Fairly new owners, Need help fast. Does my snake have an RI?

About an hour ago I put my hand in my BPs enclosure to take her out and she triede to bite me (this hasnt happened, and shes a very sweet snake) then I noticed that she was opening her mouth alot and sticking her nose in the air and rubbing her nose on herself.

Some facts that might help...
- With our bedroom being so hot I try to keep the humidity up slightly
(can this be the cause??)

Ive read that if she does have an RI to dry out her enclosure and make sure it is spotless, she just pooped last night while we were sleeping, but now Im kind of afraid to out my hand back in.

Any suggestions?
Please Help. Please...I love this snake and I dont want her to die :(

You need to clean, if you're afraid put on a glove. When in doubt, off to the vet with him.

I cleaned her little mess, but Im stuck home today between the 10 inches of snow and no car, wont be able to get her to vet until tomaro, maybe wednesday...

is there anything specific I should do until then so it doesnt get worse?

--Jamie

Mouth breathing is a symptom of RI. But I would not assume its an RI unless there is a mucus discharge. Is there any mucus coming out of her mouth or nose? Any mucus discharges on the sides of her enclosure?

What are the temps inside the enclosure?

Also I wouldn't dry out the enclosure. If it is a RI (which again I would not assume until I saw mucus) they can be caused by humidity being either too high or too low. Maintaining proper humidity levels (at least 50%)is you best bet.

Keep temps up and humidity up in the mean time to help with breathing if it is RI

I dont see any mucus or discharge...

Temp is around 83 (over all.. still waiting on a larger enclosure, shes in a 10 gallon aquarium as she isnt very big yet)

Weve had some trouble keeping the temp at a constant but it hasnt gone below 78.

is the whole tank 83.

You need to provide 88-90 one side and 78-80 cool side

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

is the whole tank 83.

You need to provide 88-90 one side and 78-80 cool side

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Whats the easiest way to do that? We have a heat pad under the right side of the tank (the kind you stick on).

How do I make the other side cooler?

Whats the temp right above the heat pad. And 83 on cool side is still fine dont worry about that.

If you have your heat pad plugged directly into a wall outlet and thats it, i can guarantee your hot side is over 100 on the glass. You need to get a digital thermometer that has a probe on wire so you can have it on the warm side to read the surface temp above the Heating pad.

Also want to look into getting a lamp dimmer or thermostat to control the temps so you never have to worry about them

We have a laser thermometer, would that work?

that will work as well

Ugh, naturally I cant find it.

But just by feeling the glass it is pretty hot, We have about a 1/2 of Aspen substrate over it though...

Top layer isnt waht matters. The hottest point the snake cant come in contact with is what needs to be 90. The snake can move the bedding and lay on the glass if it wants too.

Need to get that heating pad controlled of RI be the least of your problems

Ahh not good.

Is there something I can buy that I plug the heatpad into so when it reaches a certain temp it shuts off, and then back on?

Im sorry to sound so uneducated on the subject but, Im very new to this and want a healthy, happy, long living snake.

Go to reptilebasics.com and you can buy thermostats from there. Will run you 90 on the cheap end

Rich is dead on about the temp, you need a thermometer that can take a surface temperature on the glass over your heat pad to make sure it inst too high. As he said if you have the heat pad plugged right into the wall odds are its way too hot. For taking the temperature I would highly recommend a IR thermometer like this (www.tempgun.com, these IR "Tempguns" are by far the best way of keeping track of the temps in your BP's habitat.

Now about the suspected RI, Since there is no mucus does it seem like your BP is having a hard time breathing through its nose? Is it making any bubbling or wheezing noises when breathing?
If not I don't see any signs or symptoms that would suggest an RI.

Something like this?


http://www.helixcontrols.com/DBS1000.htm

No funny wheezing noises, and no bubbles when she opens her mouth. Nothing mucus wise where she was rubbing her nose either.

I found this behavior odd, Ive never seen her do it before unless she was shedding, and she just did so I dont think thats it.

If she just shed, the the noise your possibly hearing is stuck shed in the nostrils. Happens often in winter months.

And yes Helix, herpstat, johnson, ranco are your best options.

This is just my opinion, anyone that disagrees please chime in but since there seems to be no mucus, no difficulty breathing and no wheezing then I do not believe you should suspect an RI.

Can you elaborate a little on her behavior? It doesn't sound like any disorder or problem that I am aware of.

Quote:

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Something like this?

http://www.helixcontrols.com/DBS1000.htm

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I have 2 Helix DBS1000's and I think they are awesome. Yes that would be a great option to use for your thermostat. That is a proportional thermostat and I think its important that you know the difference between a proportional and ON/OFF types of thermostats.
You can read about the difference between the 2 types here: http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostat-faq.html

My recommendation if you want a proportional thermostat is a Helix or Herpstat spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html(have both, love both) and a Ranco if you want a ON/OFF type

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Originally Posted by Agent73

This is just my opinion, anyone that disagrees please chime in but since there seems to be no mucus, no difficulty breathing and no wheezing then I do not believe you should suspect an RI.

Can you elaborate a little on her behavior? It doesn't sound like any disorder or problem that I am aware of.


I have 2 Helix DBS1000's and I think they are awesome. Yes that would be a great option to use for your thermostat. That is a proportional thermostat and I think its important that you know the difference between a proportional and ON/OFF types of thermostats.
You can read about the difference between the 2 types here: http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostat-faq.html

My recommendation if you want a proportional thermostat is a Helix or Herpstat spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html(have both, love both) and a Ranco if you want a ON/OFF type ()

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Well, she tried to crawl under her water dish...when I lifted it up to change her water she had her head up, I moved her so I could put the dish back in and when I went to get some of the substrate off of her body she geeked out and tried to bite me.

Yeah I just read the exact thing you posted a link to, and since I just recieved my tax refund, Im most likely going to do it that exact way.

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Well, she tried to crawl under her water dish...when I lifted it up to change her water she had her head up, I moved her so I could put the dish back in and when I went to get some of the substrate off of her body she geeked out and tried to bite me.

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I'm still not sure what that behavior could indicate. From the sound of it, it sounds like it could just be stress. I'd recommend just double checking temps/humility and leaving her be for awhile and letting her relax, but keeping an eye out on her for mucus or any signs of sickness.

Let me ask you this, when is the last time she ate? Is she eating consistently?
If she is eating well I really wouldn't worry. I usually gauge my BP's happiness on how well they are eating. Usually they stop eating when there is a problem.

Ok, Im a little less stressed now. To be completely honest I thought I did something wrong and she was going to die.

She just ate on saturday, we feed her on a weekly basis usually.