Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I mentioned earlier that I had taken this guy to the vet, my wc Pahokee King. His problem was protozoans, pin worms and a mild resp infection. This was last fall and after worming and other meds seemed okay. Fast forward to spring and he is plagued by belly scale rot, tons more internal nasties and the occasional sneeze. The belly scale rot was a real puzzle as I keep my Kings very clean and on paper towel. Yet he would get belly scale rot and shed then it's gone for a couple of months. Well the last bout of its was really bad and he had some body swelling on the last 2/3 of him. Took him back and got better antibiotics and wormed him again. Now he is healthy full time instead of part time. Still not sure why he was swollen, Since it reacted to antibiotics must have been an infection. Anyone seen this? Basically he looked like a snake that recently ate for sure not normal. Im guessing infection or maybe gas from the bacteria building up? Anyway a good Vet is hard to find but if you do it makes life much easier.

PahWCmalemay2012a3zoomc by getula47, on Flickr

Mid body swelling is one symptom of crypto.....
Not saying your king has crypto though....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Yeah that was for sure a fear of mine but the swelling was more subtle and not so localized.

Yes, you are absolutely correct. Quite often intestinal tract bacteria will cause substantial swelling from the inflamation and gas. Very happy to hear that the snake is now fully recovered. I assume it was treated with Flagyl(Metronidazole) for the worms and Panacur)Fenbendazole) for the protozoa activity. What antibiotic(s) were used for the RI?

BTW, was it ever spending lots of time in the water bowl?. It's hard to believe it could get scale rot (ulcerative, or necrotic dermatitis) without excessively moist conditions under it's ventrals. I'm sure if the bowl was fairly full it would be much more obvious though because of obvious spillage. But if the water level is kept much lower on purpose to prevent them from getting in and spilling water it could be much less obvious that it was getting in the bowl.

Anyway, .......sweet snake!!!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

No he wasn't a soaker and that was what was weird in that he just seemed to come down with it like clockwork. Two months fine one month scale rot. I've read that scale rot can start fom the inside sometimes and the sores are signs of parasites and other bad things? The antibiotic I used this time was ceftazidine.

Ah, I see. Yeah, from what I understand, ceftazidime "Fortaz" is a very good broad-spectrum antibiotic that has had good results in snakes.

You're right, I have heard of a couple similar cases over the years where snakes would develop brown rot under the ventral scales when kept in a decent dry environment. I guess it could be similar to a human developing boils that are a result of other internal infection{s) going on that the body festers up through the skin surface in an attempt to rid itself of it.

Glad you did the right thing and got it back on track...

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Glad he's doing better, that snake is gorgeous!
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Disclaimer: I do keep several snakes in pairs, and some in groups. However I realize that things can go wrong, and I have to keep a close eye on those groups, to be sure they are not being adversely affected by these living conditions. Also if one happens to eat it's cagemate, it is 100% my fault, and I know the risks in advance!

What's wrong with using CAUTION?!?!?!
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
~ Jorge Sierra www.SierraSnakes.com