Just a thought

[Pythons Rock]

When people ask for advice on the forum one of the first questions we ask is "what are your heats and humidity"? I myself own 6 snakes and even though I am running thermostats and three temp gauges (one with humidity) per tub I find myself constantly checking temps/humidity because I want to make sure everything is correct and to keep RI's and other infections from happening. In the wild these conditions can't be met all the time. Bp's seem to be very suseptable to infection if the correct conditions aren't met, does this mean that there a lot of sick snakes in the wild? Just a tought.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Bp's seem to be very suseptable to infection if the correct conditions aren't met, does this mean that there a lot of sick snakes in the wild? Just a tought.

In a ball pythons native habitat (West Africa, on the equator) not only are their natural temperatures perfectly suited for their health and well being, but they also have a much larger natural range to thermoregulate in and they are not subject to the stresses of captivity so their immune systems are stronger.

So no, there are not a lot of sick ball pythons in the wild.

Hope this helps.

-adam

[Pythons Rock]

Thanks Adam, that makes sence, so in captivity their immune systems become lower and the stresses become higher?

[Adam_Wysocki]

Thanks Adam, that makes sence, so in captivity their immune systems become lower and the stresses become higher?

Any creature is naturally more stressed in a cage.

With ball pythons, stress has a direct impact on their immune systems.

Also, if you consider that average household temperatures are 12 - 14 degrees (and sometimes lower) than the temperatures that ball pythons as a species have evolved to live and thrive in, you can understand why respiratory infection is a common problem in captive ball pythons.

-adam

[Pythons Rock]

Thanks again Adam, now I don't feel so overbearing about monitoring everything in my tubs, I myself have only had to deal with one RI and that was from an adult male rescue I have that was kept in very poor conditions, to the vet he went for a round of antibiotics, now that he has the right conditions he has gained 100g and is an eating machine and pushing the 900g mark. Took some TLC and time to get him to feed and get him back to health. Other than him I have had no problems, so I'll keep monitoring like a nervous parent looking for anyone to cough.