She opens her mouth when I hold her..

So I held my ball python 24 hours after I fed her and she opens her mouth. She doesn't hiss or anything. I just hear a little popping noise when she first opens her mouth. She doesn't have any mucous or anything. And she only does it when I hold her. She's very sweet.. Any ideas as to why she's doing this?

sounds like a possible RI to me, is she wheezing at all?

She probably "yawned" - snakes open their mouths widely sometimes as a method of resetting their jaw after eating. They also seem to just do it randomly every once in a while. It's actually pretty cute, heh. The tiny popping sound you described was probably just her jaw.

It can be cause for concern, but only if it is done excessively and with other symptoms like mucus, frothing, bubbles, or popping/wheezing. Pardon me, I'm slightly confused - did she only do it once, or is she doing it multiple times during handling?

She isn't wheezing at all though.. And she does it every time I handle her. and she doesn't open her mouth wide. It's just like open.

I would keep a close eye on her for the next few day. It could very well be nothing, but by keeping a close eye on her you will be able to see if it is something more.

Oh, I see. So it's like she's just holding it open? If you got her recently from Petsmart/Petco, it's possible that you bought a sick snake. They don't tend to have the best care of them there.

Keep watching for signs of RI or other issue and let us know. If you can get a picture of her doing it (or find a picture that looks like it) then that might help.

Hope she's okay. :)

Should I take her back and have them look at her? I got her from petsmart:/

No dont take her back, i highly doubt they would know if she was sick or not since most, not all, but most of the employees are idiots. Bump up her ambient temps for the next week or so.

Okay:/ is there anything else I can do for her?

Make sure her husbandry is spot on, and just check on her a few times a day.
I would do a little reading into RI's that way you can find the signs to look for.

Also If you have not already I would start searching for an Exotics vet in your area in case you need one.

I would also (if your attached to the snake and LAN on keeping it) call and talk the the general manager and let them know that the snake might be sick. How long ago did you get it I should ask first I guess.

Just watch her for now and monitor her temps/humidity/behavior. It could easily be a false alarm especially considering she has no other symptoms. It's good that you're watching her this early. Keep us updated and don't worry too much. As said though, you will want to look for a herp vet if you don't have one already, in case it is necessary.

Thanks guys. I took her to a reptile specialist at a different shop. She does have an RI. I'm gonna up her temp in her tank and take her to the vet and get some antibiotics.

Keep us posted on it's condition. Sounds like you are really on top of things, and you caught it early.....

Sorry to hear that she really is sick. It's awesome that you are so pro-active about getting her checked and treated though. I'm sure she'll recover fine. :gj:

Firstly, 24 hours after feeding is, in the opinions of most on here, too soon to handle. 48 hours is the general rule. They CAN regurgitate if held too soon after feeding, and her behavior MAY be related to being handled on a full stomach.

But I am still unclear as to the nature of her behavior. If it is just a quick open wide and close, then it is just a "yawn." Snakes' jaws are segmented and not attached to the rest of their skeleton, so they have to periodically stretch their mouth out to realign their jaw bones. No big deal at all (unless you see bubbles and mucus).

Regardless, if you got the snake from PetCo/ Petsmart, I would take it to an exotics vet ASAP. They are not known for selling healthy animals. I personally would never buy an animal from them (but that is just me) but if I did, I would take it to a vet straight away. A good exotics vet can tell you if it has parasites or any underlying health conditions. They can also properly sex it for you.

Sorry, you posted her condition as I was typing my last post. So sorry to hear she has an RI. :( But you did the right thing in taking her to get checked out, and because you were quick to act, I am sure she will be fine.

Nothing to give advice wise but just wanted to say MAJOR Kudos on the quick catch of the RI. Many people I know sadly would never take a snake to a vet saying that, "It's just a snake". I love that you take care of your pet. You should feel good about yourself, Sir. Good job.

Make sure your reptile vet takes a culture. Some vets just prescribe Baytril without knowing the specific bacteria causing the RI. By taking a culture, you will save time and money in the future. Without a culture you're just taking a guess to see if the chosen antibiotic will work. Also, injectable Baytril tends to scar the injection area.

And in my experience with RI, injectable antibiotics are more effective compared to oral.

Good catch on the RI!:gj:
Many people wouldn't have noticed it until the condition got worse.

Thanks everyone! I have her tank temp up and just gave her a warm snake bath haha. I don't know if anyone else does it, but she loves it. I put her on the sink and she just slithers right in haha. She's actually laying off her heating pad which make me feel much better! Thanks for all the kudos and help everyone! And I will be sure she gets a culture done. I also found out she is underweight:( petsmart told me to feed her one pinky a week.. I took her to petco after reading online and in a book about python care that she should be eating fuzzies and not pinkies. Her backbone is prominent so I'll feed her 2 pinkies as newly instructed instead of the one(like I was told the first time) and hopefully she starts shaping up! Luckily, she isn't too dehydrated.

Sounds like she's all set for a perfect recovery. Let us know how she does. :)

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Originally Posted by princess17

Thanks everyone! I have her tank temp up and just gave her a warm snake bath haha. I don't know if anyone else does it, but she loves it. I put her on the sink and she just slithers right in haha. She's actually laying off her heating pad which make me feel much better! Thanks for all the kudos and help everyone! And I will be sure she gets a culture done. I also found out she is underweight:( petsmart told me to feed her one pinky a week.. I took her to petco after reading online and in a book about python care that she should be eating fuzzies and not pinkies. Her backbone is prominent so I'll feed her 2 pinkies as newly instructed instead of the one(like I was told the first time) and hopefully she starts shaping up! Luckily, she isn't too dehydrated.

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I have a snake that had an RI for a month+ so here's some suggestions...

Don't give her any more baths while she's being treated for her RI. Personally, I wouldn't bath her anyway but to reduce stress while she's getting well again I'd hold off on doing those.

Also if you mean mouse pinkies and fuzzies then those are way too small for her. Babies can easily take adult mice, but if anything I'd stick her on AT LEAST small mice/rat fuzzies. You'd be surprised on what they can handle, and unless she's skin and bones which I doubt I would put her on larger prey right away. My younger BPs are on a 5 day feeding schedule with the 10-15% rule (feed a prey item that is 10-15% of the snake's weight).

Good luck with her

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

I have a snake that had an RI for a month+ so here's some suggestions...

Don't give her any more baths while she's being treated for her RI. Personally, I wouldn't bath her anyway but to reduce stress while she's getting well again I'd hold off on doing those.

Also if you mean mouse pinkies and fuzzies then those are way too small for her. Babies can easily take adult mice, but if anything I'd stick her on AT LEAST small mice/rat fuzzies. You'd be surprised on what they can handle, and unless she's skin and bones which I doubt I would put her on larger prey right away. My younger BPs are on a 5 day feeding schedule with the 10-15% rule (feed a prey item that is 10-15% of the snake's weight).

Good luck with her

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Thank you thank you thank you