i think something wrong with my bp

[Malaika]

Well I just pulled him out of his tank (not more than 10 minutes ago) and I looked at him, and his belly has a reddish/brown tint that i've never noticed before. So I was holding him and noticed that he's shaking, so i placed him on my bed, and he started freaking out, trying to get away from me, then he started shaking again, now hes frozen and won't move at all. Its not cold in my room, its about 80*F.

any ideas? I've never had a problem with him and i've had him for almost a year now. D:

...I just put him back in his tank, he looked a little creeped out. I'm not sure why, I always hold him at about this time too.

EDIT: I just realized the belly color might be because he might be about to shed... but it was never the red color that it is now.

[dr del]

Hi,


Could he have gotten burnt do you think?

I wouldn't wait to put on a vet appointment if you feel something is wrong.

A picture might help us give a more informed guess but that's all it would be and if you have had him for a year you are probably already used to seeing him in all the normal stages and if this concerns you I would get it checked out by an experienced herp vet.


dr del

[Malaika]

Could he have gotten burnt do you think?

No, I don't have uth on him just a ZooMed Ceramic Infared HeatEmitter [60watt] Keeps the warm side at 88-90*f.

I'll keep an eye on him and I'll try to get contact with my local breeder.

[Royalherper]

sometimes my snake's belly gets pink before a shed. You don't use a hot rock do you? Can he come in direct contact with the heat source? I've never heard of a snake "shaking" before. When I put my female bp down on the floor or bed she freaks out too.

[dr del]

Hi,


How is the humidity in the cage - have you noticed her soaking or anything unusual?

Shedding really is normally just a light pink blush rather than red or brown.

How is the CHE gaurded and controlled?

And why contact a breeder rather than a vet? Would he be able to actually come inspect it in person?



dr del

[Malaika]

You don't use a hot rock do you? Can he come in direct contact with the heat source?

No I threw my heat rocks out when I had my leopard geckos and I learned how dangerous they were via internet.

He can get pretty close to it, but I don't have the branch's next to it. He sits in his hide thats on the warm side. I have a digital Fluker's humidity/temperature gauge. Its a 20long tank, so its not that high. So the heat is about 13" of the bottom of the tank. (I plan on switching him to a 40gal, once I move the leos into a 20 and move everything else into different cages. )

[Malaika]

How is the humidity in the cage - have you noticed her soaking or anything unusual?

Current humidity is 59%. I have not seen him soak, I haven't even seen him come out (at night, I stay up to 2-3am reading and used to see him cruising around until summer came along.)

How is the CHE gaurded and controlled?

Sorry, what is CHE?

And why contact a breeder rather than a vet? Would he be able to actually come inspect it in person?

He lives about 2 towns over, and knows a lot about BPs so I think I'll stop by sometime this week with my snake, and ask his opinion if he thinks its weird. I haven't managed to find a vet that knows ANYTHING about snakes around my area, the only reptilian vet around here, killed my chameleon with an overdose of some medication, so I don't go to her anymore.

[dr del]

Hey,


CHE = ceramic heat element - your zoo med thing.

When you say he can get close how close are we talking?

It might be worth asking this breeder what vet he recommends.

Is there any way you can get us a picture or something of him, the problem area and his tank showing the heating element area?

The reason I'm asking all this is that , if it is either an infection in his skin or a burn then leaving it till sometime this week might not be all that good an idea.

When was the last time you handled him and know he didn't have this?

Does it look kind of crusty or weepy or is everything looking perfect apart from the colour?

Is he still frozen in place or is he moving around normally again?


dr del

[Malaika]

CHE = ceramic heat element - your zoo med thing.

When you say he can get close how close are we talking?

The heat lamp sits right on top of the cage, probably about 13 maybe 14 inches from the bottom of the tank. The only thing is I haven't had it on in weeks because of the fact that my air condition broke, and it usually gets around 80-90 in my room, and his tank. and with the light on it would get over 100* in his tank.

Is there any way you can get us a picture or something of him, the problem area and his tank showing the heating element area?

I will see if I can get my camera to cooperate today.

When was the last time you handled him and know he didn't have this?

Does it look kind of crusty or weepy or is everything looking perfect apart from the colour?

Is he still frozen in place or is he moving around normally again?

I last handled him the 24th and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
Its fine except for the color.
He went to his water bowl, got a drink and is now back in his hide.

[dr del]

Hi again,


Take a look at the pictures in this thread.

How different to that does your snakes belly look? Are there any other colour changes on him at all?

Here is another nice picture of a pink belly from jesie k pythons


dr del