RI and Bioactive enclosure question

[ecoles5]

Hi everyone. I have not posted before, I do as much reading as I can. Recently I got a baby ball python at a reptile show. All I can say in my defense is nothing. I had been researching for a while, but my brain saw this BP and got stuck on 12 year old. I had gone for tarantulas and also left with a 44 g fire spider and no good info about hatching date or anything responsible. I have kept animals for long enough to accept the truth that I did not handle this well. I got him 10/16/22

I ended up making a Bioactive enclosure out of a 40b tank. I had gotten the temps right and the humidity right. Outside of a power outage and I did have an equipment failure when I was at work…its all seemed great. I had springtails and dwarf white isopods and a couple others that are all BP snake as well as a few other BP safe plants he hasn’t killed. He’s been curious, exploring and using both hides I set up. Outside of the difficulty in trying to transition to frozen thawed from live, he has been eating in a separate tub about every 5-7 days.
I want to say that it took me a bit to learn about Bioactive, to get the supplies and a couple weeks to make. So most he’s been in it is a month. Of course I have been cleaning, but he has not pooped yet!
A few days ago, I took him out to handle and he was clicking. (Sunday. I had a medical procedure on Monday and was in the hospital all day and Tuesday I had him at the vet) He has a respiratory infection for sure, but being he is still active and he looked good to her over all that he got a shot of antibiotics and we will be back for the next 2 shots. And we decided to forgo the nido virus test for that reason.

So the vet suggested (outside of the separate tank I have him in now for healing ( he also started shedding with the shot btw from the injection down to his tail) that it’s possible that while he may have come with nido virus but that the type of enclosure may be bad for him or at least less then ideal. I wanted people to offer their own experience for me on this so I know whether or not to empty the substrate out of this or not. The only problem I saw was that a plant introduced gnats into the enclosure and I was treating it with springtails, making sure that the top layer was dry and being scrupulous with checking for fungus. To be fair these stupid bugs are a problem in my house and I have been dealing with this in my T tanks as well which are mostly not Bioactive.

I appreciate any feedback. I already know that I didn’t get this baby the right way. The rest I thought I was doing right and now he’s sick. So help would be appreciated much.

[Homebody]

I applaud your enthusiasm, but you need to walk before you can run. Reading about how to care for a BP is not the same as doing it. I suggest you put your BP in a basic set up: hot and cool side hides, a humid hide, a water bowl, and a thermostat regulated heat source. The forum's caresheet may help you. Once you're able to keep him healthy in this set up, then you can consider trying bioactive.

That doesn't mean that you should trash your current bioactive set up. It takes a while to really establish a bioactive set up. Your BP should be the last thing you add. Make sure that the flora and other fauna are established and growing first.

[Bogertophis]

I totally agree with Homebody's post above. I don't do bioactive (& never will), but I've read others that do, & they have taken MUCH longer to establish them before adding a snake.

And IMO, any new snake needs to essentially be in your "ICU" (Intensive Care Unit) for a while anyway. When you get a snake at an expo, they've been exposed to all sorts of stuff, even if they didn't arrive there with it, and the stress of being rehomed works against their immune system in much the same way that stress impairs our own. So "job one" is being low-key, letting them rest & eat & be warm without handling or exposure to vastly different environments. If you do this, they're more likely to remain healthy- but no guarantee, there's always a risk. I hope he shakes his RI.