Hello, I have had this ball python for a two years now and he is displaying a swollen head. I took him to a vet which gave me antibiotics and told me he didn’t really know what was going on. The swelling goes down from time to time and I changed his substrate to newspaper since I noticed the swelling. I administer the antibiotic but the swelling just comes and goes still. His behavior is normal and so is his eating, i don’t understand what this is.
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could you provide a picture? @ballornothing @armiyana @t_h_wyman have any of you guys got an idea of what could be happening?
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Probably an edema or possibly an infection in the jaw from broken teeth. A photo will help.
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Could also be stress or food related.
If he’s pushing in corners or places he shouldn’t… Or if he was bit by a feeder.
Definitely something where more info on the husbandry or prey type can help. Photo as well to see the extent.
I have also seen facial swelling once in a case where a BP was pushing towards the heat fixture because the ambient temps were too cold, so combo burn and friction injury
Edit: maybe even something like a recurring saliva gland issue.
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Possibly an allergic reaction to something? It’s hard to give ideas when we don’t know where exactly the swelling is located. Is it on its skull, jaws, under the neck, etc?
Have you noticed any patterns with the swelling coming and going. Does anything seem to trigger it? Anything that seems to make it go away?
Some animals do get swollen faces/heads when going into shed. How often does the swelling happen? How long does it usually last?
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Most often this is caused by a mouth infection that has resulted in a cyst that then causes recurring/sustained infection
An x-ray should be able to pinpoint the cyst and allow for drainage and local administration of antibiotics to kill the source
I also advocate giving your feeding tongs a serious cleaning - high percentage rubbing alcohol soak followed by ten minutes wet contact time with 10% bleach followed by rinse and another alcohol soak
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I will add a picture soon thank you for the help.
Right side of his face, it is the only side that swells but like i said it goes down sometimes. Vet gave him ENROFLOXACIN FOR 7 DAYS and SULFATRIM twice a day.
A friend of mine recently had a breeding male that had swelling a lot like this from nose rubbing. The swelling went down with antibiotics
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