RI questions/ your thoughts and ideas.
Hi all,
I'm a bit stumped on this one, so please if you have any ideas feel free to comment.
I have a rescue BP that we picked up last year. He wasn't in bad shape, but had obviously been mishandled in the past and was kept in a too small unheated enclosure. Brought him home set him up in the quarantine room. He came out of quarantine in January and was placed in the rack. Within 2 - 3 weeks he had developed an RI. Not a bad one, but still. Quick trip to the vet, a shot, meds and back in quarantine. The RI cleared up within a few days. He stayed under observation in quarantine for a couple months and then was moved back to the rack when he showed no signs to redeveloping another RI. He's been back in the racks for a couple weeks now and is starting to whistle again. Which has prompted another round of meds and a move back to quarantine.
Now, husbandry is basically the same. Ambient temps range in the high 70's to low 80's. Usually around 78 in the quarantine room and right on 80 in the actual snake room. Quarantine is bigger and harder to keep the heat where it needs to be. Thermostats are dialed in at 90 on both for hotspots. News paper and aspen for substrate. Quarantine is just glass tanks. I don't have an extra rack and being that I don't pick up too many extra snakes it does just fine. The rack is an AP econo rack. Temps are taken regularly with a temp gun. Both are isolated quite areas of the house. The only thing I can come up with that is different is the humidity. In the racks it generally is around 50-60 % while in the quarantine tanks it is usually 30 -40.
Has anyone encountered this before? He has absolutely no issues in the quarantine tanks, and it appears as if the higher humidity in the racks is tending him toward RI's. As far as I know he has always (before me) been kept in a tank. He is an older snake and was a class pet for a number of years. Thoughts on handling the situation? More holes in his tub? Keep in him a tank? (this would be seriously inconvenient as I don't have much extra room for tanks) Perhaps not humidity issues at all but stress?
Re: RI questions/ your thoughts and ideas.
When he does make it back to your rack from the quarantine I think it's a good idea to put extra holes in the tub. The added ventilation will help overall. I know in my rack I have been having a hard time with high humidity and have been monitoring it very closely. I had to put extra holes in the tubs until I got the humidity down to 56% -61%. Is this python of yours with the RI feeding? If he is there is a product called "REPTA BOOST" that you can supplement his food with. It is for stressed and convalescing reptiles. Breeding and nutritionally deficient herps as well. It's a weight based formula and is something you may want to consider to help with recurring medical issues. Talk it over with the vet and see what his take on it is. Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj:
Re: RI questions/ your thoughts and ideas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Albert Clark
When he does make it back to your rack from the quarantine I think it's a good idea to put extra holes in the tub. The added ventilation will help overall. I know in my rack I have been having a hard time with high humidity and have been monitoring it very closely. I had to put extra holes in the tubs until I got the humidity down to 56% -61%. Is this python of yours with the RI feeding? If he is there is a product called "REPTA BOOST" that you can supplement his food with. It is for stressed and convalescing reptiles. Breeding and nutritionally deficient herps as well. It's a weight based formula and is something you may want to consider to help with recurring medical issues. Talk it over with the vet and see what his take on it is. Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj:
Thank you, He is an excellent feeder. As stated the RI was and is mild and he has been on feed the whole time. I think I will add a few more holes in his tub for the future.