Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ball w a swollen belly.
i fed my baby ball a few days ago and she never has problems, but now she has an abnormally swollen belly and underside id puffy by her tail. i think she may have uri. what can i do without bringing her to a vet. a few years back i brought in a corn that i thought was sick and all they did was tell me to heat him up. and i was left with a bill of about $150. i'd like to try as much as possible before brining her to a vet.

it looks like she can't pass her food possibly but she's in a shed so i'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. does anyone have any suggestions.

Without clear pictures of the problem it will nearly impossible for anyone on the forum to give you accurate suggestions about either what to do or what could be wrong.

A ball pythons belly can be swollen for up to a week after eating. And some ball pythons have been know to "hold" their bowel movements for extended periods of time causing the area near their cloaca to seem fat, bloated, or otherwise distended in an almost painful looking manner.

The advice your vet gave you in the past is actually some of the best advice you could have gotten. Most problems reptile owners face are temperature or humidity related.

-Double check your temperatures with a thermometer of some type... the one on the thermostat does not count (neither do the stick up analog type). Correct the temps if needed.

-Do the same for your humidity levels.

-Have patience. If your ball is getting ready to shed, there would be little that can be done with him/her until after the shedding process is complete.

Many balls will shed and defecate at the same time. Give him/her another week or two. If you can post clear pics please do so.

Give her a soak in tepid/lukewarm water for about an hour or so. It doesn't have to be deep, 2-3 inches is sufficient in a box with no holes kept in a warm place. Make sure the water is not hot (use your elbow to test that it is just barely warm). This will encourage a bowel movement if one is ready to come. Most all snakes defecate when they shed, so if she is in shed now, a dump is probably on its way soon. Have you heard any noises coming from your snake? Any mucous from the mouth or nose? Those would be signs of URI.

Susan ~ SSNAKES

Sometimes they get blocked,if you have a mop sink you could fill deep enough for the snake to have to swim in warm water for about 5 to 10 min,it should pass the solids.Make sure you watch the snake do not leave it unattended.Terry