I need Help/advices SOS

Hello!
I would like to point out that this is a case where I have to take the poor thing to the vet, but I still have to make an appointment and the vet is very far away.

A little about my ballypthon:
Male.
1 year old.
Shy.


1. My poor Ballpython hasn't eaten for a month and a half.


2. He's developed RI which I'm trying to treat with eucalyptus oil sauna.


3. She is bloated. I tried bathing her and she has released some internal gas but she is still bloated [ like a balloon]


I'm going to take him to the vet very soon, but until then I don't want him to have any more problems. What can you advise , for feeding ? [I tried to feed her last night but she still keeps pulling her head away and getting scared of it. Now it's in a little plastic box. The bottom is paper. They have a little water and a hiding place.
I left the dead mouse there for the evening, but he didn't eat it.
I don't know what to do.
He used to eat normally and had no problems.
Then, he refused the mouse. 1x, 2x 3x. And here we are.
This is my first pet and I will not let him die.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metaleen

I don't know what to do.

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I'd:

• Stop treating with Eucalyptus.
• Review husbandry to find the causes of his symptoms.
• Get him to a vet.

I've heard of treating RI with eucalyptus oil, but eucalyptus is very aromatic. I would be concerned that it would irritate his lungs like pine or cedar would. I've heard of people treating RI with eucalyptus, but I wouldn't risk it.

The best treatment you can do is to find the cause of his symptoms and fix that. Check your husbandry against what's recommended in our care guide and correct where there is a discrepancy. Post a pic and description of your enclosure (heating elements, temps and humidity ranges, thermostats) and we'll be happy to give you suggestions for improvement.

Set up that vet appointment right away. RI's are much easier to treat if caught early. Your bp has other issues as well. Don't worry about feeding him. He's sick. Leave him alone until you can get him to see a vet.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I know how distressing having a sick pet can be. Try to relax. A distressed mind makes poor decisions. Good luck.

Homebody is correct- sick snakes do not eat, nor should they, since treatment (& associated stress & handling) may cause a regurgitation anyway.

(Also, even when a healthy snake refuses a meal, don't offer food again for about a week, because constantly offering food just stresses them too much.)

***Bloating is a bad sign- please get your snake to a qualified herp vet A.S.A.P. & this site may help you find one: https://members.arav.org/search/custom.asp?id=3661 ***

I would never use eucalyptus on snakes- to the best of my knowledge, it's toxic to them (just as cedar is). I'm sorry that your first pet is so sick- it's hard to deal with even when you have more experience.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Homebody is correct- sick snakes do not eat, nor should they, since treatment (& associated stress & handling) may cause a regurgitation anyway.

(Also, even when a healthy snake refuses a meal, don't offer food again for about a week, because constantly offering food just stresses them too much.)

***Bloating is a bad sign- please get your snake to a qualified herp vet A.S.A.P. & this site may help you find one: https://members.arav.org/search/custom.asp?id=3661 ***

I would never use eucalyptus on snakes- to the best of my knowledge, it's toxic to them (just as cedar is). I'm sorry that your first pet is so sick- it's hard to deal with even when you have more experience.

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I have an appointment at the vet for Wednesday 8.What do you suggest I do until then ?

- - - Updated - - -

I have an appointment at the vet for Wednesday 8.
What do you suggest I do until then ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Homebody

I'd:

• Stop treating with Eucalyptus.
• Review husbandry to find the causes of his symptoms.
• Get him to a vet.

I've heard of treating RI with eucalyptus oil, but eucalyptus is very aromatic. I would be concerned that it would irritate his lungs like pine or cedar would. I've heard of people treating RI with eucalyptus, but I wouldn't risk it.


I found Mould or moss on the ground.I immediately throwed the substrate out. And put him in a plastic box [ we didn't have any more coco husk [ordered since]].
Now the humidity is 70-80
And its have a good 26-28 C°

The best treatment you can do is to find the cause of his symptoms and fix that. Check your husbandry against what's recommended in our care guide and correct where there is a discrepancy. Post a pic and description of your enclosure (heating elements, temps and humidity ranges, thermostats) and we'll be happy to give you suggestions for improvement.

Set up that vet appointment right away. RI's are much easier to treat if caught early. Your bp has other issues as well. Don't worry about feeding him. He's sick. Leave him alone until you can get him to see a vet.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I know how distressing having a sick pet can be. Try to relax. A distressed mind makes poor decisions. Good luck.

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I found Mould or moss on the ground.I immediately throwed the substrate out. And put him in a plastic box [ we didn't have any more coco husk [ordered since]].Now the humidity is 70-80
And its have a good 26-28 C°

Im new to this websitr and i didnt really know how to use it lmao

Im not going to bother him now til wednesday 8. [Vet day]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metaleen

I found Mould or moss on the ground.I immediately throwed the substrate out. And put him in a plastic box [ we didn't have any more coco husk [ordered since]].Now the humidity is 70-80
And its have a good 26-28 C°

Im new to this websitr and i didnt really know how to use it lmao

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Your humidity is too high. You should bring it down to 50 - 60%. 26 - 28C is fine as a cool side temp. What is the temp on the warm side? What is your basking temp? A picture and a description of your enclosure would be very helpful. What are you using to provide heat? How do you regulate it (e.g. thermostat)? The more we know, the better our advice will be.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metaleen

Im not going to bother him now til wednesday 8. [Vet day]

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That's the right idea. Though, you should give him fresh water daily and spot clean as necessary.

Because of the eucaliptus treatment. The symptoms of RI are reduced and the ballpython looks much better than before. He is no longer breathing with his mouth open, and no longer breathing noisily.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metaleen

Because of the eucaliptus treatment. The symptoms of RI are reduced and the ballpython looks much better than before. He is no longer breathing with his mouth open, and no longer breathing noisily.

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Thanks for sharing your experience. I learned from my quick little Google research that eucalyptus has antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial properties. I think that is why some see it as a treatment for respiratory infections in snakes. But, this treatment has been around for a while and it's never found broad acceptance. The concern being that similar aromatic tree oils (particularly cedar) are toxic to snakes. So, it's not worth the risk. Particularly so since treatment with F10 has been found to be both safe and effective. So, I would still advise you to stop treating with eucalyptus, at least until you've consulted with your vet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metaleen

Because of the eucaliptus treatment. The symptoms of RI are reduced and the ballpython looks much better than before. He is no longer breathing with his mouth open, and no longer breathing noisily.

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Might also be a coincidence- some RIs just vary in severity. Ask a herp vet about that "remedy" (& please let us know what they say- if something has changed?), & don't handle your sick pet more than absolutely necessary- let him rest calmly & make sure he has optimal temperatures. If he resumes mouth breathing, see if the vet can get you in sooner- snakes cannot actually cough- but unfortunately they can choke to death on mucus from RIs.

BTW, eucalyptus oil is one of the ingredients in Vick's Vaporub- long held to be toxic to snakes. Sure, it's works on RIs in humans, but just because some say to use it on snakes, well, don't believe everything you read online.

I agree with everything said by Homebody and Bogertophis.
Having him in a clean isolation cage is a good thing.

Even though we recommend discontinuing the eucalyptus oil, please mention it and what you did to the vet. There's a chance that the bloating can be related to oil toxicity.

Sadly, a lot of the medication that we use can be problematic to our pets. Something as simple as Tylenol is extremely dangerous to cats as an example. The vapor rub may make us feel better and some tree oils are used to medicate fish tanks, but can be dangerous to small animals like rabbits, small rodents or our snakes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metaleen

Because of the eucaliptus treatment. The symptoms of RI are reduced and the ballpython looks much better than before. He is no longer breathing with his mouth open, and no longer breathing noisily.

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I agree with Bogertophis's assessment whole heartedly.

Not to beat a dead horse, but although possible the eucalyptus helped, I do not necessarily see correlation here, and it possibly did harm and you just do not know it yet.

If your snake had in RI, it took a while to develop, and they take time to get rid of. It is possible that the snake did not have an RI but was struggling due to high humidity and mold. It is also possible the eucalyptus was an irritant but you did not know that from the situation and once all was removed, the snake improved, or seems to.

I would hate to see people read this and think eucalyptus is a miracle cure all for RI's. As Homebody and Armiyana pointed out, it is not.

Not trying to give you a hard time OP, but also want readers to understand that this is not exactly a controlled scientific study.

If you do take the snake to the vet, which I would recommend, as well as improving husbandry, I would ask about how they discover what type of RI they are dealing with. A good reptile vet will do a tracheal wash in a snake that has an RI. That is the only way to know what kind of infection - bacterial or fungal - and what type you are dealing with and therefore how to treat.

I have experience with severe RI's due to snakes I have taken in and one I got who was lost in shipment and almost died from one. If a snake has a severe RI - you may only get one good shot at preventing damage and saving the snake's life.

Good luck with getting your husbandry and snake back on track. Please keep us posted as we love to hear how things turn out.

I cant really post any picture right now. But i changed the humidity right now its 70 . I need the higher humidity because he is on the shedding process. + with the higher humidit The his mucus membranes will not dry out and your saliva will not be thick . And it can clear faster

I stopped with the oil treatment as soon as i saw your posts. Im going to wait. Im going to leave my littlw guy to realy same for me. Wait for wednesay 8. Because that's when I have an appointment.
Im going to do the clean every day [water dish and the safe box] for him. Trying to not bother him.

So what happend. Went to the vet. Got 3. Oral Inject. 1 aniti biotic. 1. So what happened. I went to the vet. We were given three oral injections. 1 aniti biotic. 1. Painkiller. And 1 for bloating. Oral injections are hard for me. I have never done Beaxe [ the doctor showed me how to do it] but today we tried to give it to him. But maybe I was too rough or I don't know. When I injected it into her mouth, it was a little red [a little red coloured liquid came out. It was very tiny. I hardly noticed it (blood. But it was very minimal, barely noticeable]. That's it for now. Now we're giving him an inhaler with the stuff the doctor gave him to clear his lungs and stuff. And yes, that's it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metaleen

So what happend. Went to the vet. Got 3. Oral Inject. 1 aniti biotic. 1. So what happened. I went to the vet. We were given three oral injections. 1 aniti biotic. 1. Painkiller. And 1 for bloating. Oral injections are hard for me. I have never done Beaxe [ the doctor showed me how to do it] but today we tried to give it to him. But maybe I was too rough or I don't know. When I injected it into her mouth, it was a little red [a little red coloured liquid came out. It was very tiny. I hardly noticed it (blood. But it was very minimal, barely noticeable]. That's it for now. Now we're giving him an inhaler with the stuff the doctor gave him to clear his lungs and stuff. And yes, that's it.

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I'm glad to hear you've got a vet's help. Those injections sound rough. Often, the best medicine is the one that tastes the worst. What did the doctor give him for the inhaler?

Im not sure what its name . But i olny know its a full tranparent liquid. And almost every hospital have it. All the doctor said was that kind of stuff. It disinfects the airways.