Need help ASAP...between a rock and a hard spot here.

[preciouscreature]

Hello - first post.

I am in need of some help regarding my subadult female spider ball python. I only got her about a week and a half ago and bought the entire set up from LLL Reptile. She is under a 100W moonlight bulb, on orchid bark, with the smallest zoomed UTH on (without thermostat,but have extra substrate and liner underneath) and in a glass tank. The big problem is that she has sparse signs of a possible upper respiratory infection (occasional popping sounds coming from nostrils, but no other signs - mouth clear, etc) as well as flaking belly scales. She is going into blue, as her eyes have started looking it that past few days. However, if she is fighting a RI, how am I to combat a possible bad shed and the RI all at once? I also put the UTH because I was asked to by a LLL Reptile employee who said to raise temps a lot for the possible RI and to eliminate all extraneous humidity besides water bowl. Trouble is, popping sound is still there after about 4 days.

Overall, I am confused and am not sure what the next step is here. By the way, she is eating fine as of now.

Any help and / or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[coldbloodaddict]

Being in shed/stuck shed could cause her to make noise around the nostrils...I would make sure she has a good shed and then see if she is still making noise.

[ballpythonluvr]

Being in shed/stuck shed could cause her to make noise around the nostrils...I would make sure she has a good shed and then see if she is still making noise.

This makes sense but you really NEED to get a thermostat ASAP or your snake could get burnt from the uth!

[calmolly1]

First order of business is to get a thermostat ASAP!! It is very dangerous to run a UTH without one! Also from what I've been reading the current opinion is keeping humidity at 50-60% is recommended even with a RI. I'm pretty new to this too but I feel letting her shed first then reevaluate her for an RI. Maybe try putting some sphagnum moss in her hide would assist her shed without putting the humidity up in the rest of the tank.


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[bcr229]

When mine had an RI my vet said to keep the humidity higher than normal, which would keep the mucous soft so the snake could more easily expel it.

Other than the popping noises, which could be a bad shed, what other signs of RI are there? Open mouth breathing, bubbles in the mouth or nose, mucous in the mouth, excessive yawning, lying with the head and neck straight up...???

Also how are you measuring temps and humidity?

And yeah get a thermostat. Honestly I don't know why vendors sell a UTH without one, it's an easy upsell.

[preciouscreature]

When mine had an RI my vet said to keep the humidity higher than normal, which would keep the mucous soft so the snake could more easily expel it.

Other than the popping noises, which could be a bad shed, what other signs of RI are there? Open mouth breathing, bubbles in the mouth or nose, mucous in the mouth, excessive yawning, lying with the head and neck straight up...???

Also how are you measuring temps and humidity?

And yeah get a thermostat. Honestly I don't know why vendors sell a UTH without one, it's an easy upsell.

Thanks everyone!

Only symptom of possible RI is the popping. I just wanted to nip it in the bud if it's a problem. I'll put a damp hide in for her too. I measure temps with electronic probe thermometer and don't have a way of measuring humidity yet.

[KMG]

Putting extra substrate over the uth is making it impossible for the heat to reach the top. At the same time the extra substrate is going to insulate near the bottom and trap a lot of heat. If your snake starts to search for a warmer spot and burrow down to the uth you are going to have more problems.

I would unplug the uth because as it is set right now it is not doing anything but creating a dangerous situation for your snake.

Pics of the setup would really help us. Being able to see how the lamp is set up and everything else was done will give us the ability to better throw out ideas for you.

[preciouscreature]

Putting extra substrate over the uth is making it impossible for the heat to reach the top. At the same time the extra substrate is going to insulate near the bottom and trap a lot of heat. If your snake starts to search for a warmer spot and burrow down to the uth you are going to have more problems.

I would unplug the uth because as it is set right now it is not doing anything but creating a dangerous situation for your snake.

Pics of the setup would really help us. Being able to see how the lamp is set up and everything else was done will give us the ability to better throw out ideas for you.

Thank you. For the life of me, I could not figure out how to post a photo - I took one in prep but was confused as it only allows upload of URL's? No basic uploader so I couldn't figure it out.

[KMG]

Use something like Photobucket and upload the pic there. Then copy the "img" code and paste it into your post here. When you submit the post the pic will magically appear in the thread.

[Aztec4mia]

This

When mine had an RI my vet said to keep the humidity higher than normal, which would keep the mucous soft so the snake could more easily expel it.

Whats the temp in your place and what size tank? the 100w bulb should be fine so you can turn off the UTH. Home depot sells some Sphagnum moss in the indoor plant section(same as the pet store stuff just half the price. soak it, ring it out and put a nice amount under the hide on top of the bark, the bark will absorb some of the moisture but it should stay damp enough for a couple days. put the hide under the heat lamp and if you have another hide place it in the middle between the hot and cold side. Check the temps every 5-10 minutes until it plateaus off, if it gets in the 90's slide the hide over a bit(your check the temp in the hide). Get it to plateau in the high 80's to 90. Sounds like its just shedding issue, is he making the sounds all the time or just when you pick him up?

Once you get a thermostat and hygrometer, life will be much better , its a dry winter so far this year so you want to make sure the humidity is on point in the tank.