Help! I think my new guy is sick.

I just got my first ball two days ago. He is an adult male reduced pattern and is six and a half yrs. old. He hisses quit often but not in a mean way and I just noticed he is drooling. I was handling him last night and he was very friendly and tonight when I went to pick him up he snapped a little at me so I left him alone. I went to feed him and he seems totally uninterested. tank temp. 83 F, 32% humid. Temp. gun says he's 89 F. Please help.

You really need to get your humidity up to between 50-60%.
What are your warm and cool side temps?

If he is drooling, and it wasn't just from a recent drink of water, then you need to listen to hear if he is making any cracking or popping sounds. Also, if you can, look in his mouth. Any mucous? Is he blowing any bubbles around the edges of his mouth? Any of these symptoms are typical signs of an RI and a vet visit would be in order :)

He has thick mucus in his mouth, some bubbles around his mouth and every once in a while he sits there holding his head in the air with his mouth open making a crackly hissing sound. I just read a few articles on the net and it sounds like he may have an advanced case of respiratory infection. I live in an area were there may not be a reptile vet. and the articles say he could die of suffocation. Both sides of the tank are around 90f according to the temp. gun. The articles say to keep the humidity down if he has a respiratory infection although I was trying to raise the humidity before with frequent spray bottle use but it keeps dropping to about 35%.

I would highly suggest finding a reptile vet, even if you have to drive an hour or two to get there.

It's like midnight here now. I'll drive him where ever I have to first thing when everything opens. I'm really worried. I'm noticing his eyes are getting greyish. I just got him so I don't know if that's a sign that he's going to shed soon or if it's part of him being sick.

well I don't think RI would cause eyes greying, my guess is that it's just the snake going into shed, just so you know!

His head has been resting against the glass near the top of the tank for the longest time. Every once in a while he'll make like a cough and spit will shoot out of his mouth. Then I saw him try to open his mouth but the saliva is so thick that he could only open half of his mouth. I feel so helpless. I don't know what to do. I hope he makes through the night.

My guy is still hanging in there. I've got an appointment at the vet tomorrow morning for him. His eyes are definitely turning gray so he is going into shed soon. I fully expect to get tagged by him tomorrow when I take him to the vet so I think I'm gonna wear gloves. Wish us luck.

best of luck!!! I hope he's going to do well.

keep the temps on the high side 95 degrees and get humidity up near 60%.
Sounds like you have an RI on your hands

What cleaning products did you use to clean his tank before you got him. Could there be fumes?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

keep the temps on the high side 95 degrees and get humidity up near 60%.
Sounds like you have an RI on your hands

---

I agree. Up the temps and humidity. Good luck and keep us posted.

He's still hanging in there although his saliva is still thick. The shredded coconut shell substrate is sticking to the outside of his mouth giving him a sort of a joker smile. I'm taking him in tomorrow for his 2nd shot in a series of 5. As for cleaning materials the tank is 2nd hand from someone elses snake so I cleaned it with approx. 10% bleach to water & then rinsed it out 4 times with warm water. I baked any wood for 2 hours at 250 degrees. temps now hover between 90 to 95 degrees and humidity from 40 to 80%. I've got a new tank coming in about 3 weeks that will hold humidity better. I don't want to lose him so I'm monitoring him as close as I can. I'm very new to this but I refuse to lose him. I felt an attachment to him from the very first second I saw him. Please wish us luck.

Oh darlin'... best of luck with this guy :oops:

Wow! He's getting better. I left the house for a while and when I came back his mouth was clear of dirt, he's shedding and his eye caps have come off. Right now he's super active. I think he's feeling good. I'm going to take him in for his four shots but it seems like the worst part is over. Hooray!

ya make sure he finishes his treatment. im glad hes getting better = ]

Niiiice. I am glad to hear that he is feeling a bit better. As Thor mentioned, don't skip any of his shots and make sure you really watch him for the couple of weeks following the last of his shots. I'm very happy for you!

I'll watch him closely and take nothing for granted. He came back from his second shot today and he didn't want to go back in his tank right away so I held him for awhile and played with him but now he's in his tank resting. So far so good. Thank you everyone for your support and advice. It is very much appreciated. I look forward to being able to help others as I learn more because there is nothing worse then when your pet is sick and you have no knowledge of what to do. So thanks again and I'll keep posting his condition until the shots are done.

He's gotten his 3rd shot already. Two left to go. He's much better but he still coughs up spit. I know they don't have a diaphragm so they can't actually cough but he opens his mouth and maybe it's a blocked his but it sure sounds like a cough and then about a 1/2" string of spit will fly out of his mouth. Sometimes he slides up over my ear to the top of my head I can hear the heavy crackling in his breathing. I sure hope he continues to heal properly. I'm still worried about him. Also I've been told to keep the humidity lower in his tank to help dry his lung out but how low is too low. I've got it hovering around 40% now.

I hope your little guy continues to improve, keep us posted

Well he just got his last shot today and his breathing sounds clear. I'm very happy that he's better but I'm still going to watch him closely. I'm going to try to feed him tomorrow. If he eats then his first meal with me will be his Christmas dinner. That's pretty cool. Thanks everybody for the advice and support. It meant a lot. This is a great forum!:D