ball python red spots, swollen tail

Question
My 12 yr old son has a 2 year old ball python who has recently fallen ill. The bottom 3 inches of his tail look to be swollen or filled with fluid and there are a couple of pink spots on him. He has never interacted with other sankes, so I do not think he has mites or any parasites and we only feed him dead mice. Please help. I can't afford to take him to a vet and my son is beside himself.

Answer
It does not sound like mites or you would see them on your hands. I am not a vet, only a keeper, but my guess is that he either has an impaction of the bowels or an infection of some sort. Both need vet care and there is very little you can do at home.