ok i'm worried

my ball python has a small popping sound when he breathes i have heard of R.I. he couldn't have that could he?

no idea! :(
Sounds like it's time for a trip to the vet!

agree... vet is a good idea. dont know how much it is for just a check up where your at but it runs about 30 bucks with a actual Reptile Vet.

here in stl we have webster groves animal hospital they have an exotics specialist that we take our snakes to its about $38 for a general check up and sexing with a parasite check

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Originally Posted by serpents-prey

my ball python has a small popping sound when he breathes i have heard of R.I. he couldn't have that could he?

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If you are hearing it then it might be URI so a vet visit is needed.Keep us posted and up your temps if you cant see a vet ASAP :) Please make sure its a reptile(real) not a wantabee vet

i've confined him to a smaller area directly over the uth with about 2inches of bedding but its temporary until we go to the vet she is a exotic vet that specializes in birds and reptiles like i said we've taken all of our snakes to her before

What is the snake housed in and what are the temperatures and humidity? How are they measured? Do you have a thermostat on the under-tank heater?

There was a recent thread where some people said that various strange sounds can result from a snake having a bit of shed in its nostrils. So if your snake is about to shed or just shed but might have a bit left behind, that is something to consider.

Also I've had the experience with human doctors where I went in with a very small problem (or with my daughter with a very small problem) and they told me it was nothing. But I knew myself/my daughter better than they did, and it turned out it wasn't nothing and in a day or 2 I was back (paying for another office visit) with the same problem, just that it had gotten bad enough for the doctor to recognize it.

So you might want to consider those things before you dash off to the vet at the first popping sound that you hear. $38 dollars isn't much to pay just to be sure that your snake is healthy though. I'm definitely not advising against going to the vet.

Just a quick little story:hijackd: I have a cinnamon male that had a whistling sound when he was breathing, i got scared and went straight to the vet, long story short she said my little cinny did not have RI and i should wait for the next shed to see if its still going on it stopped he is still eating and huge and as a matter of fact on november 1st hes going in with one of my females. But the bad news was it cost me 70 bucks but i got a fecal done and all that stuff. But it was a just a huge relief to hear it from a vet.:gj:

i have been waiting to take him to a vet but i haven't had the money yet so my mom has agreed that if i got any indication i needed to take him to the vet she would pay to take it luckily this is just coming out of my birthday money this sound just started today when i checked the uth i found it was on med. not high where i usually keep it so i'm worried he might have gotten cold last night

ok i was told to post some temps and humidity readings so i'll be back in a few minutes

the tank is about 78*F humidity is 62% the bedding is aspen the tank is a 55 gal. i put 3 towels on top to keep the heat in the room temp is almost 50*F humidity is 40%

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Originally Posted by serpents-prey

the tank is about 78*F humidity is 62% the bedding is aspen the tank is a 55 gal. i put 3 towels on top to keep the heat in the room temp is almost 50*F humidity is 40%

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Temp is WAY to low! It needs to be in the 92ish range

i have him confined over the uth its actually closer to 84*F in the space he's in and will be picking up another uth for the other side of the tank the most i can do until then is turn the heat lamp on but it would be directly on him could that hurt him?

Do you have something smaller like a 10 gallon or a plastic tub you can move him to in the mean time? That 55 gal is HUGE.

he's in the 10 gallon right now

ok quick question has n e one heard a popping sound after a soak? he has a small tub of water about 8x8x2 he was in maybe he idk inhaled a drop of water? it has quieted a little i'll still take him to the vet to make sure but right now i'm really hoping this is what it might be

If the tank was that cool (78/84) and he had a soak, IMO it is possible he has an URI. My questions would be, 1) how long have his temperatures been that low, 2) how long ago did he take the soak, and 3) does he soak often? If your temps just dipped yesterday and he only soaked yesterday, I would think it might be too soon for him to develop symptoms already. But if this has been going on for a few days to a week, then it sounds like a URI. If the former, maybe wait a day or two for the vet visit to see if the symptoms persist (since you said they seemed to be lessening); if the latter, go to the vet ASAP.

This thread happens to be VERY timely. I was just about to post a thread titled, "HELP - my snake is making a whistling sound when he breathes!" However, temps have been good in his 20 gal glass tank - although he has seemed to prefer the cooler side recently (which can drop to mid to upper 70's at night - but he chooses that over the upper 80's to low 90's on the warm side!). But KC261's post calmed my nerves! THANK YOU! He just had a shed (his 2nd with us), with which he needed help (used sticky on bad shed). We got all of it off except a TINY bit on the top of each nostril. I have no idea how to get that since it's inside on the top and hard to get to on an unwilling snake.

Also, he has no visible mucus, etc.

Is it OK if I leave that tiny bit of skin if he seems fine otherwise? :confused:

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Originally Posted by darkangel

Do you have something smaller like a 10 gallon or a plastic tub you can move him to in the mean time? That 55 gal is HUGE.

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Agreed, thats a huge tank to keep heated and humidity up to par. Especially for "im assuming" a pretty small bp, not only is it hard to keep up with temps and humidity lots of floor space can intimidate a young bp and stress him out etc..... So i agree with darkangel slap him in a 12qt tub with a heat pad and a tstat.....

well it has been getting cold in stl and we've just turned the heater on last night so it probably dipped Wednesday night now that the heater is on though the temps in my room are higher at night

do you have any pics of your 55 gal.? i have a 40 gal. and all i was using previously was a 50 watt basking bulb, but now that its getting cooler i had to buy a UTH. but that was too small so i think im gonna buy another small one and put it on the warm side also. i need to get a rheostat also.
kyle

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Originally Posted by kc261

There was a recent thread where some people said that various strange sounds can result from a snake having a bit of shed in its nostrils.

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OK, I finally got around to finding the thread where I saw that so I could post a link for anyone who is interested. While I was searching I found another one that says basically the same thing.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=53739
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=54179

Please note I'm posting these only for general reference purposes. Since I made my first post, the OP hasn't said "oh yeah , my snake is shedding that must be it" and has posted info about temps getting too low. So I don't think this applies to the OP anymore.

ok here's the tank i'm sry for whoever resizes it i am in kind of a hurry its 3 ft. across the front i have changed the basics of the tank since i found cockroaches in it
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/100_0148.jpg

Yeah that happend to my bp and i took him to the vet and the vet gave him some antibiotics and now shes recovering. i would take him to the vet if i were you

oh trust me i will the earliest i can take him is monday though so i'll keep him nice and warm until then
i'm gonna sign off and check the tanks for the night bye and thanx for the advice i needed it ^_^

change of plans the vet will see him wednesday

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Originally Posted by serpents-prey

ok here's the tank i'm sry for whoever resizes it i am in kind of a hurry its 3 ft. across the front i have changed the basics of the tank since i found cockroaches in it
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/100_0148.jpg

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Um... not to be a wet blanket, but cockroaches?? Do you have a cover on it? YIKES!!!!

It's been awhile since I read the beginning of this thread, but what heat sources do you have? I assume you have a heat lamp over it? He should have two hides, one on each side of the temp gradient. If you have trouble keeping temps up, put some insulatoin around the tank, but still allowing airflow to the UTH. How big is the snake? Also, what is your substrate? I am concerned about his set up. Can you post pictures with him in it (to gauge size of tank vs. BP) and the lid on with all heat sources, etc.?

I am glad you are here to ask for help. We want to do all we can to support you in getting this guy healthy and set up well.

On another note, Mr. Snake is no longer whistling when he breaths. It stopped by the next morning after I tried to get the skin out of his nose. Some is still in there, but he won't cooperate. Thanks for the information and links, KC261!

well we picked up a bag of cypress mulch from home depot and i think it had eggs in it we do have a cover screen top and i need to pick up a sheet of plexi-glass to put on there with room for airflow of course he had three hides before i confined him to the ten gal. he is close to 3 feet he's on aspen bedding my father took the digital camera to florida so i can't get n e pics until nest week when he comes back

Does he still have the whistling when he breathes?

I guess it goes to show that it's worth investing in substrate specifically packaged for pets - it's sanitary and untreated. I think that should be your first change - clean all with 5% bleach solution - dry and replace everything with sanitary aspen from a pet store or pet supply retailer.

Good luck at the vet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by serpents-prey

i've confined him to a smaller area directly over the uth with about 2inches of bedding but its temporary until we go to the vet she is a exotic vet that specializes in birds and reptiles like i said we've taken all of our snakes to her before

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You can help raise the temps by reducing the bedding, but you need to be careful if you do not have thermostat that regulates the heat mat. I'd also recommend that you cover three sides of the tank with some cardboard or another insulation. That will help the general overall temperature. Another option is to get a small heater and just increase the temperature in your room.

It sounds like you have a good plan to get that little one to a vet. It's the best thing you can do. Best of luck, and let us know how it goes. :gj:

Also you can switch to newspaper so that you don't have any bug issues. You can also bake your wood substrate at 250, monitor carefully. That should kill anything living in it.

How is your BP doing? Were you able to get him to the vet? We hope he's OK.

oh yes i got him to a vet she said what i thought it was when i saw him soaking i picked him up out of it and a small drop of water probably just got caught behind his lips it has stopped and i have gotten the camera back so when i get a few batteries i will post a few pics of him in his smaller tank the bug thing i just didn't expect and it was dealt with quickly i just kept the mulch outside too long won't happen again

So he didn't have an uri? Glad to hear it!

so am i but i learned a big lesson i have to keep my uth on high