Not worried yet, but curious

Hey everyone!
Just registered last night and all the info here has been invaluable! Thx so much!

Just a quick question...

My BP i got 3 weeks ago has eaten just fine and has just about completed it's shed. I have noticed though, that it will sit with it's head up in the air and flicking it's tongue out. I have read that holding it's head up is a sign of draining ( possibly RI? ). I'm not concerned yet, but just a bit curious if I should be getting concerned it might be a RI.

It's about 15-17 in long in a 20g tank. Temps are 91.2 on the warm side and 81.9 on the cool side. Humdity is at 62%.


should I be concerned yet?

I wouldn't worry about him. Sometimes that is how they smell the air. If he's breathing just fine, and you don't hear any popping or wheezing, then I don't think it's RI. It's good to be cautious though. :) Good Luck!

Thx!

I was just thinking. Today/tomorrow is feeding time and possibly hunger?

The reason I say today/tomorrow is when I bought it, they had it on a every Thursday 2x fuzzy feeding schedule. but wouldn't eat until Friday and only 1 fuzzy ( settling issues? )

I was thinking of getting a couple fuzzies today.

oh and no popping, wheezing, or mucus discharges. did a bit of yawning while shedding though...

Yeah, yawning is ok. they have to stretch that jaw just like we do. Hm. Yeah, it could be some settling issues. Especially if he is a young one. Just keep trying. I have two little hatchlings (well, they are about a month old now), they have been pretty picky as well.

If he is young, you can feed ever 5 days until he is about 500 grams. You should see if you can't weigh him. Then you know if he is getting 10% of his body weight. It's hard with the little ones though. At least he is eating, so I wouldn't worry about him. :)

Yeah, he tried on Thursday last week, but missed his strike and hit the enclosure wall. After that I thought I would give him a day to " get his bearings back ". On Friday he struck right away and had the fuzzy down in a few minutes!

If he is swallowing prey that quickly then you can probably up the size. Hatchlings are usually started on hoppers and move to adult mice after a few weeks.

:welcome: to BP.net...

I agree. Next week see if he will take a hopper mouse...

Oh yeah. I thought you were feeding fuzzy rats. Yeah, he should be able to eat a hopper mouse or two.

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Oh yeah. I thought you were feeding fuzzy rats. Yeah, he should be able to eat a hopper mouse or two.

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Will do!

thx again for the peace of mind!

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Originally Posted by Zedd

Will do!

thx again for the peace of mind!

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Hey, I understand your concern. My snake "Sneezed" but turns out it was probably a hiss or just this thing blood pythons do, they sharply exhale air if you startle them to much

So i tihnk thats what it is. Almost every time you think your snake has an RI, it doesnt. and even more so if your temps are fine like me and yours are

So dont be to concerned. As long as temps and humidity are fine, and you havent had your snake come into contact with any other snake with an RI, you are fine

Good luck

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Originally Posted by MikeV

As long as...you havent had your snake come into contact with any other snake with an RI, you are fine

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I don't believe that's accurate. Any bacteria present can take a hold and cause infection when given the chance.

Well, Merlin was definately hungry! I got a adult mouse and as soon as I dropped her in, Merlin was out and struck immediately! He is swallowing her as I type this!

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

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Originally Posted by Zedd

Well, Merlin was definately hungry! I got a adult mouse and as soon as I dropped her in, Merlin was out and struck immediately! He is swallowing her as I type this!

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

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Good for him! Cheers to full snakes :)

Yeah, I agree, they can get RI from a lot of things. it's a good thing to keep an eye on them.

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

I don't believe that's accurate. Any bacteria present can take a hold and cause infection when given the chance.

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As that is true, Its also good to mention that, it can happen, but I think its unlikely if you properly clean and do it regularly.

(atleast I would think proper cleaning and doing it regularly should provent a RI along with proper temps and humidity....)

Not saying it cant happen though

My ball python does the periscope thing too, she will stick her head up toward the top of her tank and flick her tongue all over the place, I usually interpret this as a sign of hunger. I think she is just testing the air and seeing if there is any prey in the area.

I was just saying there's more than another ball with an RI than can cause one in yours. It's technically pneumonia or a sinus infection, which aren't contagious in humans because it's the specific conditions within your body that allowed the bacteria to take hold. I think this is similar with ball pythons but with the conditions it's kept in. It even seems unlikely that a ball with an RI would give it to another in healthy, clean conditions for those same reasons. The ball without an RI does not have (or is not) an environment in which bacteria can take hold.

Yeah, the periscope thing is normal too. Called "periscoping." They're just checking things out.

* sigh * I think I celebrated too early :( Merlin struck ( see photo in my gallery ) thought about swallowing then turned away

Sometimes ball pythons can be retarded, you know theyre hungry but they just give up on trying to swallow the mouse, I just will take the mouse out again and try reheating it so its nice and warm, that usually will make them take the food item the second time around. If that doesnt work just try again in a few days, ball pythons will just refuse food once and awhile, they are quirky like that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

I was just saying there's more than another ball with an RI than can cause one in yours. It's technically pneumonia or a sinus infection, which aren't contagious in humans because it's the specific conditions within your body that allowed the bacteria to take hold. I think this is similar with ball pythons but with the conditions it's kept in. It even seems unlikely that a ball with an RI would give it to another in healthy, clean conditions for those same reasons. The ball without an RI does not have (or is not) an environment in which bacteria can take hold.

Yeah, the periscope thing is normal too. Called "periscoping." They're just checking things out.

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Ah

so one question though.. is it ALWAYS an issue even if you keep your snake in the best conditions possible? Or is there a time where its so clean and temps and humidity are so perfect that its almost impossible to for it to happen?

Thanks, just curious

I have been told that the bacteria that causes RI is always present in their airway and lungs, but when their temperatures drop or they become stressed the bacteria can flourish because of their immune system weakening. So it is just the abnormally high concentrations of their normal bacteria that causes the illness, and these numbers are caused by poor conditions or just plain old stress or maybe age, anything that can cause a weakend immune system sounds like it could start an RI.

I lieft the mouse in the hab on top of Merlins hide like it was looking down over the opening w/ a ceramic heat lamp pointing at it and he is finally eating it!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

Nice! thats great!

It seems to me that the ball pythons especially love warm food, they have those big heat sensor pits on their lips, and they really react to warm stuff. I had a mouse smell all over the snake room one day while thawing some mice, and my snake was out and about cuz he smelled the food, I looked down at him in his cage while holding a cup of hot water for the mice to thaw in, and he totally tried to strike the warm cup like 3 times, lol... musta mistook it for a warm mouse!