Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A friend of a friend sent me a message about a ball python she has the seems to have fluid filled pockets (blisters) under the scales near the tail. She can't afford a herp vet, so was asking if I knew anything. She cleaned the tank with GSE and also added some to the water. I'll include a picture of her set up since I know that is important. She says her hotspot is only 80-85 during the day and 75-80 at night (we talked about that). Any ideas can be helpful.

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Teresa
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3.0 Dogs (2.0 Chihuahuas, 1.0 Toy Poodle)
1.3 Cats
1.0 Cockatiel
1.0 Indonesian Blue tongue skink

Ball Pythons
0.1 100% Het Albino (Watson)
1.1 Pastel (Sweets and Camille)
0.1 Spider (Daisy)
1.0 Albino (Gormagon)
1.0 Lesser (Wendell)
1.1 Normals (Fisher and Sexy)

First thing I would do is throw out that carpet breeding ground for bacteria. Use some newspaper or paper towel and keep it on the dry side see if that helps. If it does then use mulch or newspaper its not decrotive but it works

Yep, that carpet flooring has to GO !!!
Use newspaper or a really good aspen bedding.

If there is any kind of under tank heat source, i'd check the temps on that!

Also apply Neosporin to the affected areas and massage it in really good.

Best of Luck

Several years ago I rescued a few balls from an owner that neglected his collection. One of them had what we referred to as Blister disease. I tried keeping it on clean, dry substrate, very low humidity. It didn't help. After contacting a vet I put the snake down. There is no known cure for blister disease. Yours may not be in as bad a shape as the snake I rescued so why not try keeping it on clean dry substrate? At least try for a shed or two and see what happens.
Best of Luck
John Q

curing some individual balls with blister disease. Keep it VERY dry, raise the heat a bit and religiously apply antibiotic cream (like Neosporin) two times daily, everyday. Also a product that works really well on this condition is called Silver Sulfadiazine. It is prescription only but a good vet should prescribe it for a condition like this. Good Luck!

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Susan Sentman
SSNAKES Reptiles
susan@ssnakes.com

It's not mine, but thanks. I'll see what she can do. I've actually never seen the poor thing in person.
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Teresa
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3.0 Dogs (2.0 Chihuahuas, 1.0 Toy Poodle)
1.3 Cats
1.0 Cockatiel
1.0 Indonesian Blue tongue skink

Ball Pythons
0.1 100% Het Albino (Watson)
1.1 Pastel (Sweets and Camille)
0.1 Spider (Daisy)
1.0 Albino (Gormagon)
1.0 Lesser (Wendell)
1.1 Normals (Fisher and Sexy)

I have seen lizards develope similar looking blisters on their bellies when they have been using heat rocks. Is she using an under tank heater? What are the substrate temperatures this BP is laying on?
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25 year old 0.1 from Lincoln, NE
Ball Pythons - 0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly, 2.1 Normals
Kingsnakes - 1.0 L. m. thayeri, 0.1 L. m. thayeri X L. alterna, 1.0 L. g. californiae
Other - 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 1.0 H. nascicus, ?.? Chrysemys picta, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

Sorry...this ball just doesnt look healthy at all...Temps need to be up from where hes keeping them and need to be consistant (day and Night should be the same) Temps should be warmer when they are fighting illness.. try rubbing neosporin into it everyday..put him on paper towels that are dry and keep them meticulousely clean!! AND DRY! Poor things back bone is sticking up...your friend needs to learn how to properly feed this guy too. Hes going to need a lot of luck without a vet! I say if you cant afford a vet...you cat afford a pet...Give him up to a rescue and hope they can save him!

Thanks. I already talked to her about the heat. but will pass these messages along. Thanks folks. I've never seen that with any of my balls.
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Teresa
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3.0 Dogs (2.0 Chihuahuas, 1.0 Toy Poodle)
1.3 Cats
1.0 Cockatiel
1.0 Indonesian Blue tongue skink

Ball Pythons
0.1 100% Het Albino (Watson)
1.1 Pastel (Sweets and Camille)
0.1 Spider (Daisy)
1.0 Albino (Gormagon)
1.0 Lesser (Wendell)
1.1 Normals (Fisher and Sexy)