Fairly new owners, Need help fast. Does my snake have an RI?

[JamieH]

About an hour ago I put my hand in my BPs enclosure to take her out and she triede to bite me (this hasnt happened, and shes a very sweet snake) then I noticed that she was opening her mouth alot and sticking her nose in the air and rubbing her nose on herself.

Some facts that might help...
- With our bedroom being so hot I try to keep the humidity up slightly
(can this be the cause??)

Ive read that if she does have an RI to dry out her enclosure and make sure it is spotless, she just pooped last night while we were sleeping, but now Im kind of afraid to out my hand back in.

Any suggestions?
Please Help. Please...I love this snake and I dont want her to die

[TheWinWizard]

You need to clean, if you're afraid put on a glove. When in doubt, off to the vet with him.

[JamieH]

I cleaned her little mess, but Im stuck home today between the 10 inches of snow and no car, wont be able to get her to vet until tomaro, maybe wednesday...

is there anything specific I should do until then so it doesnt get worse?

--Jamie

[Adam Chandler]

Mouth breathing is a symptom of RI. But I would not assume its an RI unless there is a mucus discharge. Is there any mucus coming out of her mouth or nose? Any mucus discharges on the sides of her enclosure?

What are the temps inside the enclosure?

Also I wouldn't dry out the enclosure. If it is a RI (which again I would not assume until I saw mucus) they can be caused by humidity being either too high or too low. Maintaining proper humidity levels (at least 50%)is you best bet.

[RichsBallPythons]

Keep temps up and humidity up in the mean time to help with breathing if it is RI

[JamieH]

I dont see any mucus or discharge...

Temp is around 83 (over all.. still waiting on a larger enclosure, shes in a 10 gallon aquarium as she isnt very big yet)

Weve had some trouble keeping the temp at a constant but it hasnt gone below 78.

[RichsBallPythons]

is the whole tank 83.

You need to provide 88-90 one side and 78-80 cool side

[JamieH]

is the whole tank 83.

You need to provide 88-90 one side and 78-80 cool side

Whats the easiest way to do that? We have a heat pad under the right side of the tank (the kind you stick on).

How do I make the other side cooler?

[RichsBallPythons]

Whats the temp right above the heat pad. And 83 on cool side is still fine dont worry about that.

If you have your heat pad plugged directly into a wall outlet and thats it, i can guarantee your hot side is over 100 on the glass. You need to get a digital thermometer that has a probe on wire so you can have it on the warm side to read the surface temp above the Heating pad.

Also want to look into getting a lamp dimmer or thermostat to control the temps so you never have to worry about them

[JamieH]

We have a laser thermometer, would that work?