Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a blood python a little over a month ago and had it shipped to me. It hasn't been eating since I got it and it shed for the first time and the scales didn't shed properly. When the skin shed it seemed that some of the hard covering that is normally on scales came off with the shed skin. So the scales looked pink and raw. Yesterday morning he finally got the last bit off of his tail and that is where it was the worst. All along the bottom of his tail the scales didn't shed right and they look brownish and flaky like they are decaying. He also soon developed reddish blotchy areas on his belly scales and close up they have little red rash type marks on them.

Yesterday I took him to the vet and he did a fecal sample and said he has a bacterial infection and parasites. He gave him oral medication for parasites and gave me some medication injections that I give him every two days for the bacterial infection.

Today I took him out to check on him and his belly scales on the back half of his body are filled with fluid like blisters. The fluid is clear and so they look like sacks. The red blotching seems to have spread because there wasn't much on the first half of his body yesterday but there is today. It also seems to have gotten darker red. The snake also seems to be weaker and isn't fighting as much.

I haven't heard of snakes with septicemia getting the fluid filled scales and I'm not sure if since it's gotten worse I should take him in to the vet again. I have to take him in again in about a week anyway for another dose of oral medication. Should I just wait a week to take him in?

I'm sure that it's not with me that he got the bacterial infection or parasites because I've been careful to keep his cage clean and he wasn't eating from the start. I'm very worried about him though and don't want him to die.

Thanks for any help.
-----
1.0 sumatran short tailed python
0.1 ball python
0.1 rosy boa
0.1 corn snake
1.0 mexican king snake
1.1 buttermilk racers
0.0.2 broadbanded watersnakes
0.0.1 yellow bellied watersnake
0.0.1 ribbon snake
0.0.1 western cottonmouth
0.0.1 rattlesnake
1.0 broadhead skink
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 leopard gecko

My first impression is that you might be keeping the enclosure to wet. Am I correct? Such symptoms are often related to a constantly moist substrate. A too cool enclosure doubles the problem, so check both of these perameters.

In addition to medication the vet presribed, topical cleansing, drying, and hydrotherapy (lol, not in that order) would probably help a long way... discuss this with your veterinarian.

I also wouldn't wait the week to bring the snake back. When an animal gets worse, not better, your vet will appreciate the chance to change the treatment plan sooner rather than later.

I hope this helps... let us know how things turn out, and possibly tell us more about your husbandry to see if we can help you troubleshoot.

Ian

What you have here is probably what is referred to as necrotizing dermatitis, as the blisters, redness, and decaying scales are classic symptoms. If the infection moves from the skin into the body cavity, then you will have septicemia. Not sure from your description if this has occurred yet. I agree with Ian, you need to keep this blood in a fairly dry environment at this point, about 40 to 50% humidity. The temps also need to be elevated 24 hours a day at around 90 F. High humidity alone will not cause this problem. What has probably occurred is before you acquired this python it had been kept not only in a moist environment, but also one that was fecally contaminated and too cool as well. The suboptimal temps significantly lower the immune response and the infection is able to set in. A topic antibiotic ointment along with systemic anitibiotics is usually used in combination for treatment. A potent wide spectrum antibiotic will most likely be needed to resolve this infection. What antibiotic is currently being used?

Kelly

Thank you very much for the information guys. I have put antibiotic ointment on the open sores with the decaying scales mainly around the tail and I've been monitoring him closely.

The antibiotic he's on is Baytril and I gave him his second injection today. The medicine he's on for parasites is Flagyl (metronidazole) suspension (not sure exactly what that is).

He seemed a lot more active today and came out of his hide box to bathe in his water dish for an hour or two, so I think he seems better as far as activity.

The cage I've got him in is actually very dry. Recently I put in some sphagnum moss because I thought he might need it a bit more humid. Since I live near Houston near the coast it's generally very humid here anyway though. But I only put the moss in since he developed the problems so that wasn't what caused it. I've got him on dry aspen bedding that isn't wet anywhere and doesn't seem to be soiled. He does soak every few days in his water dish so I'm not sure if that may have caused it. Possibly I should only keep a smaller dish and just remove him for bathing once a week.

For heating I have a large heat mat under one side of his cage. He could have developed the problems because he doesn't usually choose to sit on the hot side of the cage and is more normally curled up in the cold side. I've moved his hide directly on top of the mat to encourage him to stay warm though.

I think, and my vet agrees, that he had the infection before I bought him and the stress of shipment probably weakened his immune system and let it get worse to the point where it's manifesting now. The vet I take him to is the best reptile vet in the area and works with the ETHS (East Texas herpetological society) so I think he should be fairly good with this.

The main thing worrying me is the fluid filling many of his belly scales. There seems to be more fluid today than yesterday though like I said he was more active. Does anybody know what could be causing the fluid to build and will it go away as he recovers? It's making the scales look like pulp sacs in a citrus fruit. Since he was more active today I decided not to take him to the vet but I'll monitor him closely for signs of it worsening.

Thanks for the help very much.
-----
1.0 sumatran short tailed python
0.1 ball python
0.1 rosy boa
0.1 corn snake
1.0 mexican king snake
1.1 buttermilk racers
0.0.2 broadbanded watersnakes
0.0.1 yellow bellied watersnake
0.0.1 ribbon snake
0.0.1 western cottonmouth
0.0.1 rattlesnake
1.0 broadhead skink
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 leopard gecko

The fluid you are seeing is a response to the bacterial infection. The critical thing is to watch closely to determine whether the antibiotic is working and the symptoms are improving. If you don’t see at least some improvement within a week of starting the Baytril, I would contact the vet to get his opinion on the selection of a more effective antibiotic for the bacteria causing this infection. Baytril is a good initial choice, but over the last few years, some species of bacteria have developed considerable resistance to it, and there are other antibiotics that have wider spectrums of activity that could deal with these resistant bacteria.

I would recommend newspaper substrate until he is over this. It is less likely to stick to the skin or wounds and possibly supply a substrate for other bacteria. Also, check the cage floor temps directly over the heat mat and make sure they are not too high and are causing him to avoid the heat. Under tank heating can cause problems in that if it is too high, many times the floor areas not directly over the heat source are too cool as well. So you end up with a cage that has warm areas that are too warm and the cooler areas that are too cool, with not much floor area that is at a desired intermediate temp.

Was also curious about the Flagyl, was this a concurrent anti-microbial therapy, or were flagellate parasites or amebas suspected?

Kelly

Thanks.

I might switch to newspaper like you said, but since the only open sores on him are at the tip of his tail the aspen doesn't stick much. I think the infection on his tail looks a little better since I started the antibiotic ointment.

I've noticed what you say happening with the heat mat as well. I've put more aspen in so that the heat isn't so intense but he still digs in it and it's hard to get him to stay over it. It's definitely very warm but not to the point where it is burning. If he digs, though, it probably is too warm up next to the glass. I'm not sure how to correct this because I've heard for blood pythons it's bad to use heat lamps because they are humidity suckers and aren't good because the air is too dry. I might put one over it anyway since he should be dry for now especially.

I'm not exactly sure about the anti parasite medicine. The vet just took a fecal sample and went to test it and came back saying he had both parasites and the bacterial infection. The medication was in a syringe that he inserted into his throat. It was a sort of cream color and looked like a suspension (which it was listed as).

Will I be able to tell the bacterial infection is imporoving by the red blotchy areas going away? Or will the fluid in the scales go away? It seems to have stabilized now and isn't really getting worse except for a couple scales building a little fluid. He seems to have normal activity though.

Thanks for your time.
-----
1.0 sumatran short tailed python
0.1 ball python
0.1 rosy boa
0.1 corn snake
1.0 mexican king snake
1.1 buttermilk racers
0.0.2 broadbanded watersnakes
0.0.1 yellow bellied watersnake
0.0.1 ribbon snake
0.0.1 western cottonmouth
0.0.1 rattlesnake
1.0 broadhead skink
1.0 bearded dragon
1.0 leopard gecko

You should see some improvement in the appearance of the scale fluid and red color within a week or so after starting the treatment if the bacteria are susceptible to Baytril. Not sure what type of heat system you are using, but if it only runs at one temp, you will need a thermostat or rheostat setup to keep it from becoming too warm.

Kelly

Sounds like a fungus infection from being kept in too-moist or unclean conditions. I would take him to a different vet if I were you, and don't wait.

Only a culture would verify fungi over bacteria. If the animal worsens, I'm sure this would be done to rule out the possibility. I don't think the vet is going about this wrong.

While reading this thread, I was going to suggest a nonparticulate substrate as well... Kelly's on the ball

Watch for improved behavior, less reddening, and overall healing of the wounds. The blisters might get worse before they get better as you have seen because this is essentially an immune response (well, sort of, but a more detailed description probably isn't necessary).

Ian