Help new owner

[Jacks0n24]

Ok so last week I purchased my first ball python from a local pet store and my girlfriend, and I absolutely love this little guy he's missing one eye so I decided to call him Dilios and to avoid the usual questioning Dilios is the lone surviving spartan off the first 300 movie who lost an eye in battle.

Now to my original question today I was awaken by my girlfriend running into the room and screaming that Dilios is in trouble I guess she woke up to find the large stick we keep in his cage to climb on had at one point in the night fell down on top of him knocking off his thermostat on the cool end its one of the circular petco ones with the needle dial in it anyways apparently his head under his jaw got severely stuck to the sticky pad on the back and he wasn't moving she was freaking out as was I when I awoke and realized what was going on when we tried to pull it off it seemed as if it was too stuck to his jaw I didn't want to injure him but the only way I knew we could get this off easily was to dip a cue tip into some isopropyl alcohol to eat the gunk off the back I didn't know isopropyl was harmful to snakes like it is and now I'm worried now I only diped it once and barely touched his skin because I just wanted to get the sticky pad mostly my question is how much could this hurt him should I be worried cause I am right now after we were done he did hiss I think for a second never heard him hiss before kinda sounded like small short sneezes maybe gasp for breaths but after a second he seemed ok he took it like a champ though almost as if he knew his mommy and daddy came to save him never once struck or even went into striking pose what should I be on the look out for

[CALM Pythons]

Wow that sounds crazy, i would of been beside myself waking to that chaos... In any thread about the care of snakes one of the most important rules are about Tape or any kind of sticky pads. It can create a problem that you can't fix. As far as what you used I dont know what to say about side effects. A water base Goo Gone would be safer for sure!!

[ladywhipple02]

Cooking spray or olive oil maybe, to help weaken the adhesive. I would take him to a vet personally.

[Meerna]

I don't want to be that negative person in your time of distress, but this is why it's important to thoroughly research an animal before you buy one. You would have found out very quickly that anything sticky or tapelike should never be put inside an enclosure for this very reason, and also that the dial type thermometers you can get at pet stores are horribly inaccurate and shouldn't be used.

That being said, I do hope he's okay. You should probably take him to a vet just to be sure though.

[Jeanne]

Cooking spray or olive oil maybe, to help weaken the adhesive. I would take him to a vet personally.

This is excellent advice!!! It works well!

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Since the question has been answered I will go into details regarding other issues or possible issues that you may encounter as a new owner

knocking off his thermostat on the cool end its one of the circular petco ones with the needle dial

That's called a thermometer now why do I point this out? There is a difference between a thermometer and a thermostat, a thermometer reads temps a thermostat controls them, now the question do you have a thermostat? If you do not you MUST unplug your heat source immediately and buy one because glue could be the list of your issues.

Now even if you have a thermostat you need to address the thermometer issue, those are VERY inaccurate and may be giving you a sense of security when in fact your temperatures could be way off, get a DIGITAL thermometer such as accurate placing the unit on side (cool) and the probe on the other side (warm).

Temperatures should be measure at the surface of the substrate.

Now would also be a good time to check those out

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ius)-Caresheet

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-With-Pictures!

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...e-Basics-*DUW*

[Jacks0n24]

Right I have all this in his enclosure he's got what he needs it was just the only thermometer they had there at the time they were sold out of the rest been planning on getting one like you mentioned above just haven't had the money until today when I planned on getting a better one spent quite a bit on all this was out of my last week's check hoping it would make due for the week almost did 😕 idk why I said thermostat I fully understand the difference's was just tired when I wrote out the post but now I know they are faulty I didn't know that honeatly thanks for the advise though all knowledge is very much appreciated

[zina10]

Welcome to the hobby !

True, in the perfect world everyone would research before getting an animal. But even with the research, there is SO much info out there, some incorrect, that it can become over whelming.

I'm glad your snake seems to have escaped with little to no harm. I'm also glad to see that you are willing to rectify your husbandry and do what needs to be done, instead of getting defensive.

Honestly, I think most of all have made mistakes. How you fix them is what matters.

Keep a close eye on your baby, but also do NOT stress him to much with a lot of handling. Wait until he has eaten for you at least twice before doing short and regular handling sessions. When you have your first (and only) snake it is SO tempting to do a lot with it. But you have many many years ahead with your new friend, start out the right way, and the rest is smooth sailing

If you notice strange sounds, whistling, "hissing", opening of the mouth etc...its time for a vet.

[Jacks0n24]

Thanks for the advice I actually have been looking into these guys for a bit i thought clearly not well enough and talking to a friend who breeds and owns several just wish i would have dug deeper even now having a hard time finding anything about it really i didnt even know this was a forum until after the situation I guess I just didn't see anything about this harming them when reading up on them but not to let them ingest it here cited from another site

A few species of snakes (and quite a few large lizards) may latch onto their owners and refuse to let go. A few drops or a light spray of alcohol in the mouth (the reptile's mouth, not the owner's) can encourage release. Either hard liquor or rubbing alcohol will do.

And another above it claims the same

seems like common sense when I actually woke up which is why I started panicking but he seems to be doing just fine now was holding him just a bit ago and acted just like normal sliding around and coiling my arm and fingures only side effect I ever saw from this was the hissing noises he made for a minute or two after all was done and now he's fine the hissing is a sign of stress which I assume honestly this was more stressful for him than me I'm assuming or like I thought before the alcohol probably made it hard to breathe but seriously made an extra effort not to touch his skin with it and looking at the sticky pad now I don't even think it's what got him loose honestly he was pulling away from it while we held him i think he just pryed himself off as its still sticky meaning there wasn't enough of the alcohol to destroy the gunk on the pad I'm gonna call my local vet and see what they have to say sucks with the money situation but I've grown so attached to this little guy he obviously comes first just wanted to know what you guys had to offer before I took him in and spent money to find out he's ok

[Jacks0n24]

@zina10 thanks for your understanding and advice yes I do agree I need to get him in to the vet quickly he has been "yawning" commonly but I haven't noticed myself because I work construction and I'm out of state during the week but since I got home last night I've seen him yawn maybe like 4 or 5 times he is missing an eye so I am worried about possible infection and just think he needs the check up expecially after this experience and I think where I got him from I know the owner of the pet store he is very good with snakes and very into them but I fear with how many they have and other employees might put a damper on how well they are taken care of I already told my girlfriend we are gonna put a strick limit on handling following instructions on this forum cause I want this guy to be a life long partner he's our baby lol so it does suck cause all you wanna do with them is play but yes they need their space