Wheezing/dent in eyeball

[jglass38]

My male breeding BP is making a sort of wheezing sound when he breathes and appears to have a dent in one of his eyeballs. Cage temp is good and humidity is around 54%. What could this be? Thanks..

Jamie



EDIT: Due to the breeding the heat is turned off at night and it gets to around 77. Also, he has no other symptoms. No bubbling around the nose or mouth or anything else.

[Shaun J]

If I were you i would raise the temps up to 60%.

[jglass38]

I dont know, maybe it is more a whistle. Could be close to shed time?

[Shaun J]

http://www.ball-pythons.net/PNphpBB2...ic-t-6702.html this might help

[Adam_Wysocki]

The dented eye is a sign that the cage is too dry. Even though your hygrometer shows a RTH of 54% it's possible that the basking spot where your bp is spending time is overly dry due to it's heat source (overhead heat??).

The wheeze/whistle could just be dry skin in the nasal passage due to an upcoming shed. Do you keep records? When was the last shed and how often does he shed? You should be able to determine if it's coming up on your snakes time to shed by examing these details. If you don't keep records I would urge you to start especially since you are trying your hand at breeding. When keeping ball pythons record keeping is just as important as proper heating, feeding, and humidity.

That said, it could also be the onset of a URI.

Due to the breeding the heat is turned off at night and it gets to around 77.

Heat should not be turned off at night. IMO some sort of basking spot should still exist in the enclosure. Even if you do not continue to feed through breeding season. You can have success without a basking spot if you do not continue to feed, but if this does turn out to be URI, the lack of a basking spot may have been the cause. Are you taking temperature readings from the spots where the snake is sitting or from a corner of the tank where a temp probe is placed?

Hope this helped a little Jamie.

-adam

[jglass38]

I keep records but I didnt get the breeding pair until late in October. Neither of them have shed since then. I think he is probably close to shedding due to his recent disinterest in feeding. So I should keep heating at night? I was following the recommendation of normal heat during the day and turning off the heat at night. When I have turned off the heat at night they have locked up immediately and then it goes back on during the day. I have an accurite with the probe on the basking area and the unit at the other end. The snake has spent most of today on the hot end. I dont use overhead heat, only human heating pads underneath on one end. I am keeping them together M-F with normal heat during the day and room temps at night and Saturday morning separating them and offering food then putting them back together Mondays

[Adam_Wysocki]

It's really better to keep some sort of hot spot at night. Something in the 82-85 degree range just in case the snakes need it. I've certainly had success breeding with turning the heat off completely at night and using room temps, but since this is your first time breeding and you're not real familiar with recognizing and treating URI, keeping a slight hot spot is probably a better option. There's a strong chance that the whistle is just from an upcoming shed, but there's also a chance that it's not.

-adam

[jglass38]

I hear you and respect your advice for sure. The only problem is, I am using a on/off type inexpensive thermostat. It has been difficult enough to get the human heating pads in conjunction with the thermostat to stay 90-95 (temp continues to go up for a couple minutes after the pads go off and go down too low before it kicks back in). I would hate to have to change the thermostat at night. Thoughts? I just found one problem, a reverse wired human heating pad. So now I am managing to keep each enclosure within 2 degrees of each other (2 rubbermaids with the 2 breeders both with human heating pads and separate accurites with the probe for the thermostat in one of them.) Thanks!

Jamie

[Adam_Wysocki]

Thoughts?

Jamie, my thoughts probably aren't going to be what you want to hear. I think that investing in the right gear to undertake a project like breeding is paramount because breeding involves something as sensitive to the health of ball pythons as temperature manipulation.

A quality thermostat with a nite time drop feature from helix runs about $130 brand new (plus another $15 I think for the nite time drop cord) (I frequently find them used for around $70 and they are just as good). It's really not that much to pay when talking about the health of your animals and the potential return from your breeding endeavors. (The cost is likely less than you paid for that breeding pair in october)

Matt (aka "justcage") could probably even jump in here with a lower cost option that also has nite time drop that will do just as well for you.

I certainly don't claim that the things I suggest and the way I do things are the only way ... There are tons of ways to be successful with all aspects of keeping and breeding these animals. I'm just trying to share some of my experiences and give back to the community that has given so much to me over the years.

Many many moons ago when I first started breeding I had snakes get URI from not dropping temps properly. I've been down that road and it sucks! Almost made me give up the idea of breeding all together.

I am sure that whatever you work out will be the best for you and your animals!

-adam

if i ever talk about breeding, remind me of this thread. sounds like way too much trouble!