Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i took my bp to the vet today, because he wasent doing to good sitting with his mouth open retained shed ect. The vet found out he had mouth rot (mild case) so i have some "snake mouthwash" for that. He aslo found out he was constipated which is why his tail looked so skinny caused by de-hydration (stress-i think hes wild caught) they milked him for that and got most of it out he looks way better now, and he sent a stool sample to a lab should have results back tomorow. Just in case he had a resp infection vet could not tell because he wouldnt take a breath (said open mouth was probably because of retained shed on head) he gave me antibiotics in shots and showed me how to give the snake the injections for the next couple weeks along with the baths hes getting everyday. Anyway this snake has given me so many problems lol i have a panther chameleon and i thought the snake would be easy to care for =( but i guess thats what comes with owning a pet.

I remember having similiar problems. I had rescued a Ball and he was a pretty guy but grumpy as all get out. I couldn't get him to eat and he was already very very skinny when I got him. I loaded him up and took him to the vet, found out he was anemic and suffered from mouth rot as well. My vet wanted me to find a donor snake to give blood to my snake. So I borrowed one from a pet store I had been going to for awhile. I got that snake there, which was told to me he was young and that's why HE was so skinny. Get there, that one was suffering more than the first one. He was severely anemic and hadn't had anything in his tummy in quite awhile. I ended up having to get injections for both snakes, one had a RI and the other just had the mouth rot. They both had baths and injections daily plus I had to inject vitamins into their food for a couple months. The pet store reimbursed me for their snake and after it put on some weight they took it back in and the person who had left it with them on consignment never returned to pick up their snake anyway. My snake lived quite well for awhile, but never did find an appeal in human company lol. Bit me quite often, I ended up giving him away after two years to a friend that still breeds Balls today. This was about 15 years ago though, I had more money and more time then lol. Good luck with ya newbie, I know it's not much, but take comfort in the fact that you can at least give him a comfy home now!

I had two other BP that never gave me any trouble at all (not even feeding ate like champs) besides every once in a while getting out of jail and running free in the house for a few days. My python has no problems eating, he ate for me two times once live and once frozen, his weight 71 grams at 14 or 15 inches dont know how good that is but he doesent look very skinny. Hes not very aggresive even after the vet played with him for about half and hour andI gave him the shot, my wife held him in her hands with him all coiled up the drive home. I almost didnt take him to the vet but his tail was what worried me because he was so "bloated" from not pooping the end of his tail looked like no meat was on it-kinda like a long balloon half blown up with the skinny end being like his tail, right after they "milked" him it looked normal again. Ive had a lot of herps befor never had to take any to the vet. I think its fun giving shots to a snake-never did anything like that but gave a gophger snake that wasent breathing mouth to mouth and saved it once. sorry for the long posts im bored and my wifes sick or else id be out of the house and having fun =)

You definately did the right thing by taking him to the vet. When I bought my first ball in January she was very dehydrated and had a respiratory infection. We went to the vet and after a couple of weeks of treatment and more than excellent husbandry she was healthy as could be. Since then she has not missed a meal once (growing like a weed!), become very tame and even shed in one piece for me. I guess I am saying all of this to let you know that, sure your new pet will be a lot of work for a month or two, but with the right attention and husbandry you will be rewarded with an excellent and very easy to care for animal. Hang in there and post with any issues. Good luck!
-Bryce

You did the right thing in taking it to the Vet. But did the Vet . Tell you to watch for signs of Renal failure that the meds. For Stomatitis (mouth rot) can cause , If not call his office and get detailed instructions on what to watch for. Thanks David of DS Reptile Rescue