It’s fairly natural for any beginner snake owner to be worried about the wellbeing of their reptilian buddy. Like most snakes, ball pythons also require proper care and conscientious observation to keep them healthy. Therefore, if you notice your ball python drooling then it is normal for you to be concerned. But, why is your ball python drooling?
Drooling symptoms are usually the result of your ball python drinking excessive water, which isn’t a big deal. Another potential result could be a respiratory infection.
However, these are only probably causing and it’s not the same case for every ball python there is. The truth is, the reasons could depend on many factors for drooling in ball pythons. You’ll learn more about them once you’ve gone through the entire article. Without further ado, let’s get right into it.
Normal Drooling in Ball Pythons
Most of the time, we think of the worst-case scenarios. But it usually doesn’t turn out to be as bad as we imagine it might be. Without jumping to conclusions, let’s consider the variables that aren’t to be worried about at all.
Excessive Drinking of Water: Take into account that your pet snake might have a bit of a drinking issue. Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean anything serious. Snakes have a habit of regurgitating if they drink too much water. So, make sure your python hasn’t drunk a lot of water recently before jumping on to more serious conclusions.
Handling your snake: He or she could have taken a drink of water just prior to being pulled out of its terrarium. Not giving the animal enough time to swallow could simply be the cause for it to spit it out.
The possibility of you picking up your slithering friend while it is drinking water is pretty common.
Abnormal Drooling in Ball Pythons
When it comes down to constant drooling of your ball python, then it’s most probably a health-related problem. It’s highly likely when the drooling cannot be explained by the snake’s diet or contentment.
Your ball python could really benefit from a visit to a veterinarian if you’d like to avoid any possibility of deadly risks.
Mouth Rot:
Mouth rot is a common disease for reptiles. When reptiles are too stressed due to poor living conditions, excessive handling or any other reason, their immune system weakens. This makes them vulnerable to infection, especially in the oral region. This is called mouth rot.
It is generally indicated by excessive drooling, reddened oral tissue, loss of appetite, pus in mouth etc. Infections in the mouth can spread inwards and cause other diseases like respiratory infections.
Respiratory Infection:
Chances of your ball python developing a respiratory infection is not very low. It’s a serious concern that should be dealt with as it can prove to be fatal to your python. Respiratory infections usually occur within the nostrils to the windpipe, and also the lungs.
Signs and symptoms of respiratory infection include lethargy and copious drooling (which can be foamy in some cases), laying in an awkward posture, breathing with its mouth open and wheezing, gaping mouth.
It’s never normal for a snake to breathe through its open mouth. So, this could be the result of a respiratory infection, and gastrointestinal disease could also be its reason.
Pneumonia:
Often ending in high mortality, it is a deadly disease that can pose a serious threat to any snake. Snotty nose and nasal discharge can be huge giveaways as it’s usually an infection in the upper respiratory organs. The sooner you indicate the problem, the easier it can be treated with antibiotics.
Ball pythons may also experience severe breathing difficulties if their lungs get filled with pus given that it’s pretty common in the case of pneumonia.
Bacterial, Fungal, or Viral Infection:
All three can cause respiratory signs and are very common factors to make your snake drool. They are generally lung related medical conditions and often show nasal discharge.
Similarly, Lung mites/worms, and lung cancer also exhibit the same signs. Heart failure is also considered to be among them.
How to Deal with Respiratory Infections?
When it comes to respiratory conditions, taking preventative measures from the get-go should be the first and foremost priority. What you can avoid in the first place is acquiring your ball python from an unreliable source.
Your self-hygiene is the next best measure you should take. Starting from washing or sanitizing your hands to thoroughly cleaning the terrarium that you plan to keep your pet snake in. No matter how clean your hands look, always considering sanitizing them before handling your python.
Furthermore, if you treated a sick snake, make sure you never use the same tools and instruments to care for your other snakes in order to prevent any spread of germs or potential disease from those used tools.
If you don’t have additional tools, then you just have to make the best of your situation by taking a clever approach by caring for your healthy snakes first before treating the sick ones.
Like any smart pet snake owner, you also should be prepared for any means of immediate action. Having the number to your local veterinarian available at your disposal is very important for any pet owner. If your ball python is drooling and you cannot find any logical reason then call your veterinarian as soon as you can.
Conclusion
Ball python are very delicate creatures. So, knowing how to detect and take care of any health risks they might face in their lifetime is a must for any python owner.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced snake owner, by now you’ve learned all that you need to know about why your ball python is drooling and what you should do about it. We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Wishing you and your ball python good health.
