Very cold snake

Ok first I found him! it took 6 hours of digging but found my ball python after his break out. problem is since he is kept at my school he was VERY cold. The room is in the high 50's which is fine in his tank with 3 heating elements but he has been out since Tues night in this very cold room and he was found no where near his tank Do I need to be worried about RI's or other health problems? He is 10 years old

thanks for any help

Keep an eye for him and hope for the best! Glad to hear you found him, where was he and how did he get out?
You definetly wanna be sure to correct the issue so he doesnt get out again.

Get him warmed up and watch him. I wouldn't feed for a couple weeks until you know for sure there is no RI.

I had a subadult mojave escape for 6 months in my basement a couple years ago. I finally found her and she was fine. I think she liked the cool temps - she actually started eating like a pig shortly after and layed eggs that fall. Ball pythons are pretty resilient.

Good luck!

What kind of enclosure did you finally decide to go with for the class room?

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Originally Posted by Slim

What kind of enclosure did you finally decide to go with for the class room?

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Have ordered an animal plastics but just picked up a non broken tank like he was in today in SF so that I have something to keep him in untill I get his new home.

I was draging my feet because the original owner had said that they might still come and get him back in June. When his tank started going to hell I pushed to find out if the transfer was perm. and it is now. so I dont mind sinking a bunch into setting him up.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Keep an eye for him and hope for the best! Glad to hear you found him, where was he and how did he get out?
You definetly wanna be sure to correct the issue so he doesnt get out again.

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he broke the screen lid and went wondering. Found him in the next room about 6 feet in the air on a shelf hanging with some microtubes. He is geting a cage that is not broken starting on Monday (got to make sure it is clean) until then he is Zip tied into his cage until them. I have ordered a more perm. home

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Originally Posted by JenH

Get him warmed up and watch him. I wouldn't feed for a couple weeks until you know for sure there is no RI.

I had a subadult mojave escape for 6 months in my basement a couple years ago. I finally found her and she was fine. I think she liked the cool temps - she actually started eating like a pig shortly after and layed eggs that fall. Ball pythons are pretty resilient.

Good luck!

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so just a few weeks to wait for the RI?

If he gets a RI the incubation period will not be too long. Remember it takes the combination of the cold dropping the immune system and exposure to the offending organism to cause the RI, so he may wind up no worse for wear.