Ri?

Quick question...think my BP has an RI. I was keeping my humidity up since we were getting ready to shed, shed is done (successfully I might add-all one nice solid "tube" eye caps and all). Anyway, now I noticed tonight she is breathing heavy whole tummy going up and down. No signs of any drainage, no wheezing or noise of any kind. She is holding her head up in air (nose up) and acts like she is yawning sometimes tho...I have read that for these...if that is what this is...that I can raise the temps in the cage to help this???? Right now my temps are pretty even on each side of the cage, 84.9*F cool side, 86.0*F on warm side and 57% humidity...

Any suggestions???

Thanks everyone!!!

While I'm not an expert, your temps sound kind of off. Everyone's advice to me has been 80-84 cool, 90-94 high.

That is the norm, however I have read that for a snake with an RI to raise temps...need more help on this tho...am not willing to take any chances here if it is in fact an RI would like to get some info from someone familiar with dealing with them....

Thanks for the reply!!

It could be, best bet is make a vet appointment though. Also get that warm side temp up a bit ;)

How warm should it get..I don't want to roast my snake....:(

Get it up to say 93-95 it wont roast them.

Ok...just switched to hotter bulb to get temps to start climbing more. Right now I have 86.4*F on my warm side, 83.7*F on cool side and 54% humidity...how long do I keep the temps up for?:O

Well i would get to a vet as soon as i could if it is a RI the longer you wait the worse it will get. The vet will give you further info on your temps and humidity until you get the RI cleared up. Until then keep the temps up and even after you need to keep those temps up, you are running way to cool in the first place.

Your 85 cool and 86 warm does not let him thermoregulate, should be more like 82 cool side 92 warm side. That way the snake can warm himself and cool down as he wants to, right now he is pretty much stuck with one temp.

My usual day temps have been about 88-90 on my warm side, and about 75-80 on cool side. I thought that at night the temps were supposed to come down a bit tho..?? That is why my temps were coming down, I just got my day stuff shut down and was getting all the night stuff going....

Night drops are not needed, i keep all mine constant as i know many people on this form and other keepers i know dont drop. The only time cooling is needed is during breeding. You will find it is alot easier just to keep one steady temp. Still i would shoot for more of a 92-93 warm side temp. at all times. They will thermoregulate better and having a good warm side helps them digest there food easier.

Here is a pic of my setup...not sure how to get those kinds of temp ranges in such a small space. This is a 10 gallon glass cage. I have a UTH under the right side and a heat lamp over the right side where the UTH is...this is under and over the flower pot hide that you can see in the right hand side. The other side has no heat other than the ambeint air temp. But since this is so small I am not sure how to get the temps in the ranges that are being called for.....any setup change suggestions that may help. I have also included a pic of my temps, from left to right they are:
Left = Ambient air on cool side, Middle = Humidity, Right = Substrate temp under hide

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../3/Cage001.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...3/Temps001.jpg

:O ok starting to freak out a little here...temps are up...92*F warm side and 88 on cool side, still not getting much of a difference in temps and am wondering if this is not going to kill my snake??? Anyone still reading this thread???:tears:

Ok, first of all only temps over 100 could even start to hurt a ball python so calm down. These snakes thrive in high temps.

Your ranges should be: cool side - 82-84 no lower than 78. Warm side - 92-94 no lower than 89. Humidity should stay in the 50's except during sheds when it should go up to the low 70's percent-wise.

For a 10 gallon, especially if you live in cold areas, you can have a UTH on each side for proper temps. They MUST be controlled by thermostats tho. Stats are a must for any snake heating device, but you can get away with a dimmer or rheostat until a thermostat can be obtained.

Here are my recommendations for your tank:
Cover the sides and back with a nice solid background or thick paper, then a layer of cork or foam board insulation, then the blanket if still needed.
If it isn't already, get the UTH on a controlling device and possibly add a second one to the cool side on another device.
Get two identical hides, nice and snug. They're better off when they don't have a 'favorite' hide.
For the lights, use them only for viewing or to raise ambient temps. Best way I've found to do that is to suspend the lamps about 8-12" above the lid.
I can't tell if you've done this, but cover your screen lid with three layers of foil, shiny side down, and cover that/secure it to the lid with a layer of duct or similar tape leaving a 5" square or so opening on the warm side for ventilation.

If those things don't work, then you are probably one of those who should switch over to a tub instead. Tanks can work wonderfully, with a little work, but they don't always do so for everyone. Let us know how things go after some adjustments.

Thank you!!!

I am strugling trying to get the temps in the right ranges so bad it is not even funny...lol...I get my warm side warmed up and the cool side warms up with it...if I try to keep the cool side cool, the whole thing cools down...it seems that the space is too small to be able to really get much of a temp gradeint for her....I will make some changes and see what happens. I do have the screened top covered and think that is why my humidity is staying up, I pulled part of it off and humidity is now 40%, warm side is 91.2 cool is 83.8...

Sorry, dont mean to freak out...just dont want my snake to D**, dont even want to say it....:tears:

my RTB rescue had an RI when I got her.. when I first got her she was very vocal when she was just breathing.. then I started to notice some mucas in her nose.. I took her to the vet and she did have an RI.. I just ended up paying $75 for the appointment and the 2 week round of antibiotics.. then another $75 for the second check up and another round of antibiotics.. shes going very well now! just has 2 more shots to go, and shes eating for me again.

if you suspect an RI then go to the vet for sure, even if it isn't an RI at least you'll get a bill of clean health and you can stop worrying!

i thought my male BP had gotten an RI from the RTB so i took him to the vet right away.. turns out i just heard him weeze.. but it was a one time thing and he was perfectly fine. it was still $50 for the checkup, but now i know for sure he is fine!

So after doing all these things that you have listed on here should I be able to get the temps that are recommended?

I assume that these temps that you gave in your post are "belly" temps right, since you are talking about using UTH for heating and lights for viewing only.

Not sure if it makes a difference but we just got done with a shed cycle lastnight, perfect shed from nose to tail tip and has just started showing signs of this today...could this be something to do with the shed cycle?

Thank you again sooooo much!!! :banana:

Ok, first of all only temps over 100 could even start to hurt a ball python so calm down. These snakes thrive in high temps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Your ranges should be: cool side - 82-84 no lower than 78. Warm side - 92-94 no lower than 89. Humidity should stay in the 50's except during sheds when it should go up to the low 70's percent-wise.

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Hope I am doing this Quote thing right...are these temps belly temps?

For a 10 gallon, especially if you live in cold areas, you can have a UTH on each side for proper temps. They MUST be controlled by thermostats tho. Stats are a must for any snake heating device, but you can get away with a dimmer or rheostat until a thermostat can be obtained.

Here are my recommendations for your tank:
Cover the sides and back with a nice solid background or thick paper, then a layer of cork or foam board insulation, then the blanket if still needed.
If it isn't already, get the UTH on a controlling device and possibly add a second one to the cool side on another device.
Get two identical hides, nice and snug. They're better off when they don't have a 'favorite' hide.
For the lights, use them only for viewing or to raise ambient temps. Best way I've found to do that is to suspend the lamps about 8-12" above the lid.
I can't tell if you've done this, but cover your screen lid with three layers of foil, shiny side down, and cover that/secure it to the lid with a layer of duct or similar tape leaving a 5" square or so opening on the warm side for ventilation.

If those things don't work, then you are probably one of those who should switch over to a tub instead. Tanks can work wonderfully, with a little work, but they don't always do so for everyone. Let us know how things go after some adjustments

Going to try that again....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Argentra

Your ranges should be: cool side - 82-84 no lower than 78. Warm side - 92-94 no lower than 89. Humidity should stay in the 50's except during sheds when it should go up to the low 70's percent-wise..

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Are these temps what should be under the substrater...the "belly" temps for my snake?