Python Problems

[n1kk178]

Hi All would like help in regards to our 8 year old Python it started to develop blisters along its body between its scales so we took her to the vet we were told to soak her in warm water did that for 2 weeks only to realise 2 weeks later its happening again she sits in her water bowl all day long.

Would there be something else we need to do any help would be great thanks in advance nikki

I have uploaded some pictures taken 3 days after we started to soak her you can see the skin is shedding in some places.
She has only started to be like this since we build a new tank and moved to a new house.

[mysnakesau]

I've just had a look through my book "Whats wrong with my Snake". It suggests that skin lesions can be caused by mites, worms or fungal bacteria. You could try worming your snake & perhaps try dabbing betadine on the effected areas or asking your vet to take samples to test for the cause. Silvazine is another antibiotic cream that can be used on bacterial problems also excellent for burns. There is also a picture in my book of a snake that has skin problem that looks similar to this which was caused by malnutrition - causing thinning of the skin. I wouldn't believe that your snake is starving & I don't know how well older pythons maintain nutritional balance or if you need to add a supplement their food. Astro turf is also considered therapeutic for many skin lesions because it allows fresh air to circulate under the snake. And make sure she hasn't got mites.

Is your vet capable of working with reptiles? If not I would find one who can, and find out what is causing it so it can be treated accordingly. But either way, it won't hurt to use betadine and paint it on the areas. Keep her warm and dry.

Hope she gets better soon

[Renagade]

my mates bredli looked like that for a few months, i thought it may have been around the light when it came on. she doesn't have any protection for burns, that is what i thought happened. have you got an exposed heat source? if not, i'd be interested to know also.

[MrBredli]

Blister disease is usually caused by having either wet substrate or high humidity in the cage. Therefore, allowing the snake to soak in water does not seem to be a good idea to me, it will probably only make it worse?? I'd remove the water bowl, ensure the cage is dry & exceptionally clean and get the snake to a herp vet ASAP. You need to have this treated before it gets any worse as it can, and most likely will, kill your snake if the blisters become infected. Whereabouts are you located so we can point you in the direction of a good vet?

Do you have live plants in the cage or anything like that which would cause high humidity?

[Chappy]

Hope all goes well Nik and keep us up to date on she goes. Shes a nice looker

[n1kk178]

Firstly i would like to say thank you to everyone that replied.I live in Emu Heights 5 minutes from penrith we did take our snake to the reptile vet in south penrith he told us try dabbing betadine on the snake which we did for 2 weeks and also said he couldn't see mites.
She did look like she was on the road to recovery but now we have stopped giving her warm baths its back again.Her eyes are very milkly our light source isn't exposed so thats not a issue.
Vet has told us to remove the astro turf out of the tank and replace with newspaper.
Pretty much not sure what else to do.

Thanks nikki

[diamonddan]

is there any puss or stick fluids coming out of the blisters??
if it was blister disease you would see wounds and i dont see any on your snake ..it has beenavery humid year in NSW you may need to look at that...blister disease is usally the first signs of scale root so do keep a good eye on this python you will need to house it separte from others .......good luck ...ps , it looks to me like its just haveing a bad shed but a vet is always the best person to ask....

[n1kk178]

Hi there yes i have looked closely at the blisters there not big quite small just behind this jaw bone they look like there going down today theres no pus or anything like that.
I think its just a bad shed too the humidity is crazy lately but i will keep a close eye on her for sure thanks again everyone for your kind support

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by mysnakesau

I've just had a look through my book "Whats wrong with my Snake". It suggests that skin lesions can be caused by mites, worms or fungal bacteria. You could try worming your snake

If you are seeing clinical signs of worms then you should speak to your vet prior to worming your snake. There is the potential for stomach impactions from worming an animal with a heavy worm infestation.

Nikki, it might be worth going through your setup in full, what substrate are you using, what size is the enclosure, how are you cleaning it, what temperature range is there in the encolsure, where is the basking site located...

Also did the betadine help? The problem is likely to be attributed to environment or a pathogen (or one stemming from the other). You mentioned that this only occurred after you moved it into a new enclosure, I think we'll need to know more about the 2 setups.

[ravensgait]

I guess I'm not seeing what your talking about.. When I look at the photos it looks to me like a couple of stuck on sheds are the problem. Stuck sheds can cause problems specially if their cages isn't very clean(not saying yours isn't clean) they can get a fungus started under the old shed and bingo scale rot or infection.. Randy

[serpenttongue]

Based on the pics you've provided, your snake has a stuck shed. The skin has dried and become stuck to the snake like glue. It can often be hard to remove, even with soaking and sometimes you just have to wait for the snake to shed again. Stuck sheds are usually caused by very warm, dry conditons. You need to either increase humidity or lower the heating. Next time the snake becomes opaque, raise the humidity a bit more so the shedding oils dont dry up prematurely, and the skin will come off with ease - and in one piece!