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I am a little worried with one of my females..........she has been a total pleasure to raise up..........I produced her back in 2003. I bred her this season to her brother as a project and once figured her to be gravid she began acting differently......and thats when i noticed her getting this odd swelling around her head........it would get worse then go away.........progressively gettnig worse and worse each time.....well this morning.........she is looking quite bad....

Her whole head is tremendous.........the swelling is so bad that her eyes appear to be recessed in her head.....and now the swelling is moving down her neck.........

I have never seen anything like this nor have i ever read anything about it in any posts over the years..........im baffled.....it cant be a food allergy as she has been off food for 4 months.........

Could she actually be allergic to being Gravid? She is almost due to drop her eggs in the coming week or so......I know it sounds weird.....but could it be possible? The further along she becomes the worse her condition appears to get.....

I called the vet eairler............he should be making a house call later today......but I want all my friends to see if they know of anything like this..........

here is a picture showing the swelling..........she does not appear to be uncomfortable........so discharge, no bleeding, no wheezing...........she is just SWOLLEN..........

Help please.........

Jared Horenstein

this may sound a little dumb since i'm sure you've racked your brain looking for answers but......

sit down and make a list of anything that has changed in / on / near her chage since shortly before you noticed the swelling. while it may amount to nothing and this could be related to being gravid making the list may help track down the answer if it doesn't have anything to do with her being gravid.

bought shaving from a different source?
put a pest strip in the room?
moved her cage to a different spot?

hopefully its just a weird anomally and she'll drop eggs, stop being swelly, and go on with life like nothing ever happened.

let us know what you find out from the vet.
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Stu
www.2amCreations.com
Not even remotely close to the most extensive collection of ball python morphs in captivity!

Actually i did go over a list of every possible thing that could be different............but absolutly nothing has changed.......same bedding..........no food.......Im clueless.......

Hopefully she will pull thru................

Jared H

Does she have mouth rot and/or an RI? I've seen snakes puff up their throats with severe RI infections. I take it since she is gravid she is on heat. I'd wait for her to drop her eggs and then put her of Fortaz.

Good luck with her.
Corey

But its all clean...............pink/white like normal inside..........no bleeding...........no "cheese" associated with mouth rot............no wheezing, no bubbles........its jst the strangest thing.

Jared

Does she leave a wet area where her head sits here and there?

THere is a nasty thing called Cephalicmandibularcelluitus(Not spelled correctly!)
A pathogen like Pseudomonas vulgarus likes to make an attack on snakes like this.

Kev
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www.newenglandreptile.com

I think you me be on to something...............i realy cant tell if its sopping wet or damp..........im going to put her on paper to see if shes "drooling"

But more info would be great!

Jared

this post seemed the most likely to start under.......yet I never have seen what Kev is talking about.....???does he have to do some culture to find out Kev???

also.It could just be a piece of aspen stuck in the bottom of the throat or even down into the wind pipe.......I have seen a snake swell and gett better then worse with infections in the throat *(yes it died).(no I didn;t treat with anti-biotics fast enough)........

with a ball it is almost impossible to actually look into their throat or mouth........they just won't let you do it till they are almost dead........

sounds dumb...smell her breath...if infections are there or even Kev's long winded named disease....she should smell funny?.........rotting?......

good luck..let us know........

.......

JY
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wow.....did you think of that all by yourself?.....
better take a break ................

>>this post seemed the most likely to start under.......yet I never have seen what Kev is talking about.....???does he have to do some culture to find out Kev???
>>
>>also.It could just be a piece of aspen stuck in the bottom of the throat or even down into the wind pipe.......I have seen a snake swell and gett better then worse with infections in the throat *(yes it died).(no I didn;t treat with anti-biotics fast enough)........
>>
>>with a ball it is almost impossible to actually look into their throat or mouth........they just won't let you do it till they are almost dead........
>>
>>sounds dumb...smell her breath...if infections are there or even Kev's long winded named disease....she should smell

funny?.........rotting?......

Jy you are right if there was any abnormal look to the tissue...as it progresses it becomes that way. Early on the lower jaw swells into the throat area but the gums look fine..it may stay like this for a bit and occasionally even go away...I think it gets into the lymth(spelling) nodes and the infection causes such massive swelling it seals itself off from any systemic antibiotics. It can be BRUTAL, I have seen it in a carpet python and a few burmese python. THe cells super satuarate with liquid and provide a perfect situation for an evil infection. You often do not see the tissue looking bad until it gets going. Ultimately the fluid turns septic and tissue become necrotic. You may then see ulcers in the gums and the mouth which may ooze this nasty mess. Steroids may help to reduce the inflamation as well as Lasix. You have to use a good antibioitc such as the Fortaz which is very good for tissue penetration and deep seated wounds. Sometimes using Pipricillan for gram positive may be a good idea too.

I have seen a ball python's mouth swell up after eating a live rodent, looking closely I noticed clear fluid building up under the mouths tissue. I used a needle to prick it and drain what seemed like water.....it went away and I do not have any idea what it was or why it happened.

Kevin
>>
>>good luck..let us know........
>>
>>.......
>>
>>JY
>>-----
>>wow.....did you think of that all by yourself?.....
>>better take a break ................
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www.newenglandreptile.com

yea..cuts from rodents nails or teeth can cause cuts in the throat and create an infection...I had a corn do that down the troat like 2 or 3 inches .swell then go away then swell.it died eventually like I said.don't think I hit it enough or on time with anti-biotics....

Bachman had a ? cobra I think he said swell and all.....and after it all got better the swelling stayed there *( swell stayed like another person mentioned above).....looks sad but eats ok.....

.......I'd look in her mouth then hit her up with this Fortaz you all talk about.....

.......

Lymph nodes bro...........(I think).......LOL
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wow.....did you think of that all by yourself?.....
better take a break ................

Jared,

She definitely has an edema from something, that is terrible. One thing, have you changed the food or water source that you are supplying to your rats? or whomever is breeding your rats? I had basically the same thing happen a couple of years back that turned out to be the person I was getting my rats from had started using dog chow instead of a good rat chow to feed the rats. The Dog chow had something in it that the snake was allergic to and within a month after changing rat suppliers the Edema went away. Hopefully you can find out quickly and get her back on track and you will get a great clutch from her.

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Rob Trenor
RK Reptiles
www.rkreptiles.com
www.rkreptiles.net
www.oldworldchameleons.com
www.ballpythonmorphs.net
www.beardedragons.com

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Nothing has changed.......on our way to the vet Right now.......

Jared

Damn, Well I hope the Vet finds something quick and easy to cure it. Keep us posted.
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Rob Trenor
RK Reptiles
www.rkreptiles.com
www.rkreptiles.net
www.oldworldchameleons.com
www.ballpythonmorphs.net
www.beardedragons.com

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It's an ifection.
I thaught it was caused by a bite in the mouth..... After extensive ant-biotics, it receded, but came back, and to this day, has yet to go away, swelling on the left side of the face/lip. Snake still ate with the condition, but eating irritated it.
Good luck with that........

Hi Jared.

I realy hope she's gonna be oke.I keep my fingers crossed for you and the snake.

I have seen this before as well,in the case I worked with it was a kidney problem and what we were visualising was retained fluids.I hope this helps,Mark

I'm not a big breeder, but I've seen it in reptiles that internal pressure of a clutch of eggs will cut off circulation of fluids inside the body of a gravid female. In that case fluids will "backup" in one or the other part of the body. Probably not something that is happenng in your case but maybe something to consider. Hope she will get well soon.

Rob Reiding.