Hi all.. I'm kinda in a rush to hit the road for an hour so I wanted to post this so when I get back I can try and treat my new ball python.
I went to a reptile center near my house when and old friend walked in and she was giving away her 6 year old Ball Python.. she claims its a Butter Ball.. if so it would only have a slight part of the butter in him.
She said she went away to school and she had her boyfriend care for him.. she was about to give him away to the man behind the counter but then she seen me and she said she'd rather me own it.. So I decided to take it.. long story short.. she said to the guy behind the counter that his eye looked real bad.. she was concerned about that.. he looked at it and so did I and it looked like there was an old thick cap left on his eye.. thats the best way I can describe it. The guy behind the counter said that he could fix that.. so she asked the guy before I take him home to please fix the eye. He took the snake in the back.. and he came out about 10mins later.. and the eye looked a lot better.. he said it wasnt uncommon.. he said it seemed like her boyfriend wasnt misting the habitat.. seemed if the snake was healthy though other wise..just a lack of humidity for a while. He did mention that the snake felt really cold.. the girl explained that she had no heat in the car.. Now I'm in NY.. so you figure in her car in a pillow case on her lap the tops it could have been was 60 degrees. So he told me get him home asap and get him warmed up.. he seems really healthy he said.. but look for any drool in the mouth.. that would mean he developed a cold. So I got him home.. set up the tank.. the girl only had a single round lamp that sat on the screen of this 55 gallon tank.. (Yes I took the tank from her too) SO when I set it up at home I added a night time lamp... and a UV lamp in the middle... last night I took the temp of the tank with a laser gun.. and got 85 hot side.. and 76 cool side. This morning when I took him out to check his eye.. it looked if his eye clouded a little more again.. and he did have a little drool on the side of his mouth! GREAT! and with the temps still the same.. he STILL felt ice cold.. I quickly brought him downstairs.. and hooked up my normal heating pad u use for humans.. tucked it under my shirt so I wouldnt burn him.. and just let him sit on my stomach for a while.. he seemed to really enjoy it.. just layed there.. got him to feel much warmer.. and I put him back.. misted his tank... and I went out and bought an under the tank heater.. just to give him some belly heat too.. so.. I did.. and that brought the tank to about 87-90 degrees on the hot side.. and about 77-80 on the cool side. He's been in his hide... I took him out just before.. and I mean this snake is sweet as pie.. she told me he's alway been VERY sweet.. u can touch his head.. he is very cooperative.. but when I took him out I thought he was hissing at me.. but then I realized it wasnt hisses! Sounds like he's bubbling now.. I dont know what to do.. I mean I'm gonna probably take him to the vet.. but I'm just low on funds right now.. and I need to do the right thing for the next few days till I get paid... has anyone ever treated a snake with this condition? Is it just a cold?.. what should I do in the mean time? Sorry if this post was a little crazy.. but I'm in a rush.. and I want to be able to have some better understanding when I get back and read your guys post! I really appreciate any help you can give me!
Thanks a million!