On Friday I was given/rescued a ball python, Fred. Fred is about 10yrs old and came with a giant tank (about 4ft by 2ft and about 3ft tall). The moment I got him home, I noticed that he was wheezing and on occasion would open his mouth like he was gasping for air. He also had stuck shed on his nose.

So I made a vet appointment for the poor guy. The vet just called me and said he sees no outward signs of a respiratory infections, the proceeded to ask me, "What kind of snake is he?". I went to this vet as he is the only reptile vet in my area (at least a two hour drive), and he just also happens to be one of the most expensive vets in the area....

Anyways, he wants to charge me nearly 400 dollars for a blood and fecal samples.... Honestly that’s a little out of my price range, and even more so for a snake I've had 3 days.

The vet said he's also willing to go ahead and treat him with antibiotics without the tests. They're waiting for me to call them back.

Here's some background information. Fred was kept in a cage with temps around 80s, his substrate was a pet bedding, and looked like it hadn't been change in a long while. The tank is acrylic on the sides, and wood everywhere else, including the bottom. I changed the substrate for him, and I pulled out lots of old shed, and found 2 spiders in his bedding. He had no hide box and only one lamp on the top of the tank. He did have a container of large water to soak in. He was fed live rats, and has the scars to prove it. He did come from a home that did care somewhat about their animals and have had snakes before, and Fred had been with them about 5 years.

So over the weekend he was stressed out with a move and new people. Then I totally changed in his substrate. (I put down newspaper). I bumped the temp up to 90-95ish, and bought him an underground heater. Gave him two hides. I will be moving him into a different tank, but I wasn't exactly expecting to get a new snake so I'm not 100% set up yet. He is due for a feeding, but I didn't want to until we got back from the vet. (We’ll be trying f/t food).

My question is should I fork up the money for the tests? Should I just treat with antibiotics? Should I just take him home, pump up the heat, and give him supplements and hope for the best?

Thanks in advance and for putting up with a new snake keeper.