Ri?

[Jaguar63122]

Ok... I need everyone’s help. I was just bragging yesterday that my new mystic potion ate ferociously his first meal since I have had him. He has been having a bad shed and I made a shed box and was going to put him in it. Then I noticed he was opening his mouth here and there and heard a popping noice. So what do I do now? I didn’t use the shed box since he might have a RI. His head and eye caps and neck have been covered in shed so I wanted to help. I got it off the rest of his body. Should I automatically take him to vet or since he just ate maybe something else I can try first? Advice please....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jaguar63122]

More info.....Has 3 hides...90 hot side 80 cold side humidity 53%. 2 water dishes to try and get humidity to rise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CALM Pythons]

I wouldn’t react just yet. The noise could be from stuck shed over nostrils. Opening the mouth doesn’t seem good but i didnt see it and i dont know how often he is doing that. Do you see mucous from the nose or mouth?
Your temps are good, id keep humidity up 60% to 70% when you know he is pre-shed. Why are you saying he just ate? Did you feed him while he was in blue? Has it been 48 hrs since he ate? If so soak him in warm water for 15 min. Use a tote with a lid. Keep the water 90 and keep it above 80. Work on the shed after he soaks and softens up. He might rub some off himself.

[Bogertophis]

Rushing him to the vet right now would probably just yield a regurge too, since he just ate. I agree with CALM. ^ ^ ^

[Jaguar63122]

He was in blue 2 weeks ago and didn’t shed well at all. I soaked last week and got almost everything except his head and neck. It was looking really bad this evening so I decided to do warm pillow case wet treatment and when I had him out he seemed agitated and would crack open his mouth just a little here and there. I also would hear a popping sound so I panicked. I fed on Saturday after not handling for 2 weeks and he ate like a champ. Just nervous.... I added some more moisture to his cage so hopefully that will bring humidity up. He is so small so I am concerned. None of my snakes have ever had an RI.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jaguar63122]

So is it ok to put him to soak if he is starting to get an RI? He was so nervous and in a tight tight ball.... can they cause themselves trouble breathing squeezing so tight? Never seen a little ball as stressed as he was tonight when I was trying to soak shed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bogertophis]

Poor little guy...the "RI" symptoms may be due to the stuck shed on his head & neck. Try to minimize his stress, work slow & gently when you soak him. No,
he's not going to strangle himself by squeezing into a ball.

BUT DO measure the actual water temperature FIRST. You want it warmish for him, which means it will feel cool to you, since we're roughly 98.6* & if it felt
warm to us, it's too HOT for him. (make sense?) The water should be 80-90*, and SHALLOW, not higher than half his body height. He should not have to
swim (& never leave a snake unsupervised when soaking)...you can put a small towel in the water for him to have traction...the loss of traction is what freaks
most snakes out when "soaking". Part of what's making him so uptight right now may also be that his eyes are still hazy, assuming his eye-caps didn't come off
either. Most snakes instinctively hate to be bothered when in shed for this reason...they feel more vulnerable.

[Jaguar63122]

Yes he still has eye caps and his head neck are all wrinkly from not shedding. Hopefully that’s what it is


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CALM Pythons]

You got to much going on at once that’s why he is stressed. He shed 2 weeks ago so that should of been when you soaked him and worked on the stuck head and eye caps not fed him. Shedding and eating use up a lot of the snakes energy. Stress does the same. This is a recipe for compromising his immune system. Now that i understand what happened I take back my advice. Get your humidity up to 60% min until the next shed. Let him be for now. Keep the hot hide a min of 90 and the cool side a min of 81. If he is coming down with a RI you want him to beat it. Let him rest and keep him stress free. If you keep his humidity up he should shed the stuck shed next time.
Not sure what his story is or why he is having shed trouble to begin with but you need to get that figured out asap otherwise 2 stuck sheds is a Vet appointment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bogertophis]

Also, snakes need good hydration to shed properly...not just in the cage, but inside their bodies. And guess what? digestion also requires good hydration,
which is why it's best not to expect a snake to do both at the same time. Some can manage, no problem...but others get stuck like yours just did.

From now on, cloudy (shedding) snake = no food. Makes life easier... And like CALM said, when he first failed to shed completely, that's when I'd have
been soaking him & getting the old skin off, then fed only after that.