Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have a female Pastel Ball Python which is 2 1/2 years of age. She has ate nothing but F/T her whole life, always housed by herself. She has always been a great eater, and never shown any signs of illness. She has always had the proper temperatures as well.

My concern i'm having at the moment is I have noticed she has been slightly opening her mouth a little, and the tip of her upper and bottom lips/jaws seem a little swollen and red.

I picked her up this morning and noticed once I had her in my hands that she opened her mouth (twice) to basically spit out what looked like water?

She had never done this, nor have I ever seen her do this. Needless to say I am quite concerned. If anyone could shed some light on this it would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you so much,
JM

Sounds like a major upper respiratory infection. Increase the heat in her hot spot (assuming it is less than 90 degrees F currently, I'd increase it to 90-95) and raise the humidity (I usually do around 70% when I suspect URI). Get her to an exotics/reptile vet ASAP.
People who have kept snakes longer might have some additional info.
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1.0 normal ball python
0.1 greyband hybrid kingsnake
0.2 crazy cats
1.0 husband

Sounds like an upper respiratory infection to me too. I hate to say it, but in my experience you need to take a vet bill in the ass if you want your snake to live. I have tried curing the problem myself with very minimal "sucksess." Raise the humidity, and the hot spot as well (per the last post). In this hobby, I have learned that it is vital to know about things like Bytril, Gentimicin, Fortaz, and Amikazine. Very likely your vet will give you one if not two of these antibiotics to inject your snake with. Yes, you will need to learn to do it yourself if you want to save money. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it. Ralph Davis has an EXCELLENT video on youtube about injecting Baytril, but you could also use it as a guide with other meds. The reason why you will have to take the vet bill in the ass is because the meds need to be prescribed. I have the knowledge to inject any one of these meds, but I can't get them without a vet visit. I am not sure if a culture is necessary, but if you have the money it is a good peace of mind to get it. Usually baytril will work, but you never know. I have had Baytril and Gentimicin fail before, and that was WITH a culture. One needs to be educated in this hobby thats for sure. Good luck, and I wish all the best for you.