Respiratory infection (RI) husbandry HELP

[thomasx]

I have an 18 mo. Old albino female ball. She was 800G before and hasn't eaten since January so 3 months now at least. At first it just seemed like her eye lids didn't shed and all was fine. I tried feeding every 7-10 days and nothing. I took her out last night and noticed she appears to have an RI. She kept opening her mouth (no bubbles or mucas). The holes in her nose didn't look normal/ clear. She was making weird sounds when breathing. I'm in NY and have a reptile vet with an appointment 4/12. Her weight hasn't dropped too much, about 100 grams. I recently changed to a brand new bigger tank 40 gallon. UDH set to 96 which has substrate at 90-91, warm side is about 88 and cool side 77 with a ceramic bulb. Fresh coco wood bedding used with the new tank. All wooden hides were baked before going in. Humidity has never been great, staying around 27-35% regularly. Measure with 2 digital thermometers, one on each end and a heat laser gun. I think I covered the basics. Please advise on what you think of my situation, what may have caused this. If it appears (by description) this is early RI or a more developed RI. I'll find out more info on Tuesday. Buttercup is having a rough time now, please help. Typed on a iPhone, sorry for any grammar issues (at work and being quick).

[Andylee11]

Of course a vet visit is number one in my opinion . Im
sure you've read the debates and the back and forths about f10. But in my experience I've had success with it . Again not saying you should or shouldn't . Not recommending it . Just simply saying it worked for me .

[thomasx]

I appreciate the advice. I'm just going to play it safe, I thought the feeding was just a normal stubbornness; but after last night I want them to do a culture/ treat it.

Any idea what may have caused this? As far as In concerned the setup was really good, just the humidity was lower than I would have liked it over the winter.

[Coluber42]

The first thing you can do right away is get the humidity up. If it's that low, it means there is too much ventilation - I assume you have a screen top. Cover up the entire screen top with tinfoil or plexiglass or something for starters. You'll have to leave a gap in the covering for the ceramic bulb, and that will probably still be too much ventilation, but it's a start. Use a large water dish and put it right under the heat bulb. If you can come up with a way to heat the tank without having to leave a gap in the top for the heat bulb, that would be better because you can cover the top entirely. (There will still be enough airflow around the edges, or you can poke a few small holes in the foil covering the screen if you need to - you won't suffocate the snake)

You can also use a washcloth or sponge sitting in a shallow dish of water in addition to the regular water dish to give you more surface area from which moisture can evaporate into the air, provide a humid hide with sphagnum moss, etc. But the humidity is a big deal if she has an RI. Think about how much big of a difference humidity or lack thereof makes in how you feel when you have a cold or bronchitis or whatever. It's the same for your snake, only probably more so.

FWIW, people say that various kinds of heat lamps dry out the air; I suspect it's more accurate to say that they dry it out because they need a big open area of screen to sit on top of, through which the humidity can escape. But warm air rises, plus it has a higher capacity to hold moisture than cool air. So the heat lamp heats the area beneath it, resulting in warm air which rises out of the enclosure through the screen under the lamp and takes moisture out with it.

[Albert Clark]

Consider purchasing a "versa top" to control your humidity issues. Versa tops are sold at Petland, Petsmart, and Petco. You mentioned your UDH is set at 96? Is that your thermostat?

[thomasx]

Consider purchasing a "versa top" to control your humidity issues. Versa tops are sold at Petland, Petsmart, and Petco. You mentioned your UDH is set at 96? Is that your thermostat?

Thank you to the previous two posters! I have struggled a lot with the humidity. Is that what could have caused the RI if that's what she has? I bought a light dimmer for the UTH and set it so it's about 96 on the laser gun with substrate over it, it's about 89,90. I'll try to get her some more humidity and check out the top too. I started to use foil last night which has helped get the temps up a little. 82 cool side and 90 reading on the digital thermometer. Laser gun reads higher on the substrate directly under the ceramic bulb which is towards the warm side. Still can't seem to get humidity to hold over 37% or so hours after a mist.

Hopeing the vet Tuesday thinks it's an early stage of RI. No mucus today or bubbles. But she opens her mouth a lot and is defintely making sounds when breathing.

[Albert Clark]

It's hard to say what really causes RI if that's truly what it is. We can presume that certain things predispose them to RI. Poor ventilation, less than optimal husbandry, and extremes of both temperature and humidity. By extremes I mean both high and low of both can be culprits. Then there has to be a specific pathogen that infects the reptile. Either viral or bacterial or even both. The versa top is a good addition to a glass enclosure to control humidity.

[thomasx]

It's hard to say what really causes RI if that's truly what it is. We can presume that certain things predispose them to RI. Poor ventilation, less than optimal husbandry, and extremes of both temperature and humidity. By extremes I mean both high and low of both can be culprits. Then there has to be a specific pathogen that infects the reptile. Either viral or bacterial or even both. The versa top is a good addition to a glass enclosure to control humidity.

That makes sense. I'll have to get that too. I gues I'll wait for Tuesday for the vet to examine buttercup.

Thank you guys

[thomasx]

Consider purchasing a "versa top" to control your humidity issues. Versa tops are sold at Petland, Petsmart, and Petco. You mentioned your UDH is set at 96? Is that your thermostat?

Withthis versa top, how does it work with my overhead cermaic heat bulb.. Or can that not be used with a versa top?