I think my ball is getting sick

I have been having problems getting my snake to eat so I made changes to the cage to get temps and humidity up and regulated. I redid the lid, got a basking bulb, got new hides, ground cover, ect. Then a few days ago I noticed the snake acting odd it was rubbing its head on thing, yawning, and just keeps holding its head up. Yesterday I got it out and was trying to see if it had something stuck in its mouth and noticed bubbles coming out its nose I have been keeping an eye on it and there have been no more bubbles but its still holding its head up. Any ideas?

It has a respiratory infection and should be seen and treated by a herp vet.

Sounds like an RI. Take him to a vet now and get a culture and some antibiotics.

Yep, what they said. ;)

Your snake will be fine with quick treatment. It's gotta be done right though, RIs can be nasty if untreated. =] x4 on the vet trip.

It sounds like the RI might have been caused by your new setup. Can you describe the setup you are using now? Wouldn't want to get him treated by a vet and then get sick again!

He is in a 30 gal tank with a log hide, a pot hide, coconut fiber bedding, and a climbing branch. I have a cold side and a hot side with the water dish and my temps are 71 on the cool side and about 83 on the hot with humidity is at 65 right now. I feel bad all I was trying to do is get his heat and humidity levels up and took advise from a friend who knows more about this then me and the damn pet store and internet. We are so financially screwed right now I dont know what to do.

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Originally Posted by tanyawetzel

He is in a 30 gal tank with a log hide, a pot hide, coconut fiber bedding, and a climbing branch. I have a cold side and a hot side with the water dish and my temps are 71 on the cool side and about 83 on the hot with humidity is at 65 right now. I feel bad all I was trying to do is get his heat and humidity levels up and took advise from a friend who knows more about this then me and the damn pet store and internet. We are so financially screwed right now I dont know what to do.

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Well, the first thing to do is bump his hot side up to 90-93 degrees. That will help with his RI, and might be what caused it to begin with. You'll want to try to bump up the temps on the cool side to 80 as well, but the hot side is most important right now.

And don't feel bad, everyone makes mistakes and you are doing the best you can right now! It takes time to learn these things, and you are making the effort. An RI is easily treated and is a pretty minor thing when you catch it quickly enough.

You can even bump up temps to 95.
Is he making any breathing noises? Wheezing or popping?

Keep stress down to a minimum. Stress lowers the immune system.

A culture and antibiotics are a must. But doing a at home F10 nebulizer treatment can work in a pinch since you're low on funds.

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Agreed, bump up the temps to the mid-high 90's and you might be able to reverse the RI with just some extra heat. I haven't done this myself, but I've heard that it is possible. Be sure not to cook your snake though, I wouldn't go over 97º.


A vet shouldn't be too expensive. Maybe $100 total for the visit and the meds. If raising the temps doesn't help, this is your only option.