Serious Question!!!

[Mischievous_Purple_1]

My Ball Python, Amadeo has been having some health problems lately. He had a small patch of scales about 5-6 inches from his tail, and a spot of blood dried on one of the loose pieces. We figured he must have gotten cut on something while I was away on vacation. The skin on either side had gotten loose and what looked like an air pocket had developed on either side. After some debate, we took him to a local vet and they said that he likely had an abscess just under his skin and gave us enough Anti-biotic (Baytril) to last him five days, which would hopefully clear it up. About 2/10ths mL every day orally, and he was looking a bit better. He was fine for the first day after we finished his doses, and he wasn't acting any different. I fed him last Friday and he ate fine, though I think the mouse might have been a bit too big. Then the bubbles came back by Monday. He's now on an every-two-days dose of intramuscular Anti-biotics (Naxcel this time and under 0.1mL) and they don't seem to have gone away yet, whereas the oral doses worked after just 24 hours.

My questions are:

A) Is this loose skin and 'water'-filled bubbles (the liquid in the bubbled spots looks like water) really an abscess giving off bacteria, or is it something else, like Blisters Disease? (My Dad looked around to see if he could find anything like what's going on and came up with that.)

B) This doesn't have to do with the sickness, more on the mouse being too big. He's adjusting his jaw every 30 seconds to a minute, making it click. I've only noticed it when I'm holding him, I'd have to watch him for a few minutes while he's in his cage to see if he does it there too. Specifically, he's adjusting the right side, the left doesn't seem to be bothering him. He doesn't seem too irritated, and he doesn't react more then trying to pull away when I try to look at it (which he does anyway). Could he have hurt that side of his jaw eating and how can I fix the problem if there is one? The mouse was a decent sized adult, and he's handled two others of the same size with no problem before this, though they were both just a little bit bigger than what I normally give him.

[AK907]

Sounds like it could be a burn. Are you using an UTH (under tank heater/heat mat)? If so is it regulated? With what? You need a thermostat (not to be confused with a thermometer).

As far as the feeder size, get yourself a digital scale and weigh your snake and its prey. You should be feeding 10-15% of your snakes body weight every 5-7 days. They can eat meals much larger than this without issue, although it isn't recommended. Hopefully the clicking you hear isn't coming from an URI.

AKedit: BTW, since your snake has an injury, I would strongly recommend you clean its tub/tank/whatever very well and keep your snake on clean paper towels. I would clean it daily.

[Mischievous_Purple_1]

I am using a UTH, but he doesn't sit directly on top of it, and there's a decent substrate covering (some coconut dirt stuff, can't recall the name) I don't have a thermostat, but the thermometer stays at about 75 and the heated portion of his tank isn't warm enough to do more then make my hands nice and toasty after a few minutes. Pretty sure it's not a burn, since its not on his underbelly, but higher up on the sides, and its only in that spot near the messed up patch of scales. I'll try to get some pics up later, for better reference.

I'll be getting some hoppers for him for the next couple of weeks, until he's better. He's just a bit underweight, which I hadn't realized, so would feeding him smaller mice bi-weekly help to get him back to a proper weight, or should I go for the weekly instead?

I will be cleaning his cage daily, hadn't thought of that, thanks. I usually clean it after he poos.

[SRMD]

You need a thermostat, the warm side needs to be at least 88-92, the UTH needs to be outside of the cage underneath, the cool end should be around 80-83.

But i would defiantly get a thermostat ASAP
also the humidity needs to be around 50-60... 70-75 when shedding, i would recommend digital Thermometer and a digital Hygrometer and maybe a temp gun to check surface temps.

check this out:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

[SRMD]

You need a thermostat, the warm side needs to be at least 88-92, the UTH needs to be outside of the cage underneath, the cool end should be around 80-83.

But i would defiantly get a thermostat ASAP
also the humidity needs to be around 50-60... 70-75 when shedding, i would recommend digital Thermometer and a digital Hygrometer and maybe a temp gun to check surface temps.

check this out:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

The heat should not get hotter then 95F or lower than 70F either of these cold leave to your ball having some serious health issues, i would also recommend aspen bedding or paper towels. but i would defiantly get a thermostat asap and digital thermometer, as the analog ones are seriously inaccurate and your tank could be much cooler then it says.

I would stick to a 5day feeding schedule, if he refuses the prey then water another 5 days then try again etc...
but digital scales is something that is also very useful, like the person said above you need to be feeding 15% of the BPs body weight

so for example: 100 x 0.15 = 15G (prey item)

[Mischievous_Purple_1]

Ok, correction from my last post: His tank is about 80 degrees currently, with a 50% humidity. I'm in the process of equipping a larger cage with the necessities so that I can move him once he's healthier. Its slow going cuz a lot of it is hard to get (I'm broke. ><), but I'm working on it.

I'll be editing the original post with pics in a bit, to show what's going on.

[SRMD]

Ok, correction from my last post: His tank is about 80 degrees currently, with a 50% humidity. I'm in the process of equipping a larger cage with the necessities so that I can move him once he's healthier. Its slow going cuz a lot of it is hard to get (I'm broke. ><), but I'm working on it.

I'll be editing the original post with pics in a bit, to show what's going on.

I wouldn't be switching his enclosure this would stress him out more, depending the size of your ball then you dont need to upgrade till they are about 500grams, but ye 80F for the hot spot is really quite low.

[satomi325]

Your hot spot sounds too cool. Ideally it should be 88-92 unless you have an ambient of ~85, which doesn't require a hot spot.

Just because the heating pad doesn't feel hot to you, doesn't mean it's not too hot for the snake.
Humans are around 97 degrees. If it's warm to you, the pad is probably around your temp or higher.
Heat pads can get up to 120 degrees unregulated, which will definitely burn a snake. A Thermostat is a must have when dealing with heating elements in a reptile enclosure.
It should have been the first piece of equipment to buy before getting a snake. Without a thermostat, I wouldn't feel comfortable using a heat mat at all.

Also, intramuscular administration of antibiotics is more effective than oral. Snakes have a very slow metabolism, which is why oral isn't used very often in reptile medicine. Administering directly into the body is much faster in regard to the effectiveness of the medication.

From your description about your snake adjusting his jaw. Is he really adjusting or jaw or is he opening and closing it? There is a slight difference. If he's opening and closing it, it could be that he has RI, which is why you're hearing the clicking noise. Snakes who have RI, open and close their mouths to breath more easily. My snakes adjust their jaws after a meal, and I have never heard them click. I have also fed large prey once in a blue moon with no problems. (due to my stock of feeders getting bigger than their usual meals.)
Does he look upward often? Can you check his mouth if it's full of mucous? You can gently pry open his mouth with a q-tip to see.

[Mischievous_Purple_1]

As I said, I'll be moving him once the new cage is actually finished, it'll take a while, and I had planned to acclimate him to the new tank before settling him in it full-time.

I'll be getting a thermostat as soon as possible, since I realize the need for it now. I hadn't had a problem before and I've had him for almost a year now, which is why I'm pretty sure these aren't burns. For now though, should I turn off the heating pad for a few hours, or leave it on? My room stays a fairly constant 75-80 degrees, (ugh for me -_-'), so the temperature in the cage would stay the same anyway, the bottom would just be unheated.

He's since stopped with the jaw movement. I think he was just having some trouble getting it realigned, but it all looks good now and he's not showing any other signs for RI. I've checked and double checked because I knew that was a possibility, but everything looks OK from here. My main worry is still the infection. He'll be getting another dose of Naxcel today, but it still looks like nothing much has changed in that area. I'll be getting pics of it as soon as I can get the camera from my Dad, so hopefully they'll be posted in a few hours.

[Mischievous_Purple_1]

They're hard to see when he's stretched out like this, but those are the bubbles I was referring to. When brushing your finger over one, it moves like there's water or air beneath it, but there is no redness or anything to suggest a burn. This is the /only/ spot they appear.



Again, hard to see, but this is the larger bubble, from the side.



And again, this time from beneath. The circled portion of scales just above my finger is where the cut was, we never could tell exactly what had happened there. He's about ready to shed within the next few days, so I'm hoping the bubbles won't interfere with the process.