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Q:
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ATTN Carpet Python keepers - Help needed.
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Hi, I recently got two new carpet pythons. The small one is doing great, but the larger one has had these 'blisters' appear all over her. They seem to be filled with water and are under the scales.
She has not been eating very well, just a couple of mice in the past 3 weeks, and she has been in her water bowl almost constantly.
She shed 14 days ago, and is now blue again.
Here are some shots of the leisions, I have never seen anything like it before and was wondering if anyone else has and can help me with treatment.
I dont know if she is wild caught or CB.



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Member Comment
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11/14/2010 10:29:15 PM
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gfx
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That poor thing. She looks emaciated and dehydrated. Have you checked her for parasites? If she were mine, I'd probably run a course of Panacur (Fenbendazole) through her to see if it helps. If her housing conditions are fine and the blisters have not improved over the past few weeks, I'd suspect some kind of nematode or similar as skin blisters tend to start to resolve themselves once you give a proper environment. Given her overall condition, parasites definitely come to mind.
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Author Comment
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11/14/2010 11:20:28 PM
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PythonHouse
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I have already treated her for internal parasites with Bendazole, Flagyl and Alben. I automatically do this will all new snakes as soon as they arrive. I treat them for mites and other external parasites with FrontLine.
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Member Comment
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11/14/2010 11:25:30 PM
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Mongrel Kitty
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it could be the start of a type of skin rott. the soaking in the water bowl doesnt help that. if you run your hands down her skin does it feel like you are popping those blisters kinda sorta?
After she sheds, check her over good for early signs of scale rott.
It wouldnt hurt to soak her in a diluted cholorhexadine solution and put a smaller water bowl in there to deter her from excessive soaking. did you ever treat her for mites?
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Member Comment
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11/14/2010 11:27:14 PM
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Mongrel Kitty
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ok i see where you did treat her...
i bet its scale rot and the soaking isnt helping those blisters.... i've seen similar things before but I could be wrong. Good luck and keep us posted on what that skin looks like after it dries up a bit and she sheds.
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Author Comment
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11/14/2010 11:46:33 PM
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PythonHouse
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Yes, when you run your hand down, they do "pop" and it is just like water coming out.
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Member Comment
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11/14/2010 11:50:13 PM
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Patrick
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That sucks!!
Keep her dryer than normal, maybe try some neosporin and hydrogen peroxide and see if that helps it to improve over a week or so, if not your going to need some serious meds for that animal. Also Regardless id keep using the neosporin, it will help reduce the scarring.
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Member Comment
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11/15/2010 12:10:05 AM
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gfx
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Yea, I figured you'd already done some deworming as a standard course of action with as many rehabs as you see. What's your gut telling you? She's telling you that she needs to soak and that she needs to change skins often. Is it improving on its own at all, is it getting worse or staying the same? If its not a parasite, perhaps its a fungus of some sort? Or maybe a sort of mite or fluke that the treatments don't work on? I wonder if her skin would improve with a betadine / iodine soap bath. I know that fire ants will raise those sorts of blisters so perhaps there's a tiny bug that she's allergic to, perhaps Ivermectin would handle that? Its a tough call, I wouldnt want to do shotgun approach too heavily and risk it taking toll on her liver, but that poor creature just looks miserable. Does her skin feel as rough as it looks? Does she have a stink to her? So hard to diagnose over the internet, eh?
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Member Comment
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11/15/2010 5:15:18 AM
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NWHeather
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How is this girl doing? Any update on her?
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Author Comment
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11/15/2010 6:08:07 AM
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PythonHouse
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She has cleared up today, so she should shed tonight or tomorrow. I will see how the blisters are then, and try the betadine first. Will keep you posted. Thanks for all your comments - I am now suspecting that she has had an alergic reaction to either the Bendazole, Flagyl or the Alben. She was ok and two days after treating her for internal parasites this came out. She needs more doses of these, so I will administer them one at a time with a 3-4 day lag in between to see if there is a reaction.
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Member Comment
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11/15/2010 8:15:58 AM
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Member Comment
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11/15/2010 9:33:54 AM
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Mel4short
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Good luck with her Frances. I was also going to suggest the Betadine bath. Keep us posted!
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Accepted Answer
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11/15/2010 9:49:13 AM
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HurricaneJen
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I've seen blisters like that before - the fluid inside is actually sterile and the blisters themselves will shed off. The scars from the blisters go away the shed afterwards. Popping them encourages infection within them, and makes them take longer to go away. It's from being kept wet and filthy, or just plain too wet for too long. I've seen it on big burms occasionally and more frequently on large carpets, where people misunderstand that humidity does not mean wet bedding. Some snakes have more sensitive skin than others, and I remember one snake that would continually get the blisters if kept on anything other than paper towel.
Keep it clean like you are; it sheds off once the animal gets into appropriate housing. Paper towel as a substrate and simple, easy to clean cage furnishings that you can bleach or otherwise thoroughly clean (no wood) will help keep the skin clean. Once the blisters are open they do get infected pretty easily, and it can take a while for them to really go away. They often come back after shedding off the first couple times, but the paper towel treatment and just plain good old cleanliness will fix it in time. No need to go too crazy with antiobiotics or chemicals; it just needs the chance to fix itself.
heat it, keep it clean, leave it alone. :)
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Member Comment
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11/15/2010 5:48:41 PM
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NorthBrazilian
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WHere did you get that python?? I would have sent that back....
generally allergic reactions dont present this way..... It could be the immmune system crashed as a result of some other issue.... Just curious... were all of those antiparasistics antibiotics administered at the same time??? that's alot of meds at once.....it's important to consider toxicity and drug metabolism/ clearance when treating reptiles.... stacking meds can cause issues, and sometimes it's better to treat using separate courses.....
Just curious... why did you administer Sulfadimethoxine?? We're you specifically targeting coccidia??? Probably better to give Flagyl and Panacur first...
When targeting bacteria I've had alot better success with collecting a culture and getting a sensitivity run... this way you can take it out with less meds... ALot of times when you take the broad spectrum approach you totally wipe out flora and make the animal suceptable to all those conditions that result from flora getting out of balance... like fungal/yeast infections... etc...
ANyway.. glad the skin is clearing up....... hard to say what else is going on with such limited info.... Let us know how things progress
-Kaiyudsai
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Member Comment
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11/16/2010 12:10:06 PM
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Kingsnake King
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This is a disease called blister disease. You can research (Google it) it under that name and find all the information you will need. With the new understanding in reptile husbandry this disease is not to common any more.
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Member Comment
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11/16/2010 5:32:16 PM
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