My ball may need help. i need info

Hey, Im fresh to this site and this is my first post. I havent looked throught the site yet for info but if anybody has any information on this matter, it would help alot. I usually feed my snake two thawed/warmed up fuzzies. After i fed him one, he went for a drink before I attempted to give him another. Well, he tried to strike at the second and missed, he flopped off the half/hollow log he was leanin on and landed kinda upside down. When i went to flip him back over, maybe a teaspoon of white fluid/gel came from his mouth. More or less poured. Almost looked like the consistincy of egg whites, but smooth and very clear. My question is, does this usually indicate a respitory illness? Ive never seen fluid come from his mouth or nose before, and ive had him for some time now. He does emit a pop maybe every 5-8 seconds, which ive heard is a sign of this, but he does seem happy(tongue flickering alot, he isnt lethargic, usually eats without any problems). Or... did he happen to just regergitate some of the water he just drank with some of his digestive fluids, after all, he did eat a mouse 10 mins prior to this?

Well couple things what are your temps and humidity at? Is the pop something that you hear all of the time? How old is he?

currently i odnt know what the temp or humidity is, i swapped the only gauges i had to my tank with my new juvenile bearded dragon. my room is 70 degrees and the light on the ball is fairly hot. I incorrectly described the fluid as white, it was actually very clear. The popping is something i usually hear when i take him out. i havent all day, figured i keep him under the heat. another thing to consider is hes gotte nout of his old tank about 5 times, and i had just found him last night before the feeding. i live in Ma and it is pretty cold right now, outside of the room, i nthe basement it may be 50 degrees. Ive since gotten a more secure tank, so he wont be getting out on his own anytime soon. I feed him in his tank, whcih i know isnt a good idea, but he wont eat outside of it. i have the wood shavings as substrate, which i know could casue a respitory illness if brought in with the mouse. I wonder if it may have just been stress. i was trying to feed him the second mouse when he flipped over, and he didnt sem interested in it after that. but id figure id try for another 10-15 mins.

you prolly want to know the temp in his cage. a light can get very very hot.

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Originally Posted by SerpicoBall420

I feed him in his tank, whcih i know isnt a good idea

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I only feed my snake inside the cage

yea, i just swapped the gauges back into his tank. Im usually not woried about humidity, i used to spray his tank, but he got mites once. so i generally dont spray anymore. I did not too long ago in an attempt to make him a lil more comfortable for the time being. The temps hanging around 80, and the humidity is about 60. Im not too sure how old he is, ive had him for bout 9 months to a year and i bought him when he was just a younging from petco.

Well the mites did not come from spraying the tank, they were already there or they were actually wood mites from the bedding. You need to get your warm side temps up to about 92 and the ambient in the 80's you really need to watch your temps. The cold can cause a RI, and if all else fails get him to a vet, no one here will diagnose a problem since we can not see the snake. Warm him up and see how he does.

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Originally Posted by Sparky1

Well the mites did not come from spraying the tank, they were already there or they were actually wood mites from the bedding. You need to get your warm side temps up to about 92 and the ambient in the 80's you really need to watch your temps. The cold can cause a RI, and if all else fails get him to a vet, no one here will diagnose a problem since we can not see the snake. Warm him up and see how he does.

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i second this. low temps are the root cause of most ri

Alright, thanks for the information. If cold is the root, then it could have been that. Its pretty cold up here right now and he was missing for a couple of weeks. A cold basement floor isnt the best for him im sure. I had a heat rock, but ive learned that its pretty detrimentle to there health as well(guy at petco recommended it), so it loks as though i should invest in a heat pad for the underside.

Oh for sure they love belly heat! They are not to expensive just remember you need a warm side and a cool side. Try to use the UTH on the warm side and use your light for keeping the ambient temp up. What is actually better than a light is to use a ceramic heat emmiter, it will fit in your lamp assembly and produce good heat and no light so you can use it at night as well. He will love you for it!

Yes, try to get him to a vet. Our BP has the popping, too, and we're going to a vet today. They need antibiotics to get better. Good luck!

Just to be clear - if he has an RI, and was loose for a few weeks, it's only going to get worse without veterinary intervention and a treatment of injectible antibiotics. Increasing your temps will only make him more comfortable but will not rid you of an RI.

Please make an appointment to get him seen and treated.

We went to the vet today and got our antibiotics. It's two shots every 3 days for 9 doses. It was $142 for the visit and the meds for us - near a large city. Price depends on where you are. But you will save his life! Good luck!

WOW thats more than i figured it would be! But if it works i guess it is money well spent.

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Originally Posted by Sparky1

WOW thats more than i figured it would be! But if it works i guess it is money well spent.

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It just depends on where you live. Serpico, you could always ask them for an estimate when you call - for office visit/check up and for the meds.

I ncreased the heat and also gave him a heating pad. he seems to be doing better, and i havent heard the poppin in sometime. Damn, i wanna take him to a vet, but theres no way that i could pay 142, even if its for the whol thing. Im gunna have to look around and get some estimates and do something soon i guess. Even though he seems like he is gettin a lil better to me, id like to get him seen

The last time I took a snake in for a possible RI it was $105 for the vet visit and injections.

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Originally Posted by SerpicoBall420

Damn, i wanna take him to a vet, but theres no way that i could pay 142, even if its for the whol thing. Im gunna have to look around and get some estimates and do something soon i guess. Even though he seems like he is gettin a lil better to me, id like to get him seen

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Do you have anything you could sell or pawn? A game console, video games, DVDs, brand name clothes, collectables, an iPod, CDs, a second TV, DVD player, jewlery? You could eBay it quick and price it to sell for fast cash, or take it to a local pawn shop. The DVDs and Video Games you could take to a local Blockbuster, although eBay might net you more if you sell a bunch as a package deal.

Do you have family or friends you could borrow money from? Are you old enough to sell blood?

I know that $100-150 isn’t a small amount, but if it will potentially means the life your animal... where there is a will there is a way.

I'm hoping for the best of your BP. All the best to the both of you!

I had a female that got a RI, and I had a friend who's been in the business 20+ years take her. He said all he did was keep her warm, with right humidity, and she was dried up and back to 100% in a couple of weeks. I definitely wouldn't recommend against the vet, I just have the added resource of the friend that has been around much longer than I. Here it was $70 when I took my male in for mild belly rot a few months ago. That was for exam, shot, and medication. Gotta love the Midwest :D

Well, my ball is doin alot better. Ive kept him under good light, using a heat pad now, and spraying from time to time. The popping is gone and he seems alot better.If he did have an ri, it prolly wasnt too bad. Thanks to everyone for the information, my python thanks you as well.:)

Just because symptoms subside does not mean he magically got over the RI. I have honestly never heard of one getting over it by waiting. So unless you seek help there is a chance your snake will die, unless magic cured his RI.

Popping when breathing.
Excessive mucus(clear fluid that was thick)
Exposure to cold temps

All of those are signs of a RI.

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Originally Posted by SerpicoBall420

Well, my ball is doin alot better. Ive kept him under good light, using a heat pad now, and spraying from time to time. The popping is gone and he seems alot better.If he did have an ri, it prolly wasnt too bad. Thanks to everyone for the information, my python thanks you as well.:)

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Just to be clear, if your snake has an RI, it doesn't just go away without antibiotics. It may mask itself while permanently scarring your snake's lungs. If you have any doubt, it's best to get a swab done by a vet to make sure that he doesn't have one.

If the popping continues I would take him to the vet just for a checkup. . .our boa Seren got a RI once and it was easy to take care of, the Vet gave her 1 shot and gave us 3 needles with the medicine in it and told us to give her a shot every 3 days, and once she had taken all of her meds she was fine again. My Fiancee' is a nurse so she gave her most of her shots (I got to give her one just to see how to do it :) ) She got her RI from it being too cold in the room and from being stuck on her log. . .she actually got WEDGED between the log. . .it sucked (Got rid of the log)

But yeah, a URI is no big deal as long as you get it treated.

Good luck and lets cross our fingers that he doesnt have one :)
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