New addition- Dumerils- concerned!!!

[OsirisRa32]

So I picked up a new purchase at the Baltimore repticon...just got home and as I was looking it over under a high beam light with some magnification before putting it into QT...(the lighting at the particular booth selling the dumerils I bought wasnt great)...I noticed he has a few very small scars along his back (they look like from rodents)...more worrying to me is that at the show he was alert, energetic and active...now his tongue flicks look weak and lethargic and instead of rapid full tongue flicks they only flick out the forked part up until the fork splits (so like 1/4 to 1/3) the tongue's normal flick length...also his belly feels and looks very bloated and empty..his belly scales also look and feel off (gonna try and get pics of everything today/tonight)...at least compared to my ball pythons...

as this is my first dumerils...while I am familiar and have educated myself on their basic husbandry the overall above mentioned observations have me very worried and concerned that they sold me a sick snake.

Thoughts? Comments? More info I need to supply or absorb myself?
Thanks!

[DooLittle]

I say lets see some pics. I hope he's ok.

[OsirisRa32]

need to unpack and get some things organized/cleaned so pics will be up in an hour or two...i hope...I dunno how im gonna show his bloated belly...

[hypnotixdmp]

Yeah pix will help much!

Ball Pythons
0.2 Normals (Coilette and Mary Jane)
1.0 Spider Morph (Zeus)
1.0 Pastel (De Sol)

Boas
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Stella)
0.1 Hog Island BCI (Kiyoko)
0.1 Dumerils Boa (Gloria)
0.1 Yellow Anaconda (Serenity)
0.1 Albino Columbian BCI

[Evenstar]

Definitely need pics.

A couple of good shots that will help us help you is to first take a couple of pics of him laying naturally from above (looking down on the snake). Try to get the full body in the shot. This is actually the best way to see if he's bloated as he's in a more natural position. But also take a pic of you holding him upright vertically from the ground and the camera pointed at his belly. Lift and hold him gently and be sure to support his body weight. Have someone help by being fully ready to take the pic for you so you aren't holding him in that position any longer than necessary. Third, try to take a close up of the scars on his back.

Do your best to take the pictures in good lighting and in focus.

[OsirisRa32]

scar pics are taken already...still working on figuring out a way to get a good belly/bloated photo....really hard to take and its more by feel then by really super visuals...also scars are not my worry...this bloat is and the lethargic half ass tongue flicking...

[OsirisRa32]

incoming pics...lots....

Very faint but I tried to circle it...this is the weak half ass tongue flicks im seeing...not the fully extended flicking I see in all my BPs


The scaring...this the best of the pics of it I can get...macro'd this...there are 3-5 small little spots on him including this one....all down his back directly in line with his spine or slightly off the spine



Next is belly photos....tried to get the bloatiness and the weird middle of the belly scales double row of arched/fractured looking scales ( I really dont know how else to describe it)












I know these arent the best...Ill try again to describe it to the best of my ability

So far I havent been able to catch this bloaty feeling/appearance in photos...when I run my hand down my BPs bellies they all feel muscular and solid...if I press I can press down a bit but my hand/fingers meet muscle resistance...on this Dumerils...there is no resistance to pressing down on his belly (the lower 50% I would say)...in some positions the bloat is visually obvious...in other positions the belly scales pull up away from his belly in a parallel line right down the middle of each belly scale (laterally up and down his belly...not horizontally through each scale)...I think there is a photo or 2 where this can be seen...so far he has not defecated or peed....but this feels like gas or something similar (part of me is thinking parasites? but his cloaca and oral cavity are clear and clean...I realize thats not always clinically significant depending on what it is but a noted observation nonetheless)...My gut instincts are telling me something is not right with this guy...I know thats the exact opposite of scientific and I hope I am wrong....but I just dont feel like I am.

He is easy to handle and doesnt seem flustered or bothered by the taking of photos or me poking and prodding him....

[Evenstar]

Sometimes, science has to be thrown out the window and you have to go with your gut. If your gut is saying there's something wrong, listen to it.

The scars are pretty notable and almost certainly rat bites. If they are healed, then they are nothing to worry about, although they may remain unsightly for sometime and may never actually disappear. Shame the seller didn't point them out. He had to have known they were there.

The belly could just be that the snake has some poo in there. The slow tongue worries me a bit. If you attempt to lay him on his back, does he fight you? Does he righten himself immediately?

If you are truly thinking something is off, I would monitor him carefully over the weekend, boost him temps a degree or two, don't feed him but do make sure he feels secure (deep substrate and a hide box or two), and leave him alone. Then first thing Tuesday morning, call your vet and make an appointment.

And keep us posted 'cause we'll worry too....

[OsirisRa32]

Sometimes, science has to be thrown out the window and you have to go with your gut. If your gut is saying there's something wrong, listen to it.

The scars are pretty notable and almost certainly rat bites. If they are healed, then they are nothing to worry about, although they may remain unsightly for sometime and may never actually disappear. Shame the seller didn't point them out. He had to have known they were there.

The belly could just be that the snake has some poo in there. The slow tongue worries me a bit. If you attempt to lay him on his back, does he fight you? Does he righten himself immediately?

If you are truly thinking something is off, I would monitor him carefully over the weekend, boost him temps a degree or two, don't feed him but do make sure he feels secure (deep substrate and a hide box or two), and leave him alone. Then first thing Tuesday morning, call your vet and make an appointment.

And keep us posted 'cause we'll worry too....

Thanks for the insight/comments....the scars dont bother me at all...figured Id mention them though along with everything else...and no the seller never mentioned them which the more I deal with this poor little guy the more pissed off I am...he seems to have a GREAT personality and desposition...

The slow tongue worries me the most...While he may have poop in there...it would have to be a buttload (LOL)....and nothing there feels solid...it feels like gas or an empty space i guess?...he does fight a bit when i turn him over and does immediately right himself. The weird belly scale thing also concerns me a bit..

He is in my negative air pressure QT tank...on news paper with a UTH and overhead heat source for the hot spot...cool and fresh water...and will be monitored daily...and he has 2 hides in tehre with him...

[Evenstar]

Sounds good. We'll be pulling for him!

Only thing I'd change is to add some substrate. I normally would not suggest that for snakes in q/t or for any snake that might have something wrong with it, but Dumerils are naturally burrowing snakes and prefer to hide under their substrates. You could crumple up some newspaper so he could hide under that. Just trying to think of a few additional ways for him to feel secure. The more the snake can relax, the quicker he'll heal or fight off infection, etc.