Hi! and a few questions?

First off hello! I have a ball python that is 3ish years old and tonight I could hear her breathing for the first time and thought it was a little odd. I don't know a huge amt about snakes but I fell so in love with her when I met her and my friend had little to no intrest in her so she was not being fed offten enough and rarely being handled yet she is still very sweet. When I hold her she is active for a bit then cuddles up and just chills out on my chest. I'm not sure what info will help but just ask if I can tell you I will! =)

Thanks much
Michelle

welcome.

what kind of sounds was it making when it was breathing? was it eating at the time? can you notice any bubbles or mucus around its mouth or nostrils? what do your temps and humidity look like?

just when I was holding her just sounded like breathing not really sure how to discribe it. No bubbles or anythign else her temps stay in the low 90s on oone side and mid 80s on the other but I have no clue about the humidity.

How are you measuring temps?

A sign of a RI is noticable wheezing, so I would just keep an eye on her (and an ear out) to see if her breathing becomes louder, more noticable, raspy and otherwise not normal (if you hear a whistling sound as well), or is followed by any visible bubbles or excessive mucus. I would even take a peek inside her mouth and see how her throat and trachea looks.

Sometimes they'll make a whistle sound if they just took a drink and is expelling water from their nostrils OR a piece of stuck shed it making a sound while the snake breathes (if your snake just shed).

I just have 2 little therms that I picked up from petsmart I think one at each side of the tank. I just moved her from my friends house down to my house a few days ago so I was only seeing her a few days a week before this. She shed in the beg of dec but I don't really know how offten they do? Also I have no clue what it should look like inside her mouth?

lol if it sounded like a sigh it should be fine, if it sounds like wheezing its prob a respiratory infection.

Thank you =) I will keep an eye and ear out for sure if any new signs show up ill find a vet. Anything I should know about keeping her happy?

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

Thank you =) I will keep an eye and ear out for sure if any new signs show up ill find a vet. Anything I should know about keeping her happy?

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when did you get her, what substrate are you using? whats your source of heat? what are you feeding and how often? are you using hides? the key to keeping your bp happy is in meeting its husbandry requirements.

I got her in Sept. of last year but she has only lived at my house this week. She was being fed once a monthish but after I got her its been once a week largerrat pups. I have a heating pad kinda thing that sticks to the bottem of the tank and a red heat lamp on top of the tank. I have been using I want to say its called reptibark? She has a large water bowland a log in her tank as well. Is a hide the half log things I have seen?

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

I got her in Sept. of last year but she has only lived at my house this week. She was being fed once a monthish but after I got her its been once a week largerrat pups. I have a heating pad kinda thing that sticks to the bottem of the tank and a red heat lamp on top of the tank. I have been using I want to say its called reptibark? She has a large water bowland a log in her tank as well. Is a hide the half log things I have seen?

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3 years old she should be eating much much bigger than pups - my 3 y/o eats large rats every 10days but I imagine yours is a little small due to it's previous ownership. hides can be half logs but they are not great. This are in almost every pet store and are the best IMO. http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/reptile_cave.php

I would invest in a thermostat or a rheostat - personally i don't like rheostats but not everyone can get a proportional thermostat. http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/En...I7czoxOiIwIjt9 this works okay for a beginner but ideally you would like to have one of these - http://spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html

The heat pad can easily get too hot and burn your snake, thats why it really needs to be regulated by a thermostat/rheostat. Make sure she has one side of her enclosure between 88 and 92 degrees F and the other side is between 78 and 82 degrees F. Humidity should be between 40% and 60%. You should pick up a digital thermometer/hydrometer. you can get one at Wall*Mart for about $12. Something like this will work great.

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ant/photo3.jpg

It has a probe and also measures humidity.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...39601744_n.jpg

Not the best pic but there she is. I <3 her very much! I will pick up a hide and the other what nots for her as soon as I can hehe as soonas I get texes back I wont mind dropping as much as I need to on her.

Thanks again awesome info im very much a n00b in this world.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

The heat pad can easily get too hot and burn your snake, thats why it really needs to be regulated by a thermostat/rheostat. Make sure she has one side of her enclosure between 88 and 92 degrees F and the other side is between 78 and 82 degrees F. Humidity should be between 40% and 60%. You should pick up a digital thermometer/hydrometer. you can get one at Wall*Mart for about $12. Something like this will work great.

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ant/photo3.jpg

It has a probe and also measures humidity.

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I had no idea this existed. I might order a few for back ups. Thanks :)

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...39601744_n.jpg

Not the best pic but there she is. I <3 her very much! I will pick up a hide and the other what nots for her as soon as I can hehe as soonas I get texes back I wont mind dropping as much as I need to on her.

Thanks again awesome info im very much a n00b in this world.

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she doesn't look to bad considering she was being underfed! she's pretty! I would start her on small rats next feeding. After 4 feeding you can move her up to mediums. She looks like she can handle mediums. No problem! i love helping with people's questions. if you have any more questions or your not sure about something feel free to PM me.

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3904944_n.jpg

This was her in Sept when I fell in love with her she has grown a bunch being fed more. Whats the best cage? I have seen a ton of dif. kinds. I dont even know how big it needs to be.

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3904944_n.jpg

This was her in Sept when I fell in love with her she has grown a bunch being fed more. Whats the best cage? I have seen a ton of dif. kinds. I dont even know how big it needs to be.

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I love my "Animal Plastics" (Just google that) cages. "AP" cages are made from PVC so they hold heat and humidity much better than a glass tank. I have their T8 model that is 4 foot x 2 foot x 1 foot (length x width x height) they don't need a cage that big but I wouldn't go too much smaller.

Here is what one of my cages looks like. (this one is slightly bigger than the model I mentioned in my last post. This is a T12 which is 4 x 2 x 2.

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/photo5-1.jpg

Ball pythons don't need the extra height of the T12 cage I actually have this size cage for my carpet python once he gets big enough.

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3904944_n.jpg

This was her in Sept when I fell in love with her she has grown a bunch being fed more. Whats the best cage? I have seen a ton of dif. kinds. I dont even know how big it needs to be.

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the general rule is 3x2 feet of floor room for them. Are you ever planning on getting more, or will this be your only pet. Depending on your needs, and the conditions of your apartment/house there are many many different types of enclosures. I never recommend glass enclosures as they tend to have problems with ambient temps and humidity, although I personally have had one with success -

If your looking to house just the one BP, Vision makes a PVC enclosure (I have one and I like it) http://www.visionproducts.us/htm7/cages.html Model 332 would be good for a full grown BP for its entire life. If you don't like this, animal plastics makes a good one too http://www.animalplastics.com/ this is the T3 and is comparable to the vision cage. If you want more in the future, its economical to get a rack - but thats a whole other thing. LOL

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

I love my "Animal Plastics" (Just google that) cages. "AP" cages are made from PVC so they hold heat and humidity much better than a glass tank. I have their T8 model that is 4 foot x 2 foot x 1 foot (length x width x height) they don't need a cage that big but I wouldn't go too much smaller.

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your too fast for me! lol

I'm actually a miserably slow typer lol

Love it I will have to order one next month! Will she need bigger when she is bigger?

if you get a 3x2 or 4x2, no that will be large enough for her for the rest of her life.

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

Love it I will have to order one next month! Will she need bigger when she is bigger?

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nope - if you get the 332 or the t3 it will be fine for her whole life.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

if you get a 3x2 or 4x2, no that will be large enough for her for the rest of her life.

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you beat me again :rolleyes::gj:

Haha your both quicker then I! Thanks! I need to get some better pics if her without me in them. She is doing sooo much better then when I met her! Her last shed was the first time that she shed in one peice and she is much more active now then she was.

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

Haha your both quicker then I! Thanks! I need to get some better pics if her without me in them. She is doing sooo much better then when I met her! Her last shed was the first time that she shed in one peice and she is much more active now then she was.

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That's great I'm really glad that you are putting the time and effort into making this animals life better.

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Originally Posted by coloradocupcake

Haha your both quicker then I! Thanks! I need to get some better pics if her without me in them. She is doing sooo much better then when I met her! Her last shed was the first time that she shed in one peice and she is much more active now then she was.

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being active isn't normally a great thing but its to be expected considering she doesn't have hides. Activity is often a sign of stress. When you get her hides you'll notice her in them a lot (95% of the time) which is a good thing.

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Originally Posted by decensored

being active isn't normally a great thing but its to be expected considering she doesn't have hides. Activity is often a sign of stress. When you get her hides you'll notice her in them a lot (95% of the time) which is a good thing.

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Very true a hiding snake is a happy snake :snake:

hehe by active I mean she moves before she would stay in one spot and never move only to eat now she goes to her water bowl and changes spots now and then. I really dont even think he was feeding her once a month I think it was once a month or every other month kinda thing she had no energy would be my guess