First forum post so excuse any misconceptions and please feel free to correct anything I've gotten wrong!

Around a month ago I picked up a 2 month old ball python from Pets At Home in Scotland. I'd spent around a month beforehand researching care guides and perfecting her environment based on recommendations online and from employees in the store with ball pythons. I was a little skeptical as 2 of the previous snakes at the store I'd been trying to pick up had developed a respiratory infection and had been sent back to their suppliers (and euthanized from what I had learned).

Eager to get them out I picked up a female and put her in her new viv in my room. I had a 2x2 foot wooden vivarium from Vivexotic, with air ventilation and glass slider panels at the front. I had originally picked up a heat mat which covered around a third of the base, but found it was only keeping the temperature at the hot side at around 82 degrees. Concerned, I picked up another bigger one and rearranged the thermometer to ensure a 88 - 92 hot hide and a 76 - 78 cold side. The general ambient temp at the top was around 76 too. I got her one hide at first and upgraded that to two after she arrived. A water bowl was also refilled every couple of days. Aspen bedding was recommended by an employee of the shop. Humidity had and always has been since around 50.

Within the first week, as I had her on my shoulder, I heard a faint popping noise. Scared, i took her to the local vet who began administering cefuroxime for a respiratory infection. This didn't slow down the illness and she kept making popping/wheezing noises, doing a lot of open mouth breathing, and showing NO interest in food (Fuzzies was her diet as she was around 130 grams).

Throughout this pretty nasty time I upped her temps a couple of degrees, changed her water daily, scrubbed the walls and glass clean of mucus and gave her her cefuroxime injections (at first), and then her baytril oral injections. I was also putting her in a steamy box with vicks vapor rub and eucalyptus oil once a day for 10 mins, to try and clear her airways. She seemed to just be holding off the infection. With my location being quite rural, the closest thing to a exotic specialist was a vet who lived 20 miles away. On recommendation from my local vet, he would be able to help more. I had Pets At Home take her there in a warm car to be kept at the store next to the vet. The vet diagnosed her with Stomachitis. He prescribed her Fortran (I think thats the name) and got her mouth cleaned daily. This was about 4 days ago. To my shock, she died tonight, despite the fact that I was told she was on the up. She was such a little thing, so it really hit hard hearing that she had died.

Now that I have time to sit and figure everything out, I want to disease proof my viv. Or the closest thing to it. The vet recommended to swap aspen for a less dustier substrate as it can irritate their lungs. I think I will get a few more hiding places in the viv to encourage thermoregulation. I will try to up the temps a couple of degrees again just to make sure it isn't going down while I'm at college. I desperately want to get another one out of the store but I won't until I'm sure I'm doing everything in my power to prevent any disease or ill health.

Please help, and thanks in advance.

Lewis.