My ball may need help. i need info

[SerpicoBall420]

Hey, Im fresh to this site and this is my first post. I havent looked throught the site yet for info but if anybody has any information on this matter, it would help alot. I usually feed my snake two thawed/warmed up fuzzies. After i fed him one, he went for a drink before I attempted to give him another. Well, he tried to strike at the second and missed, he flopped off the half/hollow log he was leanin on and landed kinda upside down. When i went to flip him back over, maybe a teaspoon of white fluid/gel came from his mouth. More or less poured. Almost looked like the consistincy of egg whites, but smooth and very clear. My question is, does this usually indicate a respitory illness? Ive never seen fluid come from his mouth or nose before, and ive had him for some time now. He does emit a pop maybe every 5-8 seconds, which ive heard is a sign of this, but he does seem happy(tongue flickering alot, he isnt lethargic, usually eats without any problems). Or... did he happen to just regergitate some of the water he just drank with some of his digestive fluids, after all, he did eat a mouse 10 mins prior to this?

[Sparky1]

Well couple things what are your temps and humidity at? Is the pop something that you hear all of the time? How old is he?

[SerpicoBall420]

currently i odnt know what the temp or humidity is, i swapped the only gauges i had to my tank with my new juvenile bearded dragon. my room is 70 degrees and the light on the ball is fairly hot. I incorrectly described the fluid as white, it was actually very clear. The popping is something i usually hear when i take him out. i havent all day, figured i keep him under the heat. another thing to consider is hes gotte nout of his old tank about 5 times, and i had just found him last night before the feeding. i live in Ma and it is pretty cold right now, outside of the room, i nthe basement it may be 50 degrees. Ive since gotten a more secure tank, so he wont be getting out on his own anytime soon. I feed him in his tank, whcih i know isnt a good idea, but he wont eat outside of it. i have the wood shavings as substrate, which i know could casue a respitory illness if brought in with the mouse. I wonder if it may have just been stress. i was trying to feed him the second mouse when he flipped over, and he didnt sem interested in it after that. but id figure id try for another 10-15 mins.

[Patrick Long]

you prolly want to know the temp in his cage. a light can get very very hot.

[Noek]

I feed him in his tank, whcih i know isnt a good idea

I only feed my snake inside the cage

[SerpicoBall420]

yea, i just swapped the gauges back into his tank. Im usually not woried about humidity, i used to spray his tank, but he got mites once. so i generally dont spray anymore. I did not too long ago in an attempt to make him a lil more comfortable for the time being. The temps hanging around 80, and the humidity is about 60. Im not too sure how old he is, ive had him for bout 9 months to a year and i bought him when he was just a younging from petco.

[Sparky1]

Well the mites did not come from spraying the tank, they were already there or they were actually wood mites from the bedding. You need to get your warm side temps up to about 92 and the ambient in the 80's you really need to watch your temps. The cold can cause a RI, and if all else fails get him to a vet, no one here will diagnose a problem since we can not see the snake. Warm him up and see how he does.

[Patrick Long]

Well the mites did not come from spraying the tank, they were already there or they were actually wood mites from the bedding. You need to get your warm side temps up to about 92 and the ambient in the 80's you really need to watch your temps. The cold can cause a RI, and if all else fails get him to a vet, no one here will diagnose a problem since we can not see the snake. Warm him up and see how he does.

i second this. low temps are the root cause of most ri

[SerpicoBall420]

Alright, thanks for the information. If cold is the root, then it could have been that. Its pretty cold up here right now and he was missing for a couple of weeks. A cold basement floor isnt the best for him im sure. I had a heat rock, but ive learned that its pretty detrimentle to there health as well(guy at petco recommended it), so it loks as though i should invest in a heat pad for the underside.

[Sparky1]

Oh for sure they love belly heat! They are not to expensive just remember you need a warm side and a cool side. Try to use the UTH on the warm side and use your light for keeping the ambient temp up. What is actually better than a light is to use a ceramic heat emmiter, it will fit in your lamp assembly and produce good heat and no light so you can use it at night as well. He will love you for it!