Ball Python Respiratory Infection

[Leighton]

Hi I bought a ball Python on December 3, 09 (approx a month ago) and I'm worried about its health. It's just over two years old and when I bought it, it seemed to be in good health. It ate two days after it was placed in its new home. After about a week of owning it, it started to wheeze/hiss kind of. It started doing it more, and I then purchased a hygrometer to check the humidity. Humidity was at just 25% (I was lead to believe a water bowl in the tank would be enough to keep the humidity up). I upped the humidity to 50% and I have kept it there ever since. She soon stopped wheezing/hissing for the most part, but I still hear it maybe once or twice a day. Its usually pretty quiet and seems to happen when she's working hard. It has now been about 3 and a half weeks since i first started hearing the wheezing/hissing. She still feeds regularly, is active when i take her out of the aquarium,and doesn't really seem any different then when I first had her and she wasn't wheezing.

I know cage setup and environment is a large part of keeping snakes healthy so this is what her setup is like:

15gal tank - 24" X 13" X 13"

aspen substrate (small pieces but not too small, roughly the size of bottle caps)

pool of water (10 inch diameter all around)

hide cave

Heat tape under hide cave

Heat lamp

Humidity is now kept at 50%

Hot side of tank is 88 - 90 degrees, cold side roughly 10 degrees cooler

I've read about respiratory infections and Im really hoping she doesn't have one. If she does is it possible for her to heal on her own?
I'd take her to a vet but I hear they are quite expensive. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for your time!

PS - if you need any more info to help out ask!

[mechnut450]

has the snake turned pinkish, blues or shed since your care started ( it possible there some stuck shed i nthe nose and that making it wheeze ( dried out with the low humidity ) also possible an RI sicne the snakewas aquired durign cold weather a sligh shock to the system. A vet trip sound like it may be needed . as for the things to check temps ( daily checknig) I know with tanks the belly heat at teh right temp but the air inside still cool that why I like an temp gun I just point it at a couple different places inthe cage to get a ideal of the abenit air temp as the hide tops tell me more .
I saya temptary fix is possible bumping the temps up but I still thing a vet is your best bet..

[Leighton]

Thanks for your reply. When transporting I actually had the vehicle at about 85 degrees (i had a thermometer in it) and it was outside for less then 5 seconds total during the trip Id say. And yes the snake has shed during my ownership but it was wheezing/hissing before the shed.

Do you know if it could heal without meds if it is a respiratory infection? Also, I heard if its an RI then it will wheeze a tiny bit with each breath and also have larger wheezes and bubbles and things in the mouth. I checked my snakes mouth and there is no bubbles or mucus, it looks very healthy. Also it is completely quiet when breathing for the majority of the time.

[mechnut450]

not sure I never hada bp wit h one I received a kenya snad boa tht had one and i made a vet visit asap since i have so many snakes.. I don't take chances when i can prevent it .

[BallsUnlimited]

R.I is nothing to be taken lightly. Find a good herp vet near you and have him checked out. I had 3 snakes shipped in cold weather to me and one developed R.I and passed it to 2 others since it showed no signs at first. 1000 dollars later all 3 are now on meds from the vet. They will need 8 total visits to the vet unless i inject them myself. The vet said after the 2nd visit if i feel comfortable doing the injections he would give me the remaining 6 doses for each snake to take home and do it myself. 450 was the original vet price for the visit and 75(25 each snake for there meds)for the next 7 visits. I have no problem spending the money to insure my snakes are healthy. You should do the same or you should be in this hobby.

[j_h_smith]

Take the meds home and do it yourself. Practice on an orange a few times and then you'll be fine. I've done it a number of times for my herps and others.

I'm a diabetic, so injections don't scare me.

Save the money,
Jim Smith

[BallsUnlimited]

Take the meds home and do it yourself. Practice on an orange a few times and then you'll be fine. I've done it a number of times for my herps and others.

I'm a diabetic, so injections don't scare me.

Save the money,
Jim Smith

Thats what i plan on doing. But I can have him do it every time since he is literally a 2 min max drive away from my house. He is not going to charge me for the 7 additional visits he only charged me for the meds for the remaining 7.