Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello there
Recently, my ball python, about one year old has inflated throat. I've looked into some care sheet and it says it could be infection. I followed the instruction and increase temp. Just when everything seems to be fine and his well again, the symptom came back. It has been like this for about a month. Does anyone has any suggestions about this problem?

Thanks

Benny

Try increasing the Humidity to about 70%. I had the same happen with my adult male. It cleared up in a day or two with higher humidity.

Describing your snake's symptoms is kind of like telling your mechanic, "My car is making this weird BANG, BANG, BOOM noise." - Everyone is going to describe the same thing differently and until your mechanic can actually see your car he will have no idea what could be wrong.

Same thing here, if you tell us your snake's throat is inflated it really doesn't narrow it down as much as you'd think. The area I consider the throat might be different than the area you are describing and with a few clear pictures we may notice other symptoms that you might not be aware of.

Please post some pictures or bring him into a qualified reptile veterinarian. Ultimately, most people will most likely recommend that you bring it into the vet anyways so it's really not a bad idea to start there and then come ask follow up questions here or on another forum if you need additional information.

If your vet gives you an accurate diagnosis you can come back here and let others know what he/she said and most likely there will be someone who has dealt with something similar in the past. Just raising the temperature or changing the humidity are general first step fixes but if your snake has had this for over a month now it is really time to bring it in to be seen by someone who can take a culture or prescribe some medication. All we will be able to do is give you more "recommendations" - the vet is the one who will be able to give you answers.

Search around and be picky about your vet. Don't be scared to ask (over the phone or face to face) about their qualifications and overall experience with reptiles in general and ball pythons specifically. Another option would be to bring it into the biology department (call ahead of time) of your local college... generally there will be someone there who is a Herpetologist (they aren't as rare as they once were). The vet I see actually will consult with a Vet/Herpetologist colleague at the University of Minnesota.

It's your animal - don't be afraid to demand the care and attention it deserves (or to spend the money on it's health).

Thank you for your advice and letting me know the right way to ask for help. I shell take some clear photos the next time this happens since right now he's doing fine. Hopefully, it won't come back.
Thnak you again.

Benny