Sneezing after Repti Fogger/water bath?

I know you've all most likely seen a ton of "sneezing, what do I do?" threads and "It's an RI" responses so I won't bother you with another one. I've done my research and looked online for an answer, yet not one was found.

I've had my ball python female since late August and I've had no problems with her. She eats her fuzzies with no complaints, hasn't struck me or done anything weird in general. She just finished her first shed with me on Sunday, coming out in one complete piece, with no eyecap leftover problems or anything. I assume that because of this, my husbandry is fine. My cool side temps are at 78-80º and my hotside is 94-96º and she travels between both with no visible complaints. I have the Zoo Med HygroTherm and Repti Fogger hooked up to her tank so her humidity stays at 60% all day long. I turn off my daylight basking lamp after I get back from work, turn on the infared heat lamp and turn off the Repti Fogger (to simulate natural conditions, as humidity drops at night). Early in the morning, I wake up an hour early to turn on the Repti Fogger and let it run for an hour to give the tank a morning "soaking" as the day basking lamp dries out my sphagnum moss well. I've noticed today that after about 40 minutes or so of running, that my python "sneezed" lightly, but still audibly. She has done this twice or thrice before, and always after I soaked her in water for an hour during her sheds (in a bucket under a 1000 Watt heat lamp). I've noticed she went under the water a few times while she was in the bucket, but I assumed she "held" her breath.

My questions are: do ball pythons inhale water? Is running the Repti Fogger for that long bad? Has anyone had the same problem with their pythons? Should I be worried about respiratory infection if my husbandry is as stated above and if I keep running the Repti Fogger for that long? I'm just worried that if I let this go untreated, it'll turn into an RI. At the same time, I don't want to blast her with antibiotics unnecessarily.

Any advice/personal experiences are very welcome.

P.S. She doesn't have any mucus around her mouth or nostrils, no wheezing otherwise and the inside of her mouth is clean and pink with no signs of rot. She only does this when she's exposed to water.

I haven't had this happen with ball pythons, but I have a corn snake who often sneezes if he gets a bath, because he's a derp that inhales water. :rolleyes:

I would be guessing about the causes of the sneezing I would keep a very close ye out for RI as it is a possiability. I have never had one of mine sneeze sometimes one will exhale heavity. (huff) but past that...

What I see with you set up is two things. your hot side temp is quite hot if it is accurate. 94 is usually the hottest most would recommend and personally I don't like seeing over 90. The other thing is the fogger. I see no problem with it exactly but I'd likely allow the temps to come up to day temp before misting as you have a drop at night and the fogger is likely to drop it further I'd suggest that at the it should be used during the hottest part of the day and then off.

The next question is how much ventilation do you have? Lots or little? High humidity and low ventilation is known to create prime RI conditions.

I would not suggest a blast with antibiotics but rather a culture be done and pointed drugs used. Not just broad spectrum stuff.

Keep an eye on things to be sure it is not RI if it is get to the vet.

I use the same setup as you for the humidity. I keep it at 60% period. 24/7. When I notice a shed I bump it to 70% till after the shed then return it to 60%. Never had a problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I would be guessing about the causes of the sneezing I would keep a very close ye out for RI as it is a possiability. I have never had one of mine sneeze sometimes one will exhale heavity. (huff) but past that...

What I see with you set up is two things. your hot side temp is quite hot if it is accurate. 94 is usually the hottest most would recommend and personally I don't like seeing over 90. The other thing is the fogger. I see no problem with it exactly but I'd likely allow the temps to come up to day temp before misting as you have a drop at night and the fogger is likely to drop it further I'd suggest that at the it should be used during the hottest part of the day and then off.

The next question is how much ventilation do you have? Lots or little? High humidity and low ventilation is known to create prime RI conditions.

I would not suggest a blast with antibiotics but rather a culture be done and pointed drugs used. Not just broad spectrum stuff.

Keep an eye on things to be sure it is not RI if it is get to the vet.

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Thanks for the reply. My hot side is usually ~94 or so, it only gets to 96 if the humidity drops (which isn't a problem much anymore). Otherwise, I haven't seen it go above 94º. As to the fogger, I only leave it running during the day when I'm at work, with the exception of the hour soaking in the morning. I turn it off at 8pm until 5am, when I have to get up. So it only runs with the high heat basking lamp, not with the infared night lamp.

When it comes to ventilation, I have little over half of the tank covered with aluminum foil (the cold side) and the hot side is open, where the lamp hangs over. Judging by the fog that Repti Fogger puts out, most of the tank has good air circulation, or so I believe. I'll probably try to leave out the morning soakings, I guess? I mean, the humidity hide on the hot side is full of shagnum moss, which retains a lot of moisture. She seems to hide in it most of the time, she's rarely out on the limbs over the hot side, except at night under the infared lamp. If I hear her sneeze again when the fogger's running, I'll be sure to take her to the herp and get cultures done. Also, aren't wheezing and heavy breathing the primary indications of an RI? I mean, if I don't hear those when the fogger running regularly and when I'm handling her, she should be alright, right? In other words, if this is only an occasional, rare thing after a bath, how worried should I be?

Thanks.

Also, here's a picture of my setup to give you a better idea.


http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7575/dscf1324r.jpg

94 is very hot for a consistent hot side temp, it shouldn't go above 92, and that's on the high end of 88-92 it should be.....

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Edit: Also, daily baths are 100% unnecessary, by doing that you are removing important oils on/in their scales.

Edit Edit lol: Also, where exactly do you live? It seems very over the top to have a fogger running around the clock....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LGray23

94 is very hot for a consistent hot side temp, it shouldn't go above 92, and that's on the high end of 88-92 it should be.....

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Edit: Also, daily baths are 100% unnecessary, by doing that you are removing important oils on/in their scales.

Edit Edit lol: Also, where exactly do you live? It seems very over the top to have a fogger running around the clock....

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She tends to hide in her hot side hide all of the time, during the day. The 94º that I measured was with the sensor near that branch, not inside the enclosure. The heat diffuses around the ceramic/plastic of the enclosure, so it's probably a bit cooler inside than out.

I don't give her baths every day, only once a week, when I clean her tank with bleach, replace all the moss, etc.

I'm in Texas, but I run my conditioner at 65º at all times. That removes a lot of the humidity, hence the need for a fogger. Before I got the fogger, humidity was staying about ~20%. I work 60+ hour weeks, so I don't have the time to mist her tank countless times a day.

I wouldn't use a fogging machine every day on a ball python. I think people exaggerate the importance of humidity. I live in hot and dry southern California and I only bump humidity up when my snakes are shedding, and they've never been sick. On the other hand, a friend of mine who was really obsessive about keeping humidity in the 60% range had her animal take sick and die in a matter of months. I know my personal experience is very limited, but having watched a snake die in those conditions, I can't help but draw these conclusions. I don't want it to happen to anybody else.

What about big reptile breeders like BHB and Ralph Davis? They keep warehouses full of drawers upon drawers of snakes. I can guarantee those animals do not breathe water vapor every day.

If you really must keep humidity up to have peace of mind, I think a damp wash cloth on top of the enclosure should do the trick.

(PS: We tried desperately to save the snake and took it to the vet, did the cultures, blood samples, whole nine yards, and $500 and a few weeks later, it died suddenly while she was soaking it.)