Help with Lethargic Ball Python?

Hello! My ball python Schmee (~3 year old male) has seemed oddly lethargic for the past few days. I’m wondering if I should be concerned. I just brought him back to my apartment after he spent the summer at my family home. The trip was an hour and a half long, and he got pretty agitated halfway through. I was wondering if it was normal for it to take a while for a snake to be back to acting like himself after a stressful move, or if I should look for the cause elsewhere. My other thought is that he might be cold. When I got to the apartment I noticed that my roommates were keeping it colder than usual, and I’ve had trouble keeping the temperature up in his enclosure. But even when the hot side is what I would consider not hot enough, he still chooses to spend time on the cool side, so I think that the problem may be something else. My final idea, which is the most concerning, is that he is somehow being affected by the bug poison I sprayed in my room. However, I didn’t move him into the room until days after I sprayed, and I haven’t let him go exploring on the floor since then. There is no smell of the poison in the room, and it is supposed to be pet safe after it dries. Finally, he’s pooped recently so I don’t think he’s constipated. Does anyone have any ideas as to what is making him so sluggish lately? Does it sound like anything is seriously wrong or should I just give him some time?

All of your hypothesis make sense.

One thing that would concern me is the spray. When saying "pet safe" I think they tend to forget about exotics. Snakes in general are very sensitive to sprays and toxins.

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

All of your hypothesis make sense.

One thing that would concern me is the spray. When saying "pet safe" I think they tend to forget about exotics. Snakes in general are very sensitive to sprays and toxins.

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Do you think the spray would be enough to affect him even though he was moved in four days after I sprayed? One thing I realized is that I sprayed under the desk, and I keep his bedding there. But I moved the bedding out when I sprayed and didn’t put it back for over an hour. Also he was acting like this before I changed any of the bedding. I could do a full cage clean and move him downstairs but I’m afraid that if he’s just recovering from stress that will make it worse.

Actually, I remembered the substrate wasn’t in the apartment when I sprayed either. I only put the bags of it under the desk days later after I brought Schmee back. It was something else I moved when I sprayed.

Honestly, I would just keep an eye on him. Give him a few days and see if he goes back to his normal self.

If you don't see improvement then I'd start considering a vet visit.

I didn't mean to scare you by saying snakes are more sensitive, but I figure it was worth mentioning. I personally won't use any sprays or anything anywhere near my snakes, but I may be over cautious in that regard.
I have painted and sealed enclosures though, but I give them literally a month before I put my snakes anywhere near them. Again, over cautious though.

All that being said, it could be the move.
Typically snakes handle cold better than hot, so I'd be a bit surprised if that's it, but I certainly can't rule it out.

How are you heating the enclosure?? It'll be important to get those temps up before feeding. I would hold off on offering food at least a week while he acclimates. You definitely don't want to add a regurge right now.

I have a ceramic heat emitter on a stand over one side of the enclosure. (When I first got him last year he had a bad burn from a heating pad, so I haven’t wanted to use one.) I had the hot side in the 90s for a while, but he seems content with the mid 80s and spends a lot of time on the cool side when the enclosure is at that temperature, so I try to keep it in the mid 80s now. It got colder than that this week, hence my temperature concern. I have it at 89 now and will make sure it is warm before I feed him.

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Originally Posted by Deltagirl

I have a ceramic heat emitter on a stand over one side of the enclosure. (When I first got him last year he had a bad burn from a heating pad, so I haven’t wanted to use one.) I had the hot side in the 90s for a while, but he seems content with the mid 80s and spends a lot of time on the cool side when the enclosure is at that temperature, so I try to keep it in the mid 80s now. It got colder than that this week, hence my temperature concern. I have it at 89 now and will make sure it is warm before I feed him.

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Ok, so it sounds like you're not using a thermostat. Is that accurate? The CHE is fine, but it needs to be regulated by a thermostat.
Likewise, a heat mat, when regulated by a thermostat, will not burn a snake.

He'll definitely avoid the warm side if it's in the 90s. That's too warm. I aim for 88-89 and never above 90

I do not have a thermostat. I honestly didn’t know I was supposed to have one. Where would you recommend getting one?

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Originally Posted by Deltagirl

I do not have a thermostat. I honestly didn’t know I was supposed to have one. Where would you recommend getting one?

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YES! It's a must...otherwise your BP will likely end up with burns, which is a serious health issue & will require the care of a competent herp vet. Best avoided, don't you think?

Ok, I thought not. You can order off Amazon, some pet stores carry them, or if you want the Cadillac of thermostats you can look into Herpstat.

You definitely need to get one asap. Its literally the most important piece of equipment you can have. Not trying to be rude, but most caresheets mention a thermostat. Almost any research will lead you to a thermostat pretty quickly.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

YES! It's a must...otherwise your BP will likely end up with burns, which is a serious health issue & will require the care of a competent herp vet. Best avoided, don't you think?

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He can get burns from a ceramic heat emitter above the enclosure?

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

Ok, I thought not. You can order off Amazon, some pet stores carry them, or if you want the Cadillac of thermostats you can look into Herpstat.

You definitely need to get one asap. Its literally the most important piece of equipment you can have. Not trying to be rude, but most caresheets mention a thermostat. Almost any research will lead you to a thermostat pretty quickly.

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I... might have read “thermostat” and thought “thermometer”... I thought regulating the temperature by keeping an eye on it myself would work but I guess not

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Originally Posted by Deltagirl

He can get burns from a ceramic heat emitter above the enclosure?

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Any unregulated heat source could potentially get hot enough to harm him. Generally CHE are run on dimmers to lower the power.

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Originally Posted by Deltagirl

He can get burns from a ceramic heat emitter above the enclosure?

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Burns are unlikely with a terrestrial species like BP, but still possible.
Unregulated heat from above can spike to dangerous temps which can be fatal or cause permanent neurological damage.

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Originally Posted by Deltagirl

I... might have read “thermostat” and thought “thermometer”... I thought regulating the temperature by keeping an eye on it myself would work but I guess not

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That may have been the case. No worries. Now you know. But ALL heat sources should be regulated by a thermostat. I'm willing to bet my house the previous burn was from an unregulated heat mat.

Heat mats are not for ambient temps, they are designed solely to provide a hot spot, primarily used for digestion. Heat lamps are used for ambient temps. You can definitely get away with not providing belly heat though. I don't run belly heat with any of my pythons or my hognose. But, that means either heating a room in winter or upgrading to a Radiant Heat Panel (by far the best heat source). In winter I heat my snake room and use the RHP to provide a warm and cool side. In summer, my snake room stays low 80s most of the time, so my heating equipment hardly turns on.

Yeah, the burns he had when he was given to me were definitely from a heat mat. He also had a rat bite. Took a couple vet visits and a lot of medicated baths to deal with that.

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Originally Posted by Deltagirl

Yeah, the burns he had when he was given to me were definitely from a heat mat. He also had a rat bite. Took a couple vet visits and a lot of medicated baths to deal with that.

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Yeah, I can imagine. I'm glad you've got him in a better place now!!

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

That may have been the case. No worries. Now you know. But ALL heat sources should be regulated by a thermostat. I'm willing to bet my house the previous burn was from an unregulated heat mat.

Heat mats are not for ambient temps, they are designed solely to provide a hot spot, primarily used for digestion. Heat lamps are used for ambient temps. You can definitely get away with not providing belly heat though. I don't run belly heat with any of my pythons or my hognose. But, that means either heating a room in winter or upgrading to a Radiant Heat Panel (by far the best heat source). In winter I heat my snake room and use the RHP to provide a warm and cool side. In summer, my snake room stays low 80s most of the time, so my heating equipment hardly turns on.

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So do you think having the CHE on one side of the tank provides enough of a hot and cold side? I can’t keep the room in the 80s because he shares a room with me, although the heat emitter does not discriminate in what it heats and has warmed the whole room to nearly 80.

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Originally Posted by Deltagirl

So do you think having the CHE on one side of the tank provides enough of a hot and cold side? I can’t keep the room in the 80s because he shares a room with me, although the heat emitter does not discriminate in what it heats and has warmed the whole room to nearly 80.

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I'm not sure where you live, but yeah you can definitely get a proper heat gradient with the CHE. Once winter hits you may need to make adjustments though. Once the heat source is regulated it gets 100000000 times easier, I promise. It basically does the work for you once it's dialed in. Just check daily to make sure equipment is running properly.
You can also use a rheostat (essentially a dimmer switch) but as the ambient room temps change you need to adjust it. It basically just pumps out heat until it reaches your setting. Whereas a thermostat knows when to shut off and turn on because it has a probe reading the temps and relaying the message.