Thanks for the reply

It's not prey injury, he eats frozen/thawed. No snake mites either although I did see tiny cream colored bugs that could be soil/wood mites. There are also springtails and isopods.

No RI that I can see or hear, and I've been monitoring him very closely. I will keep monitoring him and make a vet appointment if things worsen.

Thanks again!

Quote Originally Posted by Haruka9250 View Post
I would like to say that I believe that you are doing a great job keeping this clean. BEL animals have such sensitive pink skin that every last thing shows very clearly.
It’s difficult to rule out the things you listed previously, but I would also add in mites as a potential as well, even commensal soil-dwellers can irritate skin when burrowed into it.
What about prey injury?
I genuinely suggest a check-up with the vet if this doesn’t clear up with the next shedding of the skin.
Personally I think more owners should be this proactive in their husbandry and best wishes!
This resembles a minor skin infection, and generally will not warrant use of systemic antibiotics. Obviously without an examination, I wouldn’t be able to say for sure. Things to look out for:
-tiny pinpoint hemorrhages under multiple scales (appears as tiny pink dots)
-nasal discharge or mucous in the mouth. A normal ball python mouth is mostly dry and no mucous should come up from anywhere if they’re healthy
-sometimes skin infections also mean respiratory infections, so listen closely for any noisy breathing. Clicks, whistles, wheezes etc. Snakes get pneumonia very quickly compared to mammals. Noise equals respiratory disease!
-a vet can give dewormers that are safe in case this is related to migration of parasites as well. Many chronic respiratory infections have a link to normal life cycles of worms (present in rodent prey under normal circumstances).

-Raise your enclosure temperature a couple degrees-it stimulated white blood cell production so the immune system will do a better job.

~Ruby