{"topic_id":"exotic_pet_toxicology_ball_python","category":"exotic-pet-toxicology","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_pet_toxicology_ball_python\ncategory: exotic-pet-toxicology\ntitle: \"Ball python hazards — inclusion body disease, scale rot, mouth rot, and Salmonella zoonosis\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"First-hand veterinary toxicology reference, saved to source_file; every claim is a C1 byte-substring of it. Deepened 2026-08-01.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/reptile.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-01\ntokens_estimated: 313\nverification:\n  method: substring_match\n  claims: 9\n  passed: 9\n  date: 2026-08-01\nrecovered: false\npath: exotic-pet-toxicology/exotic_pet_toxicology_ball_python/01_exotic_pet_toxicology_ball_python.md\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual / first-hand veterinary reference\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual / first-hand veterinary reference\"\n  title: \"Ball python hazards — inclusion body disease, scale rot, mouth rot, and Salmonella zoonosis\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-01\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary reference\"\n  needs_review: false\n---\n\n# Ball python hazards — inclusion body disease, scale rot, mouth rot, and Salmonella zoonosis\n\nThe text below is reproduced verbatim from the first-hand source.\n\n## Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)\n\n- `Boas and pythons are most commonly affected by inclusion body disease (IBD)`\n- `Ulcerative dermatitis (scale rot) occurs in snakes and lizards kept in unhygienic conditions with excessive humidity and moisture.`\n- `Infectious stomatitis (mouth rot) is reported in snakes, lizards, and turtles`\n- `Salmonella have been frequently isolated from clinically healthy reptiles and should be considered part of their normal GI flora.`\n- `The zoonotic nature of these commensal organisms must be considered when handling or treating reptiles.`\n- `However, UVB light (290–300 nm) is especially important for most diurnal lizards and chelonians for vitamin D3 synthesis and calcium regulation.`\n- `Species identification is essential to critically appraise captive diets (see the tables Composition of Animal Foods That May Be Offered to Reptiles and Composition of Plant Foods That May Be Offered to Reptiles).`\n- `It is caused by poor diet (low calcium:phosphorus ratio, vitamin D3 deficiency) or poor husbandry (lack of UVB light, inadequate thermal provision) (see secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism photograph and radiograph).`\n- `Traditionally, Paget disease has been characterized by repeated episodes of osteoclastic bone resorption and deposition leading to dense, brittle bones.`\n\n---\n\n**Source:** `pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/reptile.txt` · https://www.merckvetmanual.com/\n","sources":["exotic-pet-toxicology — Ball python hazards — inclusion body disease, scale rot, mouth rot, and Salmonella zoonosis (retrieved 2026-08-01)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-toxicology","title":"Ball python hazards — inclusion body disease, scale rot, mouth rot, and Salmonella zoonosis","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/","retrieved":"2026-08-01","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual / first-hand veterinary reference","verification_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/reptile.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual / first-hand veterinary reference","source_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/reptile.txt","tokens_estimated":426,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}