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  1. #1
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    Worried about my BP

    I have a female royal ball python who’s fully grown and I caught a mild case of scale rot on her tail which I began treating with betadine baths and Neosporin. It’s clearing up nicely but it’s been almost 3 weeks since the last time she’s eaten and I’m getting a little worried. I’m not sure if the baths are stressing her out and that’s why. A couple days ago I heard her breathing a bit heavily but there were no extra fluids or bubbles in her mouth and she was sleeping fine. I took her to a vet anyways and they said they didn’t see any signs of a respiratory infection but they gave her an injection anyways. I tried feeding her before I took her to the vet and today and she doesn’t even seem to be interested in her food. I feed her live small rats and I’ve only fed her one other time as I’ve only had her for almost a month. Should I be worried?

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    Maybe. For one thing, you're adding to her stress. A superficial issue on your snake's tail does not require a "bath"...you can treat it with less stress to your snake by
    dabbing the Betadine on using a cotton ball or piece of gauze or cloth. A picture here may or may not help us help you, but without seeing it, we are guessing totally
    in the dark. (you wouldn't be the first person to call something "scale rot" that is something else entirely)

    I could understand you taking her to the vet for the "scale rot" & to double-check for an RI, but giving injections that aren't warranted* can do more harm than good.
    Antibiotics are normally given for a full-course, are NOT without potential negative effects, & are ONLY helpful IF it's the correct one for the specific infection, so if your
    vet didn't do any lab work to find the correct antibiotic, that added to her stress & may do more harm than good. (antibiotics not given for a full course end up creating
    "resistant" pathogens, & I'm assuming that's what the injection was...but again, you're making us guess.)

    Lastly, we have no information about how you're keeping this snake...many things can cause a BP to keep refusing food. So please provide more info, see this thread &
    fill in the many information gaps:
    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...t-Questionaire
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  4. #3
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    More info on my BP

    1. I got my BP on April 27 of this year so tomorrow will be a month. I got her from Slither & Swim in West Haven, CT and her name is Medusa.

    2. The store said they were unsure of her exact age (they didn’t give me much info about her) but they said she was between 4-6 years old and fully grown.

    3. I’ve only been able to feed her once so I don’t necessarily have a regular feeding schedule yet. The Monday I got her the guy at the store told me to wait a week before feeding her so I fed her the following Monday (the 4th) and she attacked it after about 15 min. I tried feeding her again two weeks after on that Monday and she showed no interest. It’s now Sunday and she’s still showing no interest.

    4. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since her last meal.

    5. I feed her a live small rat and both times it’s been white (I’ve heard color is sometimes important with super picky BPs) and I got them both from Slither & Swim. I haven’t tried any other type of food as this is what the pet store said they fed her.

    6. The first time she ate I only had to offer the rat that one time. I offered her the rat twice on Monday and since then I’ve offered it about every other day and I’ve tried both at night and during the day. I even tried putting the rat in the terrarium and placing both the rat and my BP on a separate bin.

    7. 3 ft x 1.5 ft x 1 ft tank

    8. When I first got her I used this wood chip type substrate but once I caught the mild case of scale rot I changed the substrate to paper towels and it’s been that since. I was thinking once her scale rot was completely cleared (which it almost is) I was going to switch the substrate to newspaper.

    9. I have a heating lamp with a day bulb for during the day and heating lamp with a night bulb that I turn on instead of the day bulb lamp overnight. I also have a heating pad but I’ve rarely use it.

    10/11. I have 3 thermostats. I have 1 that monitors the cold side of her tank, one that monitors the ground on the heated side of her tank, and one that monitors the temp. of her basking area on her heated side which is a rock hideout I made.

    12. At the moment the weather is starting to get a lot warmer in my area and my room gets very hot so it’s been hard keeping the temps where they should be. I have an air conditioner in my room that keeps the temperature at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Her cold side is usually around 70 right now and I’m working on making it a bit lower but again it’s hard because of the weather. Her warm side is usually between 80-86 and her basking area is usually low to mid 90s.

    13. I’ve been holding back on humidity for her scale rot to clear up but her humidity level is usually around 40-50% whereas right now it’s between 30-40.

    14. There are two hides in her tank. One hide is a plastic bin that I cut two openings in that I placed on her cold side and she also has a hide that I made out of three rocks on her warm side. There are two rectangular rocks set up against the walls of the tank and a big flat rock laying on top of the two rectangular ones. I did this because she uses it as her hide and then will come out and lay on top to bask. I will post a picture of my setup in a new thread.

    15. She has a big dog water bowl in the middle of her tank that’s filled with fresh water once a day. Recently I’ve had to clean it out a little bit more because her scales have been falling into it.

    16. She lives alone in her enclosure as I have no other pets.

    17. I was taking her out anywhere from around 2-3 times a day. Although recently with her not eating and the cake rot and all of the possibilities running through my head I decided to leave her alone a bit more Incase of stress so Ive only been taking her out once a day starting yesterday.

    18. The guy at Slither & Swim said they got her from her last owner and they didn’t have any information on medical history

    19. I have no other reptiles and no new ones coming any time soon.

    20. Other things I might think are important for y’all to know is this is my first snake and even my first reptile in general. Everything I research it seems they have the same symptoms for everything so I don’t know if the worry is necessary or not. I am 100% positive the scale rot was scale rot and it’s healing very nicely. I heard her wheezing and breathing big heavily at the beginning of the week but only that one day and it happened a few times over the course of a couple hours. Since this is my first snake i checked her mouth and I didn’t see anything but I wanted to be sure so I took her to the vet and they said they saw nothing but wanted to give her the injection anyways. They told me to come back on Monday for a second one but I’m not sure if a second one would be a good idea as I haven’t heard anything else. She did it again when I had her on a betadine bath but I believe that time she just got water her in her nose or something because she had fallen into the water after trying to get out of the bath and then started wheezing after that but only for about 5 min and it stopped. This was last night. I checked her mouth again and when doing so I found her eyes had a bluish kind of tint to them. This now puts me in the mindset that she must just be shedding and all of these signs I was worried about must’ve just been stress because she’s shedding and shedding somehow slipped my mind. I believe it slipped my mind because the guys at the store didn’t give us the date on the last time she shed. Now with humidity low and the betadine baths, her scales are coming off individually instead of one large piece. I feel like I’m stressing out way more than she is and now I’m here hoping someone’s read all of this and has answers!! Please and thank you!!

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    Last edited by Stephoconnell; 05-24-2020 at 01:58 PM.

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    Re: Worried about my BP

    I'm new to ball pythons as well just got my first one on Thursday bit I know heating usually will be a issue with snakes not eating since its how they diggest. Have heard temps should be 90 on basking side and shouldnt be lower then 83 but also sounds like maybe was being handled a bit to much for a new snake to but like I said I am new to ball pythons as well so just some advice that I've heard from my research hope everything gets better wish I could help out more

  7. #6
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    Re: More info on my BP

    It sounds like your temperatures are way off -- 70 is way, way too cold (why are you trying to go lower!?!?). The humidity should be from 50-60 in normal conditions (higher in shed cycle), not 40-50.

    Don't place your bp in a separate feeding bin, stick with offering in the evening, and you're also offering way too often. Remember that adult bps don't need to eat on a regular schedule, so wait until the next scheduled feeding to offer again. Every other day is A LOT.

    Also, why are you taking her out so often? You've got to let her settle in. Even when she does settle in, handling 2-3 times a day is beyond overkill. She's in an entirely new environment and that, paired with the temperature issues and constant handling are super stressful for her. I'm not surprised she won't eat.

    I would recommend reading through the threads on BP Husbandry. This is a great one: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ips-and-Tricks.They can be picky eaters when husbandry is sound so it's just exponentially harder when it's not. Pictures of her setup will help people give recommendations, too. Hope this helps!

    Quote Originally Posted by Stephoconnell View Post
    1. I got my BP on April 27 of this year so tomorrow will be a month. I got her from Slither & Swim in West Haven, CT and her name is Medusa.

    2. The store said they were unsure of her exact age (they didn’t give me much info about her) but they said she was between 4-6 years old and fully grown.

    3. I’ve only been able to feed her once so I don’t necessarily have a regular feeding schedule yet. The Monday I got her the guy at the store told me to wait a week before feeding her so I fed her the following Monday (the 4th) and she attacked it after about 15 min. I tried feeding her again two weeks after on that Monday and she showed no interest. It’s now Sunday and she’s still showing no interest.

    4. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since her last meal.

    5. I feed her a live small rat and both times it’s been white (I’ve heard color is sometimes important with super picky BPs) and I got them both from Slither & Swim. I haven’t tried any other type of food as this is what the pet store said they fed her.

    6. The first time she ate I only had to offer the rat that one time. I offered her the rat twice on Monday and since then I’ve offered it about every other day and I’ve tried both at night and during the day. I even tried putting the rat in the terrarium and placing both the rat and my BP on a separate bin.

    7. 3 ft x 1.5 ft x 1 ft tank

    8. When I first got her I used this wood chip type substrate but once I caught the mild case of scale rot I changed the substrate to paper towels and it’s been that since. I was thinking once her scale rot was completely cleared (which it almost is) I was going to switch the substrate to newspaper.

    9. I have a heating lamp with a day bulb for during the day and heating lamp with a night bulb that I turn on instead of the day bulb lamp overnight. I also have a heating pad but I’ve rarely use it.

    10/11. I have 3 thermostats. I have 1 that monitors the cold side of her tank, one that monitors the ground on the heated side of her tank, and one that monitors the temp. of her basking area on her heated side which is a rock hideout I made.

    12. At the moment the weather is starting to get a lot warmer in my area and my room gets very hot so it’s been hard keeping the temps where they should be. I have an air conditioner in my room that keeps the temperature at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Her cold side is usually around 70 right now and I’m working on making it a bit lower but again it’s hard because of the weather. Her warm side is usually between 80-86 and her basking area is usually low to mid 90s.

    13. I’ve been holding back on humidity for her scale rot to clear up but her humidity level is usually around 40-50% whereas right now it’s between 30-40.

    14. There are two hides in her tank. One hide is a plastic bin that I cut two openings in that I placed on her cold side and she also has a hide that I made out of three rocks on her warm side. There are two rectangular rocks set up against the walls of the tank and a big flat rock laying on top of the two rectangular ones. I did this because she uses it as her hide and then will come out and lay on top to bask. I will post a picture of my setup in a new thread.

    15. She has a big dog water bowl in the middle of her tank that’s filled with fresh water once a day. Recently I’ve had to clean it out a little bit more because her scales have been falling into it.

    16. She lives alone in her enclosure as I have no other pets.

    17. I was taking her out anywhere from around 2-3 times a day. Although recently with her not eating and the cake rot and all of the possibilities running through my head I decided to leave her alone a bit more Incase of stress so Ive only been taking her out once a day starting yesterday.

    18. The guy at Slither & Swim said they got her from her last owner and they didn’t have any information on medical history

    19. I have no other reptiles and no new ones coming any time soon.

    20. Other things I might think are important for y’all to know is this is my first snake and even my first reptile in general. Everything I research it seems they have the same symptoms for everything so I don’t know if the worry is necessary or not. I am 100% positive the scale rot was scale rot and it’s healing very nicely. I heard her wheezing and breathing big heavily at the beginning of the week but only that one day and it happened a few times over the course of a couple hours. Since this is my first snake i checked her mouth and I didn’t see anything but I wanted to be sure so I took her to the vet and they said they saw nothing but wanted to give her the injection anyways. They told me to come back on Monday for a second one but I’m not sure if a second one would be a good idea as I haven’t heard anything else. She did it again when I had her on a betadine bath but I believe that time she just got water her in her nose or something because she had fallen into the water after trying to get out of the bath and then started wheezing after that but only for about 5 min and it stopped. This was last night. I checked her mouth again and when doing so I found her eyes had a bluish kind of tint to them. This now puts me in the mindset that she must just be shedding and all of these signs I was worried about must’ve just been stress because she’s shedding and shedding somehow slipped my mind. I believe it slipped my mind because the guys at the store didn’t give us the date on the last time she shed. Now with humidity low and the betadine baths, her scales are coming off individually instead of one large piece. I feel like I’m stressing out way more than she is and now I’m here hoping someone’s read all of this and has answers!! Please and thank you!!
    Last edited by christineho; 05-24-2020 at 03:06 PM.

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  9. #7
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    For best results (& forgive me for sounding like a "broken record" here!) do NOT handle any new snake (of any age) at all until AFTER it is eating regularly for you at normal intervals (typically once a week if a younger snake) for at least 3 meals with no refusals. That is the best way to assess that a new snake is "settling in" & feeling at home in their new surroundings, since they cannot talk.

    Kindly remember that even "captive bred" snakes are WILD animals...they rely on their instincts, & in the wild, the ONLY thing that picks them up is a predator that's about to EAT them...so you can see where the stress is coming from, can't you? Most will in time learn to feel safe when you're holding them, but eating is JOB #1.

    The other stress is not having your husbandry dialed in yet...right temps., right humidity, & enough privacy all goes a LONG way for a snake to relax enough to eat.

    A BP of about 5 years of age has NO trouble fasting for a month or more, & keep in mind that older snakes are often more upset when re-homed...hey, we ALL get "set in our ways"...even snakes! Hatchling BPs are typically the best (most reliable) feeders anyway...many adult BPs fast even without apparent reasons, so this is sorta "normal" but still not desirable...you still need to get the temps. & all dialed in correctly.

    STOP using Neosporin...that can CAUSE the shedding problem you're having (not shedding intact). If you use it in a pinch, use the least bit you can & briefly, not long term. Better choice is Vetericyn...some pet stores carry it or buy it online.

    Offering food too often just stresses snakes into more refusals too, btw. Stop offering for 2 weeks (you said she's probably in shed now anyway, & that's probably why you heard some breathing noises too) & wait until she acts hungry. Watch for these signs: in evening hours, peeking out of hide. Don't offer food when a BP is cruising around their cage, they seldom eat out in the open...they're ambush-predators! They want to grab prey that's cluelessly passing by them within reach. DO not allow prey (whether live OR f/t) to appear to approach the snake either...real rodents do not volunteer to be dinner, & that boldness can also scare snakes like BPs into not eating. For now, wait until she is done shedding & until she acts hungry before offering food again. Remember, hands off (other than minimal maintenance).

    Feeding: always in the enclosure where the snake lives! The handling you do to put them in another location can make them refuse to eat!
    NO rational reason to move a snake for feeding, & many good reasons NOT to.

    Also: regarding substrates, it's best to imitate her previous home as best you can. And personally I don't recommend newspaper at all, since it's slippery & snakes cannot get traction. They have no limbs, they rely on traction to move. Would YOU care to live on an ice rink, even if it was warm?
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 05-24-2020 at 06:09 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  11. #8
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    It's possible her previous substrate was too moist and/or dirty (contaminated w/ feces), that's why she got "scale rot"...don't blame the substrate,
    blame the poor upkeep.

    You need to make sure your A/C isn't blowing on her cage too: many snakes, upon sensing 60* temps., may go off eating, and yes, as already mentioned, 70* on the 'cool end' is TOO chilly for your BP. You want her home to be roughly 78-80* on the cool side, & 88-90* max. on the warm side.

    BTW, snakes generally know they're going into a shed cycle long before we can see evidence (cloudy eyes), & they usually refuse food for that reason too. But knock off the handling anyway, until she's eating reliably for you, just to be safe. OK? Her welfare comes first...
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 05-24-2020 at 06:21 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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    Worried about my BP

    Sounds like your hot side is too low. You can keep you hot side up to 90, just make sure you don’t go past 92. And your cool side should have a minimum of 75 degrees, ideally 78-80 degrees. So I would suggest not using AC as much, or at all if necessary.

    Even though you are treating your bp for scale rot you definitely need to maintain humidity. 30% is way too low, and is gonna cause your bp to have trouble breathing, as you have stated. Ideal humidity is between 60-65%.

    And it could be that the substrate isn’t the issue of the scale rot as bogertophis stated. I wouldn’t discredit the substrate type based off on one incident. It also might be helpful to try that substrate again so that your humidity can be higher. It would also be nice to know what type of ‘wood type’ substrate it is. There are some that are toxic to snakes.

    And the handling might be too much for your snake. Some people have handled their snakes daily with no issues. And if so, that’s fine, but because your snake is having problems I would probably stop the handling sessions, unless it’s necessary. I think by incorporating all of these things together your bp will turn around and hopefully take a meal soon.

    Another thing I would try is feeding her a rat from a different seller. I used to buy mine from a smaller store and she only ate 2 out of the 6 I bought. I started buying rats from a different seller and she hasn’t missed one since. Where you get your rats also makes a big difference.
    Last edited by Faith.luu; 05-24-2020 at 07:23 PM.

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