Vet and possible RI questions

[thegoalie22]

balls unlimited-
you obviously have not read the thread- my mom is very hesitant to take him to the vet unless he shows another sign of an ri

[mpkeelee]

the next signs of an RI are not what u want to wait for. stargazing, open mouth breathing which can cause ur snake to be bloated, wheezing, sneezing, not eating, and some others. also if she makes u wait longer it will cost more to fix. if you can talk her into going now she will save a good chunk of money while the RI isnt too bad yet.

[dr del]

Hi Goalie,

Yes I did read that in your earlier post - thing is pulling down a lip is not the same as opening his mouth diagnostically.

Use something round and relatively soft to open the mouth like the body of a bic pen - that should cut down on the chances of you getting bitten I think.

Have you tried holding the snake up to your ear yet?


dr del

[BallsUnlimited]

balls unlimited-
you obviously have not read the thread- my mom is very hesitant to take him to the vet unless he shows another sign of an ri

i read your whole thread. Ive been keeping ball pythons for 10 years. If theres any sign of it being r.i they go straight to the vet get cultures and wait for the sensitivity report to come back. Once its back they are put on proper meds if they are indeed sick End of story. If you dont have the money to spend yourself on a vet visit and treatment then you may want to get into a different hobby. Im not trying to put you down at all. But i own currently 22 snakes and have spent thousand upon thousands on them as well as vet bills. I had 3 snakes come in with r.i's that i had to shell out 1k for vet bills. This is an expensive hobby and if you really care about your animal take it to the vet a.s.a.p. and get a culture done. The longer you wait the worse off the snake will be. Hope the best for you

[zantedeschia]

I don't recall if you said how old you were but is there any chance you can get a part-time job, raise enough money for a vet visit? $120-150 should be enough for at least one visit, if he's really sick. If he's not sick, prob around $40-50 for an office visit.

[thegoalie22]

del- okay i will open him up later lol
what do you mean by holding his head to my ear

im 14 and i have around 150 dollars in the bank, but my mom will not take me even if i pay for it

im not sure if i have mentioned this, but he does not do this every time he breathes and seems to mostly do it when i hold him

[docturgonzo]

I noticed similar behaviour in one of me Females who escaped and spent 2 seperate nights in my cold front room.

She shows no other signs of R.I and when she lays in her tub she acts and sounds normal , no mucus and her nostrils are dry and clean, get her out of the tub and hold her for a bit ans she starts weezing. She is booked into vets for tomorrow so ill let you know what advice they give me for reference but you definately need to take the snake in.

I have had a bad year for R.I due to a few school boy errors but everyone i have had checked out by a vet.

You need to try some charm on your old lady. Get her on here and show her some of the opinions people have shared on the subject.

She clearly doesnt want to waste the money and who would want to blow $100 or so if they dont have to..... but its not about wasting money.. its about piece of mind and the health of a snake.

[dr del]

Hi,

del- okay i will open him up later lol
what do you mean by holding his head to my ear

im 14 and i have around 150 dollars in the bank, but my mom will not take me even if i pay for it

im not sure if i have mentioned this, but he does not do this every time he breathes and seems to mostly do it when i hold him

You're kidding right?

Pick up snake, move your arms so the snakes head is close to the flap of cartilage and skin on the side of your head people call ears, listen.

Repeat process but bringing the snakes body about a third down from the head to your ear, listen again.



Did you hear pops, crackles, whistles or wheezes? If so were they louder when listening to his head or his body?

If he only does it when being handled I think your mother is right and your snake is probably fine - they breath more heavily when excercising ( same as we do ) and sometimes they way we hold then can cause them to make sounds
.

But let me know how you get on listening to the snake breathing.


dr del

[thegoalie22]

ok ya i just listened to him and i dont hear anything from his lungs

the excersise thing makes alot of sense because the only time i hear anything from him while hes in his cage is when he is moving around trying to get out

i also read that the low humidity may have something to do with the noises

[mpkeelee]

i also read that the low humidity may have something to do with the noises

that is why i said to raise the humidity and try soaking him.