Sorry, would like some advice...

[Jamesss]

Hey, was just cleaning out the snake cages and noticed that my female Bredli has some odd bumps on her, and one scale that looks like it may have blood under it.
Then noticed that the thermo seems to have messed up, and the heat cord is waaaay hotter than it should be.
So, are these bumps likely to be just burns? They're very soft and seem to be filled with liquid, but I didn't want to risk breaking them so left them pretty much alone. Planning on taking her to vet in the morning, was thinking of the Warranwood clinic, any other suggestions though? That's just closest one that seems to deal with reptiles. Anything I should do for her in the meantime? Anyway I've got to run to work now, I'll check back on here as often as possible, thanks!

[Rissi]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/wiki/Reptile-Vets Check this link out for more vets if you like

[Chris1]

could it be blister disease?

you might wanna get that vet visit sorted asap for some antibiotics,....

[Waterrat]

The second photo is unclear but the first one shows water blisters. Probably a result of high temp and high humidity. I wouldn't do anything, just keep the snake clean, don't pierce the blisters and it will come good with the next slough. No need to waste money on a vet.

could it be blister disease?

you might wanna get that vet visit sorted asap for some antibiotics,....

Chris, what is a "blister disease"? Never heard of it.

[Chris1]

Chris, what is a "blister disease"? Never heard of it.

blister disease is what my very good reptile vet said my darwin python had along with an RI when i first took him in, he said he would put him on antibiotics for blister disease alone.
he had a few raised scales with watery blisters on his neck, which were smaller than the ones the OP posted pics of, but since my vet seemed to think it was a situation in dire need of antibiotics, i thought id pass that on....

it wasnt blister disease tho, or an RI for that matter, it was cancer getting the better of him, which neither of us knew he had till he dropped dead 10 days later and i had a post mortem done.

[Waterrat]

Chris, I am not arguing, I just never heard that expression. Disease is something caused by bacteria or virus. Blisters can be caused by burns, scald or excessive humidity, they can get infected but what rarely happens with water blisters unless they burst or get ruptured and the open would is exposed to bacteria (from outside). I am not saying that your vet was wrong but vets (just like doctors) often prescribe antibiotics as precautionary measure. In your case, the combination of blisters and RI certainly commanded antibiotics.

If there is a vet in the house, would you please comment?

This is pretty severe blistering (water blisters):


after next slough


and after the following slough there was no mark on the snake. No vet involved.

[Jamesss]

Thanks everyone, I've definitely learned from this thread.
I am pretty certain it's just burns as she was sitting on the heat cord, I just wasn't sure if it could cause those sorts of blisters.
I'll definitely take her to the vet if I see any change in them at all, and I'll wire the cage for globes rather than heat cord tomorrow, it's been causing too many issues.
Thanks again!

[Bluetongue1]

Chris, I am not arguing, I just never heard that expression. Disease is something caused by bacteria or virus.

You are thinking of infectious diseases. The term “disease” has a much wider application and is used to refer to anything that impairs normal physiological functioning affecting part or all of an organism. So we have MBD, auto-immune disease, Parkinson’s disease, cardio-vascular disease, Lyme disease and so on. At the same time there are many diseases without that term in their name, such as cancers, appendicitis, gastric reflux and so on.

Those photos are brilliant for demonstrating to others the condition and what happens. I am suitably impressed!

Blue

[Asharee133]

So, it's pretty much water trapped under the layer of skin?

[Waterrat]

You are thinking of infectious diseases. The term “disease” has a much wider application and is used to refer to anything that impairs normal physiological functioning affecting part or all of an organism. So we have MBD, auto-immune disease, Parkinson’s disease, cardio-vascular disease, Lyme disease and so on. At the same time there are many diseases without that term in their name, such as cancers, appendicitis, gastric reflux and so on.

Those photos are brilliant for demonstrating to others the condition and what happens. I am suitably impressed!

Blue

I agree with you Blue, I was thinking about blisters. Have you heard the term "blister disease"? It just doesn't sit right with me, if the blisters went septic or developed necroses then it would be a disease. Perhaps I oversimplifying it, but to me water blisters on a snake's skin are a condition just like when you develop blisters on your toes wearing tight shoes. Surely, you wouldn't feel "diseased".

However, blisters caused by burns are different - if the epidermis is singed or worse - if the connective tissue is burned, it presents different set of potential problems and antibiotics (as a precaution) should be administered.

[sharkyy1o5]

I'd say blister disease. This is caused by high humidity which happened because your thermostat faulted.Take her to the vet asap and put her in a dry, and well ventellated enclosure and fix the thermostat
Gd luck

[Rissi]

I'd say blister disease. This is caused by high humidity which happened because your thermostat faulted.Take her to the vet asap and put her in a dry, and well ventellated enclosure and fix the thermostat
Gd luck

Oh no! quickly edit out the 'disease' before they get to you hahaha.
I learn so much on here!

[Troyster]

Another good reason to demonstrate why I don't use thermostats

[Jamesss]

I'd say blister disease. This is caused by high humidity which happened because your thermostat faulted.Take her to the vet asap and put her in a dry, and well ventellated enclosure and fix the thermostat
Gd luck

Humidity in there is actually quite low, they're running on a heat cord and the water bowl is nowhere near it.

The blisters have gone down considerably overnight, and the scale is no longer red.

Thanks again everyone, I'll keep updating condition to let you know what happens. She should shed in next few days so I'll wait for that to see how it looks unless she seems to get any worse.

[Pythoninfinite]

Jamesss, the snake is clearly in a shed cycle from the photos you posted. As Michael suggests, just wait until your bredli sheds and see what it looks like after that - don't puncture the skin. It may be that the normal fluid which separates the old skin from the developing layer underneath has accumulated in places exposed to higher heat, and if you rectify that problem it may shed as normal and come up clean.

Bagging and transporting to a vet may do more damage at this stage, so I'd suggest just keeping an eye on it, make sure the temps are not excessive (no hot-spots) and check it out after the shed has happened. If it gets worse, by all means see a vet, but I think it's an unnecessary stressor at this stage.

Jamie