Snake respiratory health question!

[aShamed]

Hello!

Apologies if this is the incorrect section to ask this:

I feel quite terrible - I had to leave my python unattended over the long weekend (about five days), and when I came back I had found that some poop had escaped the rat she was eating when I left.
There were traces of mold on the ceiling of her tub enclosure, it must have been there for about 3 days.

I threw out that enclosure and set her up in a tank I was planning to move her to - a giant 4' x 3' high glass terrarium, and disinfected anything I had touched while cleaning her and tossing the tub.
She currently was whistling occasionally, but it may have just been due to stress from me giving her a bath and lightly scrubbing down her whole body.

I was wondering how long I should give her to clear up the symptoms on her own before booking an appointment with a herp vet?

Here is the sticky questionnaire:
1. How long have you had your ball python?
3 Years, since she was a baby.

2. How old
see above

3. Does it eat on a regular schedule?
Usually once every two weeks, sometimes she skips a meal or two

4. How long since its last meal?
About three - four weeks

5. What type/size prey is being offered?
Medium rats, frozen

6. How often do you offer food?
Once a week if she hasn't eaten for over four weeks, otherwise once every two weeks

7. What type and size of enclosure does it live in?
Just moved her to a large 4'x 3'high glass terrarium about 1 hour ago.

8. What are you using as substrate? If it has depth, how deep is it?
Currently, paper towel. Gonig to the store tomorrow to buy melaleuca.

9. What type of heating do you use?
Basking lamp with a herpstat probe on top of the paper towels, set to 85f at night and 88f during the day. (Actual temp is about 2f above the set temp)

10. Do you use a thermostat to control temperatures?
Yes

11. What do you use to measure/monitor temperatures?
Herpstat 2 Red

12. What are the surface and ambient temperatures in the enclosure?
Not sure just yet, haven't had a chance to measure as I just moved her in tonight.

13. What is the average humidity level?
Not sure yet, see above

14. How many and what type of hides does the snake have?
Currently none - tank is empty with only water and a hot spot. Going to set up the tank tomorrow morning.

15. Is water readily available at all times?
Yes

16. Does the snake live alone or does it share the enclosure with anything else?
Alone

17. How often and for how long is the snake typically handled?
Once every few days for 10-15 minutes, longer if I'm cleaning the enclosure

18. Does the snake have any medical history (old injuries or illnesses)?
No

19. Do you have any other reptiles? Have you brought in any new reptiles recently?
No

20. Is there anything specific or unique about your situation that we should be aware of
Snake was exposed to small amount of mold over the course of 2-3 days. I instantly removed her from that enclosure, threw it out, and cleaned her before placing her in her new, clean tank.


Thank you -

ashamed

[Ax01]

hullo Ashamed!

i don't think u have much to be worried about. i'm glad that u are concerned for your BP tho; it shows that u care.

a whistle can be many things. it could be a wierd hiss, it could be low humidity, it could be stuck shed in or near the labial pits or the impending sign of an RI (which u would want to nip in the bud). IMO i think your new 4x3 glass enclosure could use alotta improvements - starting w/ hides and something to measure humidity. what is the humidity BTW? also i dont think u had to throw anything, the tub and stuff jsut needed a scrub. anyways just monitor your BP. if u notice it open-mouth breathing or mucus and bubbles, it's time to take it to a vet.

good luck, keep us updated.

[Bogertophis]

I agree with Ax01. I wouldn't worry about the mold either...not that I'm encouraging to grow more, lol, but snakes are exposed to it in nature,
it's not a big deal. And I wouldn't have thrown away that cage (or whatever), just cleaned it.

I'm one of those that likes to give snakes plenty of space too, but keep in mind what your BP really likes: places to hide, tight "hides" to squeeze
into (they like to feel "back pressure"- it makes them feel safe from predators sneaking up on them), so if the new enclosure is lacking "furniture",
you should work on that. Not less than one 'hide' on the warm side & one on the cool side. And since you're using a glass tank, you might think
about covering (maybe insulating while you're at it?) the back & sides, both for the snake's sense of privacy AND to help keep the heat IN the cage
when colder seasons arrive.

[Bogertophis]

For appearance sake, you can put up scenery on the back (& sides) if wanted (on the OUTside of tank, of course) & on top of that many things**
can be used to insulate the glass that are easy to use. You might also want to insulate the floor underneath: if using UTH, that must breathe,
otherwise the rest could be covered. **possible materials to insulate include corrugated cardboard, foam board, sheet cork, self-stick carpet
'tiles', etc.

I prefer glass tanks for my snakes but many here will steer you to plastic enclosures; bear in mind that you CAN make glass work, but for snakes
like BPs needing more humidity, it's a matter of restricting the air-flow to maintain adequate humidity, and using substrates and/or humid hides
in the tank that raise & keep the humidity higher. (I keep primarily colubrids now, btw)

[aShamed]

Thank you for all the responses.

I threw it out because it was a small plastic tub and she was due for an upgrade soon anyway.

I couldn't manage to get the smell of rot / mold off of the plastic. I wanted to move her somewhere sterile to recover


The tank is just under 4' long x 2' deep x 3' high, almost 180 gallons

The 150w ceramic heat emitters i bought today are only rated up to 100 gallons, so It's kinda cold in there right now.
I was thinking of returning one of them for a 250w ceramic bulb setup on the hot side, and the other for a 100w cool side.

They're both controlled by the herpstat redline


I also bought melaleuca substrate, enough to make a 3" deep carpet along the bottom.
I tried spraying it a bunch but it either doesn't seem to be wet enough or I didn't buy enough melaleuca for it to retain enough moisture for the size of the tank.
Its like a mansion compared to the tub she was in before. I bet she feels like a princess

Also if anyone has any tips on proper thermostat probe placement for these ceramic heat emitters, I would really appreciate it!
I'm planning on hiding the wires behind plastic plants, and I was going to place a wallpaper around the outside. The only openings on this tank are the top and near the floor. I'm going to try covering the the holes near the floor of the tank and see if that helps.
I might also need some tips on how to best cover them. I was thinking of just cutting out some paper in the same shape as the openings, and taping them on the outside (no tape exposed to my snek, of course)


Thank you again. I haven't seen any mucus or mouth breathing, however I did catch her yawning earlier

[aShamed]

https://imgur.com/a/0PTpazb

Here's an album of her tank and the princess herself, if that helps!

[aShamed]

Hello again,

The tank I'm using at the moment has some plastic molding on the bottom of the tank, restricting my ability to use an under tank heater.

I know it isn't safe to install these heating pads inside the tank, so I'm wondering if an over head ceramic heat emitter would be enough, as long as the temperature gradient is good.

There's a lot of conflicting information around whether or not BPs need the under belly heat, and I want to make sure my little girl has the best possible set up in her new home.

Its a really big tank, so I'm also planning on covering as much of the top mesh that I can - currently using a damp towel, but I think cardboard wrapped in foil would be best.

I'm also planning on insulating the back and side walls. There are many ways to do this, but I was wondering if anyone has had success with gluing or securing bark with sphagnum moss around the inside in order to insulate the tank without attaching foam or anything unsightly around the outside.


Thanks again!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

In many cases RI are due to stress + poor husbandry of course there are different causes but over the year those were the main issues.

As far as whisling sound RI are not the only thing that can cause them, stuck shed as well as nasal cavity deformation can too, when in doubt always check with a vet and have a culture done, when dealing with a RI the sooner it is addressed with the proper anti-bitiocs the better the chances of recovery.

As far as belly heat NO they do not have to have it however it is the most efficient heat source as it has little to no heat loss (heat goes up)

You just need to find what will allow you to provide a proper heat gradient.

[aShamed]

Thanks Deborah,

She hasn't whistled at all today, and I haven't found any mucus nor have I seen her mouth breathing, so I think she's alright - thank goodness.

I dampened a towel and placed it on one half of the mesh, and it seems to be keeping humidity quite well.

I'm currently waiting for the 250w CHE to heat up the hot side to see what adjustments I need to make to create a good temperature gradient


Thanks again for all the comments, I'll be sure to post some pictures of the tank when it's fully decorated and set up

https://i.imgur.com/LC7qFeB.jpg
Bonus pic

[Ax01]

very nice Pied! post more pix plz! i wanna see what else might be in there (if anything).