new on here and i have a few questions

im new on this fourm. i just bought my first ball python. she is about 5 years old and pretty big. i got her wednesday and i tried to feed her for the first time today and she wouldnt eat. i have only had her for about 4 days. i also cant seem to get the humidity up in her tarrarium. i have the zilla mist that i spray in there and i have tried using a bigger water bowl and sprinkiling water in there and i still cant seem to get it above 30%. i need some help with getting the humidity up. i dont think she is hungry because she was fed like 2 days before i got her. any help with this would be greatly appriciated!

It can be hard to keep humidity up in a screen-top terrarium. Are you using an overhead heat lamp or UTH? Overhead will dry out the air more than UTH. You can also try moving the water dish closer to the heat source. Just a few thoughts.

im using both. i have a uth on one side under her hide and a heat lamp in the middle. today i bought a better thermometer/hydrometer and put some wet moss in there.

if you use a screen top t,ry covering your screen also to reduce ventilation, helps with humidity. most adults ball pythons will eat every week or every 2 weeks, also she hasn't had much time to settle in, so don't worry about it.

im just kinda on edge with her. i put some wet moss in her hide over the heating pad to get some humidity in her hide. also she often makes wierd noises. it doesnt sound like hissing. like sometimes when she exhales it makes noise but not all the time.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

im just kinda on edge with her. i put some wet moss in her hide over the heating pad to get some humidity in her hide. also she often makes wierd noises. it doesnt sound like hissing. like sometimes when she exhales it makes noise but not all the time.

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Hmmm... if your snake is making consistent noise through her mouth (such as exhaling, whistling, clicking, etc) then that is a sign of RI (Respiratory Infection) and needs to be treated by a vet if in later stages. Now, an RI can be treated, if caught early enough, by upping the heat to 95/85 hot/cold side respectively.

A second explanation could be shes got stuck shed in her nostril from her last shed. Very possible.

If you see your snake start to breath with its mouth open, make clicking noises, etc. then you may want to take her to a vet.

-Andrew

she has opened her mouth a few times but it was more like a yawn. i heard a clicking sound today when she was coiling up in her hide but thats the first time i have ever heard that.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

she has opened her mouth a few times but it was more like a yawn. i heard a clicking sound today when she was coiling up in her hide but thats the first time i have ever heard that.

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hmmm... well without hearing your snake, I can't say yay or nay. I would keep an eye and ear open and see what happens. Be sure your providing a hotspot of 88-94 and ambient air temps of 78+. DO NOT let the ambient air temp drop below 75 as that greatly increases RI risk.

i just wached her for a good 5-10 min and once she opened her mouth and took a really deep breath, closed it and exhaled. but that was only once and she made no noises and no bubbles around her nostriles.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i just wached her for a good 5-10 min and once she opened her mouth and took a really deep breath, closed it and exhaled. but that was only once and she made no noises and no bubbles around her nostriles.

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How often is she "yawning"?

i have seen her open her mouth really wide for a second or two a few times. will mucus in the mouth be noticeable when she opens her mouth?

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i have seen her open her mouth really wide for a second or two a few times. will mucus in the mouth be noticeable when she opens her mouth?

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Hmmm... I'm concerned with the consistent yawning. I've only seen my snakes do it after eating and I'm assuming that they do it to realign their jaws so your snake doing this consistently is abnormal IMO.

If you would like to check for mucus go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK0Uvln4lY0

This video is very good at explaining how to open a ball pythons mouth and check for an RI.

im concerned with her. i held her for a few minutes and i listened to her breath and she is wheezing some and making kind of a bubbling sound. im going to call the vet tomorrow and if i can im going to take her after work tomorrow :( i just got her wednesday.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

im concerned with her. i held her for a few minutes and i listened to her breath and she is wheezing some and making kind of a bubbling sound. im going to call the vet tomorrow and if i can im going to take her after work tomorrow :( i just got her wednesday.

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From what you just described, I would say that she is in the beginning stages of RI. You could try upping the heat to 95/85 and see if that fixes it or you could do the vet visit. At this point, with the bubbling sound, I would go with vet visit which it sounds like you are. Should only cost you between $75-120 depending on your vet for antibiotics and visit.

Don't stress out about it (Easier said than done I know) you caught it so early that she will be fine after her round of antibiotics. In regards to how you got her, I would call the person up and explain to them the situation and see if they would be willing to pay for some/all of the cost seeing as the condition obviously began under their care.

Good Luck!

- Andrew

Please do keep in mind everything said here is strictly opinion as none of us are vets as far as I know and if any of us are vets than we can not diagnose or treat your animal without seeing it.

Now with that said to up the humidity there has been great advice here already the only thing I can add is to ditch the tank and go with a tub system as that works best for most snakes.

The yawning issue I have seen happen numerous times in a bunch of my snakes for various reasons and only once has it been an RI. I have one that will yawn almost every time I look at her but she has no RI at all. So it could very well be nothing at all.

Other than that welcome to the forum and the addiction that will never leave you now.

Tom

im going to call the vet today when i go to lunch and see if they can see her today. i jacked up the humidity some but id rather be safe than sorry. i have the tank under control now. eventually im going to build my own.

For the initial question about increasing humidity, I have had the same problem in the past, and have tried moss that was soaked daily in the cage, covering the screen with foil, but what has actually worked for me is taking an old T-shirt (clean though) and soak it in water. Ring it out so no water drips from it but it's still pretty wet, and cover the screen top with it. I have to re-saturate mine about every 2-3 days, but it has increased my humidity by 30-35%. I also cover the damp t-shirt with foil just to decrease evaporation from the top.
Good luck and best wishes with the health of your new guy! If it turns out to not be an RI, my BPs realign their jaws pretty frequently; If I sit in front of their cages for 30 minutes, I'm bound to see one of the do it.

i made an appointment for tomorrow. it was the soonest i could get. the exam fee is like $50. does anyone know how much the meds are going to run me?