Help!!! Asap!

i randomly woke up at 3am and checked my baby ball python ive had for 3 days that i bought from petco and there he is regurgitating his meal i just gave him about 12 hours ago, it was a frozen fuzzie or w.e you wanna call it and now his head shakes side to side when he moves idk if hes just weakened from regurgitating or what but also when i bought him he was half off they were having a sale and there was a sick snake in the tank with him cuz the guy said there was one that never made his target when he went after the mouse it took the snake 4 or 5 trys to hit his target so i didnt get that one obviously, and i read that petco doesnt have the healthiest snakes so im thinking that they just wanted to get rid of them or something cuz maybe they were dieing, also i didnt have the money for the temp and humidity guages or heat pad cuz i wanted to get the good ones, hes between 19 and 21 inches long and i have him in a 10 gallon tank with a infared bulb and water dish and tree dome home thing with bark bedding, the guy said i can house him like this for a little while till i get the money for the rest of the stuff but the guy had also fed him a frozen pinkie mouse wich is a baby mouse with un opened eyes i think on thursday wich i thought that mouse was too small for the snake wich is why i fed him a fuzzy sunday afternoone wich is a baby mouse, he hasnt pooped or anything yet, i have a paper that says they will pay for the vet bill within 15 days of buying him, idk weather to ride it out and hope for the best or return him, or go to the vet without a poop sample please give your input asap!!!! and this is the first snake ive ever owned

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Originally Posted by deathfromabove

i randomly woke up at 3am and checked my baby ball python ive had for 3 days that i bought from petco and there he is regurgitating his meal i just gave him about 12 hours ago, it was a frozen fuzzie or w.e you wanna call it and now his head shakes side to side when he moves idk if hes just weakened from regurgitating or what but also when i bought him he was half off they were having a sale and there was a sick snake in the tank with him cuz the guy said there was one that never made his target when he went after the mouse it took the snake 4 or 5 trys to hit his target so i didnt get that one obviously, and i read that petco doesnt have the healthiest snakes so im thinking that they just wanted to get rid of them or something cuz maybe they were dieing, also i didnt have the money for the temp and humidity guages or heat pad cuz i wanted to get the good ones, hes between 19 and 21 inches long and i have him in a 10 gallon tank with a infared bulb and water dish and tree dome home thing with bark bedding, the guy said i can house him like this for a little while till i get the money for the rest of the stuff but the guy had also fed him a frozen pinkie mouse wich is a baby mouse with un opened eyes i think on thursday wich i thought that mouse was too small for the snake wich is why i fed him a fuzzy sunday afternoone wich is a baby mouse, he hasnt pooped or anything yet, i have a paper that says they will pay for the vet bill within 15 days of buying him, idk weather to ride it out and hope for the best or return him, or go to the vet without a poop sample please give your input asap!!!! and this is the first snake ive ever owned

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Make sure not too handle the snake after feeding. For two days. Was the mouse fully thawed? Besides that if petco is going to pay for a vet bill,i'd do it. These pet stores I've noticed are really bad at getting healthy animals,or keeping them healthy. They'll sell any sick snake for a dirt cheap price cuz they know its gonna cost them to save it . But yeah I'd go to the vet. Get petco to cover it if u can . You will also need a under tank heater with a thermostat. And maybe a plastic sterlite tub with a locking lid is a better choice. Just read up on this site . And more ppl will reply too.

Do you have a uth?

Hi,

What are the temperatures in his enclosure at the hot end and the cold end and what do you have to measure them?


dr del

If petco will pay for the vet bill in 15 days, I'd take advantage of it.

That being said, I didn't see anything in your post about temperatures. A single infared bulb may not be enough to heat the tank properly. For digestion, under the tank heaters are usually best. If it's too cold, it will mess with their stomachs.

thanks everyone ill see what i can do to get the temp readings, if everything is good with the temperature does it mean hes sick? and i didnt handle him to much after i fed him i just held him for maybe 3 minutes than put him back in the tank

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeo123

If petco will pay for the vet bill in 15 days, I'd take advantage of it.

That being said, I didn't see anything in your post about temperatures. A single infared bulb may not be enough to heat the tank properly. For digestion, under the tank heaters are usually best. If it's too cold, it will mess with their stomachs.

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OR, it may make the enclosure way too hot. It doesn't take much to heat a 10 gallon tank.

Either way though, an accurate read on your temps will fill in a lot of blank spots, even if they don't give definitive answers on why he regurged.

Personally, I don't think ANY pet store has ANY business selling animals when they can't provide clients with proper husbandry education. Also...for future reference...when taking on the responsibility of a live animal, not only should you make sure you're well informed of their husbandry requirements, you should also make sure you can afford and already have in place all the proper equipment needed for their care...all this BEFORE you bring the animal home.

Yeah honestly i would make sure it's nice and warm, but holding for 3 minutes immediately after eating COULD stress him/her out enough.

I work at Petsmart and can honestly say that if you feel his health is deteriorating, return him. They were selling them half off probably as just a random sale to clear out inventory. Also Petco is required to pay whatever vet bills are due and if they are anything like Petsmart(which they are), they will let the vet do all the work.

I would just call petco and let them know of the circumstance ASAP, that way if it does go downhill, they are aware. Make sure to tell a manager also.

Handling after feeding can make the animal regurge. Temps too hot or too cold can also make them regurge. Being sick can make them regurge. Food items not properly thawed can make them regurge. What kind of bark bedding?

The first thing I would do, if I were you, would be see if I could get a refund for returning the snake. Then get your enclosure properly set up, before getting another snake that's not "on sale" because it's being housed with a sick one. You do get what you pay for in most cases.

If you're dead set on keeping that snake(or they won't refund) I would take it to a vet, AFTER confirming that you have in writing that PetCo will pay for the visit. I would also reccomend you measure the temps and humidity in both ends of the tank, with an accurate thermometer(not one of those dials or stick-on things!).

There's a sticky on how to set up a cage properly for first time snake owners on here, and it's a wealth of information. That might help you get your snake better adjusted so it thrives instead of giving you headaches. We want you to have a pet you can enjoy and that will be healthy and happy.

im going to the pet store now to get the gauges i just held him he seems ok hes not shaking his head as much but he is a little skinny hes flicking his toungue just as much as he normaly would and wants to explore my room every chance he gets, but he does stop and gaze a little more when hes in the tank, and i use repti-bark by zoo med, and i understand i kinda just jumped on it when i saw he was half off it was an impulse buy i didnt realize what it takes to have one the guy who sold him to me didnt realy no anything about them, also i have never seen him go in his water bowl ive seen him drink from it once idk if he uses it when im sleeping but the one day i went to change the water there was only half the amount of water in it idk if he was in it and it spilt over or if its evaporating

Hi,

Don't buy those little dial things - they are only fit for throwing at the pet store employee.

Spend the extra $5 and buy a digital thermometer with probe instead. You can get a really good on in wallmart called the acurite digital weather station.

I think it's about $15.


dr del

i got zoo med precision analog thermometer and humidity gauges and put that in the cold side of the tank and for the hell of it i got the stick on thermometer for the warm side and the stick on was pushing 95 and the cold side seems to be holding at 82 and the humidity wich is also in the cold side by the water bowl seems to be holding at 44, i thought 95 was too hot so i took the book off the top of the cage to let the heat escape a little faster and moved the light to the middle of the tank now and the stick on dropped to 86 and the zoo med is slowly going up and the humidity is slowly dropping. any input?

Yikes.... buying analog thermos or hydros are a mistake.
You can only really rely on digital ones with a probe.

I picked up the Bio weather from walmart, cheap and work well!

could he have possibly regurgitated from it being to hot? and when should i feed him again cuz i read that regurgitation is very painful for them and that it takes i little bit before there stomach acids return to normal

Wait 2 weeks before offering another meal...

Get rid of the analogs, and the stick ons. They are notorious for giving bad readings. They could tell you it's 95F, and it could really be 80F.. or worse, the opposite.

Look up the Walmart ones, Cheap and easy to use.

ok thanks and you sure 2 weeks isnt too long?

2 weeks isn't too long. Regurgitating is very painful and stressful on a snake. It will take some time for him to recoup from that.

The Accurite digital temp/humidity stations are selling at my walmart for 12 bucks. Return the ones you bought and make a run to wal mart darlin'.

Also... UTH's are a better way to heat your tank and won't suck the humidity out like a light does.

Not all Wal-Mart stores carry the Acu-Rite thermometers that alot of us use. If Wal-Mart has them, they will be in the Home Hardware section. You can also try at Lowes or Home Depot in the Outdoors section. The reason we suggest getting a digital thermometer with a probe is because once you get an Under Tank Heater, you will need to bury the probe under the substrate to monitor that temperature, which will be your warm side temperature, and you will need to also monitor the ambient or cool side temp as well as the humidity level. The reason we like the Acu-Rites is because they are an Indoor/Outdoor thermometer and Humidity gage, so everything that you need is monitored by one unit. There is a newer model out that may look a bit different, but this is what it looks like...

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0473.jpg

If you can't find them in the stores, sometimes you can find them online, or it may be necessary to purchase individual ones from a pet store or online. Just remember that once you start using belly heat you will need at least one thermometer with a probe to measure that.
Another option is to use a temp gun to measure the temperatures, but even with these youwill still need to move the subtrate aside and check the temp right on the glass. I will put up links at the bottom where you can get some of this stuff. I got my temp gun at Harbor Freight Tools and some auto parts stores will have them. These will run you anywhere from $25-$75.

Something else that you are going to need when you get the Under Tank Heater is a way to control it. You can use simple lamp dimmers or a rheostat, or a thermostat is more preferred. Dimmers and rheostats will be cheaper, but a thermostat will keep temps more stable and consistent and make it alot easier on you. Some pet stores do carry thermostats, but your best deals are ordering them online. A basic digital thermostat online will run you about $30-$35.

This may all be a bit frustrating at first, but once you get everything up and running, it will be easy, your snake will be happy and so will you. Don't be too hard on the pet store employees, most really don't know much about keeping reptiles, only what they do in the stores. If money is an issue, just say so. We have all kinds of tips and suggesstions on how to set-up on a budget and in alot of cases places like Wal-Mart, Target, and the Dollar stores will be your friend. Sometimes it may not look pleasing to you, but your snake won't know the difference. All your snake needs is a warm, dark, snug place to hide, clean water to drink, and food. They can't tell the difference between a $50 hide cave and a couple of $1 plastic bowls flipped upside down. :welcome: to BP.net, if you have any more questions just ask. Hope this helps and here are some links to get you started...

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/

http://www.reptilebasics.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...1529683&sr=1-7

http://www.horticulturesource.com/pr...oducts_id=6247

http://www.urbangardensolutions.com/...tm?click=11398

http://www.herpsupplies.com/search.cfm

http://www.bigappleherp.com/REPTILE-...XkQJ!-42863100

http://www.reptilesupply.com/

http://www.reptiledirect.com/

http://thereptilecenter.com/

http://www.beanfarm.com/

ok and where do you put the probe from the thermometer in the bedding or any where in the tank?

forget that last question i just saw your post thank you very much i appreciate it, and yes money is a little bit of an issue but i think ill be able to figure it out and i think my dad has a heat gun so i might be good to go on that

i do have just one more question i put my light over the water bowl to bump the humidity up more and the temp raised to 98 degrees im guessing thats prob why the snake regurgitated cuz the light was over his hide, and the other side dropped to 82 according to the stick on temp gauge, but now that the light is over the water the humidity actually dropped, idk im thinking the gauge isnt accurate like you said, if i misted the cage how cold or hot should the water be?

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Originally Posted by deathfromabove

forget that last question i just saw your post thank you very much i appreciate it, and yes money is a little bit of an issue but i think ill be able to figure it out and i think my dad has a heat gun so i might be good to go on that

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Ok, I'll see if I can help you out here. What I need to know is:
1) What are the dimensions of the tank? Length X width X height
2) What is the wattage of the heat bulb?
3) What type of room is the tank in? Living room, bed room, etc...
4) What is the approximate temp in the room or what do you have the house thermostat set at?
5) What part of the country do you live in? Depending on where you live and how your house is heated, you may need to make some small modifications to "winterize your tank.
6) About how much can you reasonably spend in the next week or so on supplies? You can PM me this if you want to, but it will help in coming up with a viable plan for you.
7) If you can, take a photo of your tank and set-up and post it here so we can see exactly what you have.

Here are the directions for posting photos:

To post photos, first, you will need to upload your photos to your Gallery on this website or to a photo hosting website like Photobucket, Flickr, etc...

-Open up the Reply window to the thread you want to post them in.

-Open a separate internet browser window and go to the site where your photos are posted.

-Usually below the photo, you will find some URL links or codes. Look for the one that begins with [IMG] or sometimes it may be listed as "BB Code". Highlight and copy this entire code then paste it in your "Reply" window.

-Click on the "Preview Post" button to see if the photo becomes visible. If it does click "Submit Reply". If not, then double check that you copied the right code or the entire code. The end of the code should be [/IMG]...

Here is a link to a video tutorial also. Hope this helps...

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=32416

My internet is being tempermental tonight so if it crashes again it may take a while to respond...

its a 20 gallon tank 10 1/2" wide 12 1/2" high and 20" long, its in my room, the house is aprox 70 degrees, the bulb is 75 watts and i live in northern new jersey, i can prob spend 40 bucks this week, i no not much but insurance is coming up, and the pics i tried the video but it must be an out dated cuz a cant find anything they do on it

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...109_230576.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...1019000108.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...1019000107.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...1014002054.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...015000335a.jpg

as you can see the temp guage is 2 degrees under 100 and the humidity is at 36 even with the light over the bowl idk im deff gonna get a digital gauge very soon, and how do you tell if its male or female because of this i still havnt given it a name

you should have two hides one on the cool side and one on the hot side

Ok. Here is what you need to get for this week.

At Lowes or Home Depot:
- Lutron lamp dimmer. This will let you adjust the heat lamp to help maintain temps. Cost- about $10. It will look something like this...

http://www.lutron.com/Products/Stand.../Overview.aspx

If you can't find one, then you may have to check at some of your local pet stores and see if you can find a rheostat, which is the same thing as a dimmer, it just costs more. Cost- about $20 and looks like one of these two...

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Rheostats

Also, while you are at Lowes or Home Depot, see if they have any of the Acu-Rite Indoor/Outdoor Thermometers with Humidty. Cost- about $12.

At local pet shop:
-Cage clips. If you have those books holding down the screen top. Bad Idea. Eventually the snake will figure out a way to escape. Cage clips will hold the lid down. If they are there for just covering the top, then we will fix that as well. If you need the clips, get 4. One for each corner. Cost- $5-$8. They look like this...

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Sure-Lok...c=2&category=4

At Wal-Mart and/or your local dollar store (Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc...)
- 1 roll of Aluminum tape
- 1 piece of dark colored poster board
- 2 plastic bowls. These are for making 2 identical hides. The half logs usually don't offer the security that Ball Pythons like and they are almost impossible to clean if they get poop or pee on them. You are also going to need a way to either cut, grind, or melt an entrance hole into the side of the bowls. Some ways to do this are soldering iron, wood burning iron, dremmel tool, hack saw, etc. If you don't have or can't borrow a way to make the entrances, you can find the soldering irons at Wal-Mart in the tool section for about $10 and the wood burning irons should be in the arts and crafts section also about $10.
- Aluminum foil
-Scotch tape or some clear packing tape.
- You are going to have to remove/relocate your temp gages so you may need something like some type of knife or blade to remove them. If you can find an Acu-Rite, then you won't need to re-use them. If you can't find the Acu-Rite at Lowes, Home Depot or Wal-Mart, then you may need to get some of those double sided sticky pads at Wal-Mart in the Hardware section to re-mount them.

Basically, for this week, we are going to:
1) Make the heat lamp controllable
2) Make 2 identical hides. 1 for the warm side and 1 for the cool side. This will allow the snake to move back and forth to thermoregulate. Alot of times only having one hide, the snake will choose security over comfort.
3) Secure the top down (If needed).
4) Cover the top to help with heat and humidity.
5) Replace/ relocate the dial gages.
6) cover the back and sides to add a little more security.
Let me know when you get what you can find we'll go through the modifications and it should get you through the week. Then we will look at getting the belly heat and thermostat, which you can also do for $40-$50.

I can save you some money this week. my t-stat should be arriving in the next couple days. Once it does, I can give you my rheostat. I live in S. Jersey so I can meet you half way or something. lemme know if you want it

I just spoke to reptilebasics and my t-stat should be here Thursday, so I can meet you sometime Friday

im not going to be able to meet you on friday, im not sure when i will be able to and your just gonna give it to me free of charge?!? atleast let me pay for your gas

and i have everything except the thermostat, and wallmart did not have the acu-rite thermometer and i didnt want to buy the wrong one but the local petstore has a digital thermo for like 35 bucks ridiculous but im gonna look around for the acu-rite, and whats the aluminum tape for?

The aluminum tape is for taping down the flexwatt and the probe to the flexwatt.

yeah you can have it for free and no I will not accept gas money :P I just wanna help if I can.

if it would be easier. pm me your address and I will mail it to you.