quick question

last night when i was going to bed i noticed that my bp was breathing kinda hard. so i got him out cause i thought i had read some where that they will have to breath harder when they have a RI, however i didnt see any other signs that would indicate that. my temps are 95 hot and 80/84 cold and humidity is right around 50%. also back in november re had problems with the apartments heater and when i woke up in the morning he was sitting at 70 on the cold side and 84 on the hot (when i woke up he was over on the hot side). i was able to fix the problem and bring the temps up to the normal temps, however that happened a couple of times.

back to the question, should i be worried that hes heading towards RI and get him into the vet? or am i being just over obessive? i think i tend to be overly obessive with him.

but i'd appericate any feed back, and sorry if i'm just repeating

thanks!

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Originally Posted by tosha

last night when i was going to bed i noticed that my bp was breathing kinda hard. so i got him out cause i thought i had read some where that they will have to breath harder when they have a RI, however i didnt see any other signs that would indicate that. my temps are 95 hot and 80/84 cold and humidity is right around 50%. also back in november re had problems with the apartments heater and when i woke up in the morning he was sitting at 70 on the cold side and 84 on the hot (when i woke up he was over on the hot side). i was able to fix the problem and bring the temps up to the normal temps, however that happened a couple of times.

back to the question, should i be worried that hes heading towards RI and get him into the vet? or am i being just over obessive? i think i tend to be overly obessive with him.

but i'd appericate any feed back, and sorry if i'm just repeating

thanks!

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First your hot side is to high it should be 90.If its to high they can get to warm and maybe thats why he was breathing hard.RI signs are if they breath with thier mouthes open all the time.Or you hear a poping sound or see slim running from thier mouths.If it was RI you would have seen it long before now when your heat went out.

hmmm... why did i think it is 92-95 and 82-85 for warm and cool sides?

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Originally Posted by joepythons

First your hot side is to high it should be 90.

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90 is just not quite warm enough for proper digestion in a sub adult to adult ball python.

82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other is pretty much the standard among professional ball python breeders, and they're the people that are going to know best. ;)


-adam

ok i'm glad to know that i'm at least doing one thing right, with the temps and that what hes experiencing may not be related to what happened in nov.

umm i haven't noticed that hes been breathing with his mouth open or anything along those lines nor any slime/goo (i attempt to handle him everyday except for when i feed him then i wait until later in the week, i've never had any problems with that and he doesn't seem to mind).

something that i forgot to mention when i orignally typed this was that when i got him he had mites (this was in augs). i took him to the vet that same week and he was given a shot that week and then another one two weeks later just to make sure that he was completely rid of them. i don't think that it could be anything from that but it is a possiblity. while i was at the vet for that he was given a bill of clean health other wise.

would there be any other reason for him having issues with breathing?

anyways thanks agian for any tips and advice.

How often should someone take a ball python to the vet and dothey need shots like mammals?

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Originally Posted by Robert C. Scott

How often should someone take a ball python to the vet and dothey need shots like mammals?

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When they're sick, or to get initial fecal checks done, for sexing.

No, they don't need "routine" shots.

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Originally Posted by Robert C. Scott

How often should someone take a ball python to the vet and dothey need shots like mammals?

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If you don't have an experienced eye when it comes to checking out ball pythons for even the most minute signs of illness, I always suggest that an annual wellness visit to a good experienced reptile vet is an awesome idea!

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

90 is just not quite warm enough for proper digestion in a sub adult to adult ball python.

82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other is pretty much the standard among professional ball python breeders, and they're the people that are going to know best. ;)


-adam

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ADAM, I was told to keep the temps at 90 and any higher could cause problems for the snake.I was told this by a professional breeder of several years.This will be my second year of breeding ball pythons.I never have any problems out of any of any of my snakes not digesting thier meals.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

ADAM, I was told to keep the temps at 90 and any higher could cause problems for the snake.I was told this by a professional breeder of several years.This will be my second year of breeding ball pythons.I never have any problems out of any of any of my snakes not digesting thier meals.

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JOE, I have no doubts that is what you were told.

This is my 26th year keeping ball pythons and my 11th year breeding them. I have observed hot spot temperatures in the racks of many professional breeders like Ralph Davis and Peter Kahl that collectively keep several THOUSAND ball python .... and their hot spots are 92-95. Having two of the largest and most valuable ball python collections in the world, I consider Ralph and Pete to be authorities on the husbandry of p. regius. Their ball pythons as well as mine seem to be thriving at those temps, and the proof is in the breeding results. ;)

If 90 works for you then that's awesome, I was just pointing out that other people might not have the same success.

-adam

ADAM, no problem man as i was not being rude or anything.I was just mentioning the temp differances that are possible for ball pythons to thrive in and also be healthy.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

ADAM, no problem man as i was not being rude or anything.I was just mentioning the temp differances that are possible for ball pythons to thrive in and also be healthy.

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The thing that you have to realize is that temperature drives the appetite of ball pythons. For juvi's, it's not a big deal, they are growing so fast that even kept in the mid 80's they will eat like monsters. Once their natural growth cycle slows down, keeping them warmer will make sure that they are solid consistent feeders. A warm ball python is a hungry ball python.

With a 90 degree hot spot, have you ever had a snake refuse a meal?

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

The thing that you have to realize is that temperature drives the appetite of ball pythons. For juvi's, it's not a big deal, they are growing so fast that even kept in the mid 80's they will eat like monsters. Once their natural growth cycle slows down, keeping them warmer will make sure that they are solid consistent feeders. A warm ball python is a hungry ball python.

With a 90 degree hot spot, have you ever had a snake refuse a meal?

-adam

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No unless its breeding time then thats normal for ball pythons to stop.Just like i do not cool down any of my snakes before breeding them.Neither does the breeder i know,someone said its possible because of our temps and pressure changes in illinois.It seems to me that some things work for some and other things for other people :O .I guess that makes it even more interesting when breeding ball pythons;) .

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Originally Posted by joepythons

No unless its breeding time then thats normal for ball pythons to stop.

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Not necessiarily, mine don't. It's breeding time right now here and every single one of my ball pythons is eating every time they are offered food. I've been cooling them for a couple of months now and there's been no change in their feeding response. I really like being able to get food in them throughout the breeding season because the copulations and courting take so much energy.

Just goes to show you that there are many ways to keep these animals.

-adam

Thank You very much I will post a pic as soon as I get time!

Thank You!!!