Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if anyone could please give me some advice or treatment for my current problem. I recently aquired two ball pythons from a reptile expo. a male and a female that were already housed togeather. Now, when I purchsed the snakes the one had what looked like an old pimple on it and when I ask what it was I was told that it was a blister from being kept to moist (the person that the dealer had aquired them from had them in tupperware containers with a wet paper towl), that is was no big deal and that it would go away with the next shed or so. Now may I remind you that these snakes came from a very well known dealer. Now that my burms are home and settled I am noticing that the female has more of them but that they look fresh and when you put a little bit of pressure on them liguid comes out. I have done research on blister disease in snakes but the blisters are not on the underside of the snake, they are located down the middle on the top of the burm. So, could anyone tell me what this is and the treatment if there is any? Thank you.

Samantha White

Blisters are normally located on the belly (called belly rot or scale rot) but they can occur anywhere on the snake. A quick treatment is this:

Use a 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% water mixture to clean off the snake's scales. Dip a cotton ball in the mixture and gently clean on and around the infected areas. Then rub Polysporin into the wounds, working it under the scales and into the blisters. Do this twice a day. Keep you temps higher than normal and keep the humidity down... dry substrate!

Take them to a vet. This is just a quick fix to keep the infection from spreading... and helps the snake. They won't like it, though. After their treatments, leave them alone until the next one.

I hope they get better!
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1.1.1 Ball pythons (Diablo, Mercedes, and Ciqala)
0.2.0 Cats (Kate and Clarice)
1.0.0 Rabbits (Milosh)

Do you have balls or burms???
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1.1.1 Ball pythons (Diablo, Mercedes, and Ciqala)
0.2.0 Cats (Kate and Clarice)
1.0.0 Rabbits (Milosh)

Please note that these blisters are like very small water filled blisters. They are not large and under the skin, they kind of look like poison blisers but they are on the snake.

I'd still treat it the same. Gets them disinfected and cleaned up. And definately take them to the vet.
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1.1.1 Ball pythons (Diablo, Mercedes, and Ciqala)
0.2.0 Cats (Kate and Clarice)
1.0.0 Rabbits (Milosh)

I had the same problem with a blood python I once had. It is called blister disease and your snake will require Baytril injections and an antibiotic which is administered through a tube into your snake's stomach. Hopefully your burm isn't huge because a friend and I had a hell of a time trying to restrain a five foot blood to give it the antibiotic.

Also this disease can be caused by unsanitary conditions,too high humidity and snakes that are in stagnet water or soaking too much. It can also be brought on by too harsh cleaning liquids, so always used a diluted mild soap or clorihexidine solution on your cages.

I was on vacation for two weeks and the person watching my reptiles was afraid of my blood python so that cage got skipped. It deficated in it's soaking dish and remained soaking in it until my return. That is what brought on the disease with my snake. But after the treatment i mentioned above from a local vet, and totally disinfecting the cage, my blood python was back to normal in just a few sheds.