Smells

[tinathesnake]

I rescued an abandoned 5 foot ball python from a friends rental property in mid-May. I fed Tina the next day. Tina ate within 20 min. She didn't eat again until one week ago, 9/8, and shed twice. My son is 7 years old, and absolutely loves her. The BP is unbelievably tame. It has never once shown any sign of aggression. Tina is in a 55 gallon aquarium that I currently have lined with newspaper. I recently moved her to a new area that receives more sunlight, and will be warmer for the upcoming winter. I had to travel out of town for a week at the end of August after I switched to a coconut substrate to try to keep the humidity more constant. While I was away, we had an unusually hot week and when I returned, my sun room had a foul smell. The moss had dried up, and the humidity was way too low. I realize that leaving the snake that long is very irresponsible, and I should have done more research before agreeing to keep the snake. Its water dish was hooked up to always be full, so it had never ran out of water. I took the BP out of its tank, took all of the substrate out, cleaned and disinfected everything in it, and added more coconut substrate. I had visions of being able to have enough substrate in the tank to be able to add live plants for both humidity and looks, so there was roughly 3 inches of "dirt" in the tank. I did not bath the snake, I had read mixed reviews on that. The smell did not go away. Neither the snake, nor the tank, smelled bad, yet the smell was still there. When I rescued the snake it did not smell, and didn't smell until I left it for that week. The only thing that I had changed was the substrate, so after a week of the smell, I replaced the coconut substrate with newspaper. I cleaned and disinfected everything once again. While I was cleaning, the tank never once smelled. That was a little over a week ago, in which I have switched the newspapers out about every third day when the paper gets saturated, yet the smell is still there. It seems as though there is some debate on "musking". Every article or forum I have read, states that BP's do not smell, and this one did not used too. I suppose the smell could possibly be coming from something else, but I have had the same plants in the sun room for a few months, and they had never smelled before either. Just tonight, I replaced the newspaper substrate, cleaned and sanitized the whole tank, including the hides and water dish, and washed the snake with a mild soap. Can anyone please help! I live in a pretty rural area, and my local pet store has very limited knowledge of snakes. My son would be devastated if we were forced to get rid of Tina.


P.S.
The BP is named Tina after the movie Napoleon Dynamite. After attempting to feed it countless times, we would always joke and say "Eat your food Tina". I am not sure if it is male or female. Due to its size, I am assuming female.

[DennisM]

...Neither the snake, nor the tank, smelled bad, yet the smell was still there.

Well, it would seem the snake or it’s enclosure is not the source of the odor.

Nonetheless a few points:

1) Don’t bath your snake with soap.
2) it’s ok to leave a BP unattended for a week occasionally, assuming it is kept in a proper environment. It sounds like yours is not. Please read these links:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Husbandry-FAQs

[Reinz]

Welcome to the forum Tina.

Do you have any other pets in the house? Maybe a cat?

I had cats all my life and never had one spray in the house until a few years ago. I was taken back and confused until I fiqured out what it was.

I sure don't want to experience that again.

[Kokorobosoi]

I would check the dirt in your potted plants. My plant room just a few days ago developed a smell. Had to do some gardening to get rid of it. (The heat in that room didn't agree with the nutrients in the pots.) Plus my agave plant had some uh... well... I repotted it and it didn't like it. SO the smell can definitely be coming from the plants, even if they never smelled before.

[O'Mathghamhna]

Coconut substrate, sand, and dirt are not ideal for BPs, as it can get stuck in their nostrils and heat pits (especially if feeding in her tank). I would stick with newspaper until you can eliminate the smell, or maybe switch to Aspen snake bedding just to try something different? My favorite substrate is newspaper under interlocking Dri-Dek. This way if Tina makes a boom-boom, the liquid goes to the newspaper and she isn't swimming in it/making poop art. Good luck!