Does he have an RI?

[Qalopsia]

Hey guys, came to this forum because it's always been useful for research and now I need help.

I have a 3 year old pied male ball. He recently started displaying new characteristics and I'm unsure of what to make of them. Maybe help crack the case?

1.) Yesterday morning I noticed he was breathing louder than usual. He has always occasionally squeaked but I noticed he was squea king and nose was popping a lot. Concerned this could be an RI symptom but I read it could be linked to shedding too?
2.) His tummy turned pink. I read that could be related to shedding also? I freaked out when I first saw it so I soaked him and then dried him off and after a while it was not really pink. He had been laying on the heated side of his cage and the warm water may have caused it to stand out too. Color didn't fade until after dried off. Is not consistent with the appearance of a burn, and while I do use a heat mat, I have a layer of repti carpet and bedding down so heated side does not get hot enough to burn.
3.) Upon reading about different health problems, I noticed he has been a teeny more... slobbery? The last few days. It's certainly not excessive. When I examine his gums, I can see small bubbles and his saliva is fairly viscous. Isnide of his mouth however looks pink and healthy. Noticed he has one or two pieces of bedding in his mouth, but they are tiny debris.

He has not eaten in two weeks as of today. He is not lethargic at all and is acting like his regular self. No stargzing, no breathing through his mouth. His nose is completely dry. I've had him for just at a month now so his shedding pattern is unfamiliar to me.

I noticed humidity in his cage was too low so I have misted him. Cool side of his cage is room temp, so probably 79 degrees. Heated side of his cage is probably at its hottest between 90 and 100 degrees (it doesn't feel super hot to the touch but if I leave the thermometer on the floor for 20 min it reads as hot as 110!)

Thanks in advance for help, I'm trying to do what's best. I have a vet picked out I want to work with but brainstorming amongst enthusiasts is obviously welcome.

[Morjean]

I don't feel qualified to say anything about the RI issues, but it sounds like you don't have a thermostat to regulate your heat source! A thermostat is absolutely necessary, not optional!

Also, a reliable thermometer and/or an IR heatgun is advisable too, to check proper temperature (the surface temp should be 80F on one side and 90F on the other, anything over 95F is too hot and you possibly run risk burning your snake! An unregulated heat source is an injury waiting to happen....).

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[mrbugz_bunny]

Just a heads up that it won't feel hot to the touch for you. Over 95 is way too hot and 110 is going to hurt your snake. Turn it off until you get your thermostat. That will probably clear up the other issues you're experiencing as well, but you need to get the temps and such right first.

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[Qalopsia]

Okay, this is good to know. When setting up my tank, I had a hard time finding what I felt were straight answers. I will look into getting this set up immediately!

That should take care of potential RI symptoms too? Of course, they are not guranteed to be RI symptoms in the first place. Should I consider still taking him to the vet? I guess the saliva isn't too excessive or out of the norm. I want to do whatever I need to to make sure he's okay, but I'd also hate to drop 120 dollars to be told what you guys are telling me here.

Thanks so much for the help. I'm embarrassed to be making such mistakes, I just want to do whatever I need to for his long term health.

[Morjean]

It's okay, everyone makes mistakes, we're all here to learn! Just make sure to fix that heating issue ASAP! Better unplug it now and get a thermostat as soon as possible, than have your snake get burnt.

Here's a caresheer with lot of straight answers in case you havent seen yet~ http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

[Qalopsia]

Thanks again, I'll read over it to make sure everything is adequate.

I appreciate the help!