Only a matter of time before I bought a sick one...

[alan12013]

I have 9 ball pythons now and all except for 1 has ate the day or next after I got them home. They all pretty much act similar with only 2 exceptions. One really likes to hide and one really likes to explore. I finally got my male Black Pewter Ghost home and he refused to eat so I waited and left him alone 2 days and tried again, and repeated. I should have inspected him more. Last night I took him out and let him crawl around and noticed a squeaking. I thought for sure it was a rat so I took him downstairs where it's quite and sure enough he is squeaking! He does have some bad shedding around his head that could very well be causing this mouse like squeak. There appears to be bad leftover shedding all around his head and face actually and his scales feel a bit "less vibrant" (and saggy) than some of my others. Now after driving for 6 hours to "get a good deal" turns out I will probably have a vet bill that makes it a not good at all deal not to mention I feel bad for the snake. He only squeaks when he is excited and moving around a lot but I will check him again today.

The guy is on the fauna BOI from Seattle and if I thought he was going to sell more snakes I would call him out just on the grounds that he's a total idiot and doesn't know jack about snakes (gathered that much when he was talking to me about genetics and was wrong as...) yet used to breed them. I could go on and on... It was also like pulling teeth to get the ages of the snakes. He tells me the het ghost female is a 2009 snake then I see a tracking number on the bag that would suggest 2007. They haven't ate in "maybe 6 weeks" he says because he was going to ship them. The female is a sweet heart and at 2400 grams she's the biggest I got, if only I could find a water dish she wont tip over. I know this is my fault and could have been prevented by buying from some one with a little more credentials.

[ElliotNess]

Alan... soak the shedding problem in warm water. Get a money counting thimble, you know the soft rubber thimble with the little nipples on them.. lightly go over him with it after he has been soaked. You can even take eye caps off with it.

For a bowl get a realtree dog bowl from walmart.

[alan12013]

Awesome. Heading to walmart today and Ill go ahead and give him a little bath tonight. Thanks. Hopefully she'll have met her match with that bowl.

[Reptile Frenzy]

Shedding has cause squeaking in some ball pythons for us. If he has early signs of RI bump his heat up and alot of the time that will knock it out.

[alan12013]

Awesome advice! I have a unique heating system to say the least at the moment but it is highly under my professional control and I actually noticed he liked the heat and after hearing that he is now receiving a larger portion of his tank that has belly heat exposure.

[alan12013]

He refused food again. I took him out too and his squeaking wasn't AS bad but he still did it when he got excited. He really wanted to get out of the tub and was non stop almost neurotic about moving around and trying to find a way out. His tongue looks fine and he uses it a lot, the two ends aren't stuck together and there is no foam or mucus around his mouth. His head and neck is covered in bad shed though. I guess I have no choice but if his symtoms don't improve by middle of the week I am making a 60 dollar vet visit. If it's a bad shed that is stuck making the noise will it improve with good humidity and activity to get it out of the way or will it not improve until his next shed? He is so docile and "polite" for a snake I really hope it's not an infection.

[CORBIN911]

Awesome advice! I have a unique heating system to say the least at the moment but it is highly under my professional control and I actually noticed he liked the heat and after hearing that he is now receiving a larger portion of his tank that has belly heat exposure.

"Unique heat"?? Expand?

"Under my professional control" Your a Heat professor?

[bcr229]

How long have you had this male? How old/large is he? Are you offering the same prey that the prior owner did? When did he last eat for his prior owner?

ETA: While I would never advise someone not to take a critter to the vet if you suspect it is sick, black pastel and cinnamon morphs are known for "squeaking" when excited. I think it's related to the "duck billing" that the super forms exhibit. I have a black pastel het hypo female that has squeaked from the day I got her; two different vets have both said she doesn't have an RI.

[alan12013]

I am not an actual heat professional if that is what you're asking. I did oversee several HVAC mechanics at my previous job though so I do know a decent amount regarding heating and cooling systems. I was being sarcastic... My heating system is what I would call "ghetto rigged" right now in comparison to a standard system. I've decided to run heat tape down the back of each shelf and should have it done this week. Currently though I am using individual heat pads for each bin with thermostats in each bin and if needed I will adjust the placement of the heat mat to correct any temperature fluctuations. I also have a heat gun that I use to verify the temperature readings.

[ElliotNess]

Try to get that shed off. Also go smaller than the usual prey and Se what it does. I fed thus big no smaller prey 5 days apart to look for regurge or refusal. Try little changes and remember it needs some settle time.