Re: My new BP - Would like some help
I took him out again and I noticed that his belly is really pink, he hasn't shed since I got him and ive had him for almost 3 weeks now. I've heard that cracking or popping noises can be confused with RI when the snake is about to shed. I also called the pet store to see if the other ball pythons that were housed in the same enclosure were showing symptoms since the disease is contagious and he had been yawning about once per handling since I had him. They said that the remaining 2 they had were perfectly healthy and the other 2 that were sold were healthy as well. I'm going to at least wait till he sheds and if the popping noise is still happening i'm taking him to a vet I found where I go to college, it's about an hour and a half away.
I've never taken an animal to a vet before, how much is this going to cost? I was reading that it costs a person $1,000 dollars for a vet visit and treatment, if this is true and thats what its going to cost me theres no way I can afford that. I could get plastic surgery for cheaper than that but I have to pay a grand for some half-doctor to look at my snake for 5 minutes and prescribe a bottle of medicine that probably cost 30 cents to make in Taiwain? If its more along the lines of 70 bucks thats fine but i'm not mortaging my house.
Re: My new BP - Would like some help
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyle6203
I've never taken an animal to a vet before, how much is this going to cost? I was reading that it costs a person $1,000 dollars for a vet visit and treatment, if this is true and thats what its going to cost me theres no way I can afford that. I could get plastic surgery for cheaper than that but I have to pay a grand for some half-doctor to look at my snake for 5 minutes and prescribe a bottle of medicine that probably cost 30 cents to make in Taiwain? If its more along the lines of 70 bucks thats fine but i'm not mortaging my house.
What you are willing to spend on your animals is your business...and we each have to decide the value we place on them. For some $1000 is nothing when it involves a living creature - that for some of us are like family members.
As for the cost I recommend you call them and find out - even if you don't end of taking him in at least you will have a ball park for the time that you do. Keep in mind though - just like in human medicine specialists cost more. It takes more education, my experience and a having a smaller client base (even though the cost of running the clinic are the same) to be a reptile vet - so in my opinion good reptile vets deserve more for the same thing a regular vet would do. You are paying for experience and knowing what is wrong vs. guessing (or trying to remember that one reptile class back in vet school)
Re: My new BP - Would like some help
pink belly = shed most of the time. If his eyes get a cloudy opaque blue color then hes gonna shed. Bumping up the humidity helps a great deal with shedding, but if he does have a RI like you suspect that could make it worse. Definitely get in contact with a good vet and see what they have to say.
Re: My new BP - Would like some help
Ok little update. Hes definatly shedding, I was pretty sure he was last night because his skin looked dull and his eyes were kinda cloudy, but today his eyes are almost blue. I decided to go ahead and feed him a day early and what a challenge that ended up being. It took me 2 hours of bumping the mouse with a hanger to get it to move to get the snakes attention. Usually I just drop the mouse in and 20 seconds later its dead and 1/4 the way down his throat. I think he had a little trouble seeing it due to his incoming shed.
As for the possible RI im going to wait till after he sheds and see if hes still making the clicking sound, if he is hes going to the vet. I watched closely as he realigned his jaw after eating and I saw no visible mucous. Now I have 2 quick questions. The first being is how do I manually open his mouth so that I can have a better view of whats going on in there, and do I have a chance of getting bit by doing this? I'm terrified to try and open his mouth as I dont want to piss him off or hurt him. Also how long before they shed once the eyes turn blue?
Re: My new BP - Would like some help
It is good that he ate, but from what I have read it is generally not a good idea to feed during the peak of the shed. BPs are pretty good about waiting a little while for their meals.
As for checking the mouth, I would think aside from a vet check, you gotta just keep an eye on him when he yawns. Personally I don't think I would open the mouth on my own; but there are special tools you ca use to do that (I saw something about then somewhere on this site) It is not unusual for a BP to yawn now and again, they all do, it's just when it's frequent and you notice the mucous (it looks like they have a really drooly mouth if theres a build up of mucous.)
And vets, they can be expensive, that is true, but they have lots of experience and that's invaluable. If you are anything like me, (broke college student) I would contact any local herp vets and gather all the information they can give you over the phone or on email without having to schedule an appointment. Also ask for their general rates for treatments, general check-ups and such.
Re: My new BP - Would like some help
Quote:
Originally Posted by juddb
Also if you saw one mite there are probably100 more or eggs. I would consider ordering some prevent o mite. But good luck. Ball pythons are the $hit.
Ok well I finally had to take your advice, probably should of done it sooner but I didn't see any mites after the cage disenfecting and thought by some miracle I had got rid of them. Pfft ya right. Their are now 4 or 5 mites burrowed in his scales under his head, tried manually removing them but he just wasn't having that, and I also picked 4 or 5 off him just crawling on his body. So I ordered this PAM stuff, how long does it usually take to ship? The mites are really gettin bad so hopefully not too long because i'm starting to feel really sorry for him.
Re: My new BP - Would like some help
For his comfort, you can soak him in tepid water w/a drop or two of liquid dishsoap in it to drown the mites. It only kills the adults on the snake, but it's a temporary aid until the Provent-A-Mite arrives.
The clicking and popping may stop after the shed. It can be caused by the loose skin in the nostrils moving back and forth as he breathes.
As for cost of the vet, mine usually charges around $45 for the initial exam/visit. Special tests and medication are (naturally) extra. The baytril and other antibiotics for my snakes have been anywhere from ~~$30-65 for the treatment.
Here's one link to help find a vet...IF they're part of the registry. I have another way to find one, but I've buried the link somewhere and can't find it yet. :oops:
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/#vetlist
Good luck! And welcome (back) to the hobby!
