsy done.

While the necropsy will not bring back your BP it will give you a definitive answer on the cause of death which is very important since you have other snakes.

If money is tight ask for a payment plan.

This thread describes exactly what is going on with my ball python, Spent money on the xrays snake is up and down but not eating and kinked on the back. xrays show big gas bubble. She can't get out of water bowl on her own, but fortunately will drink if I position her head above the water. She did have a major mite infection about from 1 month-2 weeks before this occured and did use pest strip above the cage and betadine soaks with some mineral oil on the top to kill the mites. any results on the thread or any one with some wisdom ideas would be most appreciated. I've been keeping reptiles for nearly 30 years and have never seen this before....

Hi,

It would probably be a better idea to make a new thread with all the symptoms in it and link back to this thread.

Did she always have the kink and could it have been caused by trauma?

I have no idea if any of this could be caused by the mites ( or a visus etc they passed on from another animal ) or even by the pest strip ( I think they mostly cause neurological problems if an overdose occurs? ). But I would definately mention it to the vet.

Is there any way to physically release some of the gas to reduce any pressure? It might just open a path for infection though so the vet may not even consider it.


dr del

I am so sorry for your loss. But thank you so much for sharing with the rest of us. This is a very important and educating thread. I never knew that gas could cause this kind of symptoms or anything about IBD. Thank you for sharing.