Only a matter of time before I bought a sick one...

I have 9 ball pythons now and all except for 1 has ate the day or next after I got them home. They all pretty much act similar with only 2 exceptions. One really likes to hide and one really likes to explore. I finally got my male Black Pewter Ghost home and he refused to eat so I waited and left him alone 2 days and tried again, and repeated. I should have inspected him more. Last night I took him out and let him crawl around and noticed a squeaking. I thought for sure it was a rat so I took him downstairs where it's quite and sure enough he is squeaking! He does have some bad shedding around his head that could very well be causing this mouse like squeak. There appears to be bad leftover shedding all around his head and face actually and his scales feel a bit "less vibrant" (and saggy) than some of my others. Now after driving for 6 hours to "get a good deal" turns out I will probably have a vet bill that makes it a not good at all deal not to mention I feel bad for the snake. He only squeaks when he is excited and moving around a lot but I will check him again today.

The guy is on the fauna BOI from Seattle and if I thought he was going to sell more snakes I would call him out just on the grounds that he's a total idiot and doesn't know jack about snakes (gathered that much when he was talking to me about genetics and was wrong as...) yet used to breed them. I could go on and on... It was also like pulling teeth to get the ages of the snakes. He tells me the het ghost female is a 2009 snake then I see a tracking number on the bag that would suggest 2007. They haven't ate in "maybe 6 weeks" he says because he was going to ship them. The female is a sweet heart and at 2400 grams she's the biggest I got, if only I could find a water dish she wont tip over. I know this is my fault and could have been prevented by buying from some one with a little more credentials.

Alan... soak the shedding problem in warm water. Get a money counting thimble, you know the soft rubber thimble with the little nipples on them.. lightly go over him with it after he has been soaked. You can even take eye caps off with it.

For a bowl get a realtree dog bowl from walmart.

Awesome. Heading to walmart today and Ill go ahead and give him a little bath tonight. Thanks. Hopefully she'll have met her match with that bowl.

Shedding has cause squeaking in some ball pythons for us. If he has early signs of RI bump his heat up and alot of the time that will knock it out.

Awesome advice! I have a unique heating system to say the least at the moment but it is highly under my professional control and I actually noticed he liked the heat and after hearing that he is now receiving a larger portion of his tank that has belly heat exposure.

He refused food again. I took him out too and his squeaking wasn't AS bad but he still did it when he got excited. He really wanted to get out of the tub and was non stop almost neurotic about moving around and trying to find a way out. His tongue looks fine and he uses it a lot, the two ends aren't stuck together and there is no foam or mucus around his mouth. His head and neck is covered in bad shed though. I guess I have no choice but if his symtoms don't improve by middle of the week I am making a 60 dollar vet visit. If it's a bad shed that is stuck making the noise will it improve with good humidity and activity to get it out of the way or will it not improve until his next shed? He is so docile and "polite" for a snake I really hope it's not an infection.

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Originally Posted by alan12013

Awesome advice! I have a unique heating system to say the least at the moment but it is highly under my professional control and I actually noticed he liked the heat and after hearing that he is now receiving a larger portion of his tank that has belly heat exposure.

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"Unique heat"?? Expand?

"Under my professional control" Your a Heat professor?

How long have you had this male? How old/large is he? Are you offering the same prey that the prior owner did? When did he last eat for his prior owner?

ETA: While I would never advise someone not to take a critter to the vet if you suspect it is sick, black pastel and cinnamon morphs are known for "squeaking" when excited. I think it's related to the "duck billing" that the super forms exhibit. I have a black pastel het hypo female that has squeaked from the day I got her; two different vets have both said she doesn't have an RI.

I am not an actual heat professional if that is what you're asking. I did oversee several HVAC mechanics at my previous job though so I do know a decent amount regarding heating and cooling systems. I was being sarcastic... My heating system is what I would call "ghetto rigged" right now in comparison to a standard system. I've decided to run heat tape down the back of each shelf and should have it done this week. Currently though I am using individual heat pads for each bin with thermostats in each bin and if needed I will adjust the placement of the heat mat to correct any temperature fluctuations. I also have a heat gun that I use to verify the temperature readings.

Try to get that shed off. Also go smaller than the usual prey and Se what it does. I fed thus big no smaller prey 5 days apart to look for regurge or refusal. Try little changes and remember it needs some settle time.

bcr229: The previous owner didn't keep any records what so ever nor did he offer consistent feeding. I was told he ate FSR but would need live some times and it's been 6 weeks since he last ate. I am planning on offering every 3 days and last night he appeared to show a tiny bit of interest in a FSR that was zapped with a hair dryer. I've only had this snake since last Wednesday and got him home that night. That is very interesting about those morphs having that issue and it does only happen when he gets really excited and tries to go every direction at once. Once he eats a couple times for me and I know he is healthy I will go ahead and take him out for a long handling session but for now I only have done about 10 minutes tops mostly while I inspect him. I didn't notice any bubbles either. I was thinking of opening his mouth and looking inside tomorrow. Thanks for the information. I need to weigh him still and I will do that tonight and post but he's about 1700 grams if I had to guess right now based off of my females in that range.

Ok, so you brought this snake home five days ago and have tried to feed it twice already despite being told he's a picky eater. No surprise he's not eating for you, leave him strictly alone for a week except to check him daily for fresh water, cleaning his enclosure if needed, and additional signs of an RI. If he has stuck shed on his face and neck then keep his humidity a bit higher than normal as well, chances are he'll remove it himself or it will come off just fine with his next shed.

At 1700 grams he could go six months without taking a meal, if he chooses. Heck I have a male half that size that went from 12/3/13 to 7/6/14 without eating, though he was offered a meal every week. All you can do is grit your teeth and wait him out.

Offer your guy a small rat every 14 days until he decides it's time to start eating again, and handle him as little as possible in the meantime.

To reiterate what BCR has said:

Calm down - there is no rush to get him eating at that weight. Do not offer more often than once every 7 days or you're going to compound the problem. Leave the snake alone for a week before offering. Move backwards from Frozen to Pre-Killed to Live, giving at least 2 attempts and 1 week between each attempt at each type of food.

Squeaking can be associated with the shed as mentioned. Cinnamon and Black Pewter are both known to have some associated nasal quirks that result in squeaks. My pewter female has squeaked since the day I got her.


So don't make assumptions about the breeder or whether or not the animal is sick. A pretty standard routine on a new arrival that is helpful in getting it eating and preventing it from getting sick due to stress would be to put it in a perfectly regulated tub for at least a week before even touching the snake, let alone offering to feed. At 1700 grams and containing the black pastel gene, I do not see anything wrong with any of the behaviors you've described. Take it slow and follow this advice and I'm sure you'll be happy with the outcome.

One very simple basic rule when you first get a snake is let them settle in for a week. It's ok if you want to try feeding them at some point (but also isn't nessisary). You have tried multiple feedings and also said you took him out and let him crawl around and you haven't even had it a week yet.

Don't go spouting assumptions about the breeders proper care and knowledge of reptiles if you don't even know a beginner rule still after owning nine snakes yourself.

Ok he is in a perfectly regulated tub with 60 percent humidity. I was just concerned about not eating right off, a rookie mistake but now I know and have been through it. I will of coarse follow this advice. If I didn't let the worried mindset sink in as much I would've known better than to try offering food as much as I have especially considering what I do know about snakes that size from my reading. The handling that I've done isn't anything besides petting him and monitoring him moving in his home. I'll give extra privacy though. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by alan12013

Ok he is in a perfectly regulated tub with 60 percent humidity. I was just concerned about not eating right off, a rookie mistake but now I know and have been through it. I will of coarse follow this advice. If I didn't let the worried mindset sink in as much I would've known better than to try offering food as much as I have especially considering what I do know about snakes that size from my reading. The handling that I've done isn't anything besides petting him and monitoring him moving in his home. I'll give extra privacy though. Thanks.

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Iuno if it's just me or not, but it doesn't sound like you did a quarantine, placed in a tub sounds like hes in rack with other snakes?

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Originally Posted by alan12013

The handling that I've done isn't anything besides petting him and monitoring him moving in his home. .

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This is already more then you should have done during its first week. Now that you go to him place you should start letting him settle in for a week now and leave him be during that time.

Also like the above poster mentioned your snake should be in quarantine. If this wasn't done do so first and then let him settle in. If you snake actually was sick and wasn't quarantined it could have been something that spread to all your other snakes if they were in the same area. That's why you always quarantine new reptiles. If he is quarantined then let him be for a week.

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Iuno if it's just me or not, but it doesn't sound like you did a quarantine, placed in a tub sounds like hes in rack with other snakes?

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Tubs tanks don't have to be in racks. I got animals in tubs but the aren't in a rack system. It's just cheaper then buying a tank. But if it is in a rack, or even the same room, then yes it should be seperated

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Originally Posted by vangarret2000

Tubs tanks don't have to be in racks. I got animals in tubs but the aren't in a rack system. It's just cheaper then buying a tank. But if it is in a rack, or even the same room, then yes it should be seperated

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"Sounds likes he's in a rack with other snakes?" I was asking to clarify


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Ok I was going to wait and post pictures but I'll just say that my QT is basically just a tub or tubs set on top of a dresser and right no he is only near the one I got him with. I've left him alone lately too and will.