New BP owner, behavior questions

[travishalogod]

My python is acting a little bit different than usual. He is staying away from the heating pad in his cage and will hide underneath his water bowl constantly. He is a little bit more aggressive and nervous than usual but his eyes are not cloudy and it doesnt look like he is going to begin the shedding process although it is a possibility as he is about a year old and shed about 6 weeks ago. And what has me the most worried is he was squeaking the other night, i thought it was a mouse in the house, but it turned out to be my python. I have done some research and everything says it is a possibe RI, however he shows no other symptoms, no bubbles from his nose, no extra mucous, nothing. i tried to open his mouth today to make sure it was normal but failed and only got to see the side of it and it was white, but not "cheesy"
There is a possibility it could be something with his bedding as i did change the type of it right before he started acting funny and it could be the bedding that got into his nose that makes him squeak. Please, what are some possibilities? am i overreacting?
thank you!

[iCandiBallPythons]

what is your complete set-up? include temps,bedding, humidity etc.

[travishalogod]

he is in a ten gallon tank as i just got him from a different owner, he is appx 30 inches long, "working on getting a 30 gal tank asap" he is on a "jungle" type of bedding and i dont really have a way to monitor his heat. i know the house itself doesnt get under 70 degrees, and his heating pad is on med/high all the time, just like it was before he was acting like this, i also spray his cage with water for humitidy multiple times a day. I have a list of things to upgrade his cage as soon as i have the funds, but this is how he was before...

[Darkice]

I don’t usually post here anymore but you need some help.
At wall mart you can buy temp probes for about 5 bucks. Temps are Extremely important for ball pythons. They are from the desert so the high humidity is not really needed. It’s ok to spray them right before they go into shed but that’s all.

I use aspen bedding from tractor supply its the cheapest i can find. If the heating pad you are using is the kind that sticks to the bottom of the glass they can get way to hot. Upwards of 115 degrees. You need to put some kind of temp control on it. I use these to heat all my racks and have never had a problem with them. http://www.bigappleherp.com/BAH-1000-Thermostat

Make sure you have at least 2 hides in the cage. One on the hot side and one on the cool side so the snake can thermo regulate. On the hot side try and keep the temps between 88 and 90 degrees. They need it to help them digest their food.

[Vypyrz]

... and his heating pad is on med/high all the time, just like it was before he was acting like this...

to BP.net...

Are you using a human heating pad or is it an Under tank Heater with some type of dimmer hooked up to it?

[CoolioTiffany]

The heat pad is most likely much too warm, most likely over 100F since you do not have it controlled by a thermostat.

Here's the cheapest thermostat you can get, that does work fairly well http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=75

He may be under the dish because he feels more secure under there rather than his hide, or he is getting away from the hot heat pad. I would consider keeping the heat pad off until you get the thermostat, you don't want to burn your snake.

As for the possible RI, you can pull down his bottom lip on the sides of his mouth and check for any bubbles. If there are larger looking bubbles, you may have a sick Ball python. Try listening for any popping or clicking noises when he exhales, that's always a sign of the start of an RI.

[Hulihzack]

I don’t usually post here anymore but you need some help.
At wall mart you can buy temp probes for about 5 bucks. Temps are Extremely important for ball pythons. They are from the desert so the high humidity is not really needed. It’s ok to spray them right before they go into shed but that’s all.

Although they are from a desert, they spend their time underground in burrows or termite mounds where it is actually quite humid. Most folks recommend regular misting, but it depends on what climate you live it. Here in AZ we have to spray tanks daily, whereas in Florida people don't need to spray at all. 50-60% is recommended, maybe higher while the snake is in shed.

[mommanessy247]

it gets quite humid here in south carolina during the summer so maybe...hopefully, i wont have to mist as much then. i dont really want to mist cuz i dont know how much misting is enough, i know the glass shouldnt be dripping with water, and i know the substrate needs to be only slighly damp but...yeah.

[travishalogod]

thank you so much for all of the feedback. i got really frustrated with all of this today and not really being able to answer all of your questions so i just dropped 200 bucks on his new home! yay. i purchased a 20 gallon tank with aspen bedding and a new hideout that he will actually be able to fit under as the older one was tiny. i also got one of those underneath heaters for reptiles and took to note the concern about them becoming too hot so i bought a guage to monitor the heat and power that goes to it, i also got a basking lamp for him to help with the heat in the bigger cage as well as a temp and humidity monitors. along with a new bowl for water and all that other good jazz i think he will be a little bit happier with this. and as far as his behavior, he is still a little bit upset at being bothered but i noticed he has a blue ish tinge to him today when i had him in the sunlight, so im sure he is beginning to shed. the squeaking still concerns me but i listened to him breath and he didnt have any popping noises or anything, nor does he have any bubbles around his mouth. i think with the new bedding he will be a little bit better now.. any other suggestions for him??

[Tochigi_R]

Make sure his new hides are big enough to house him, but small enough that he has to squeeze his body into it. Ball pythons like nice snug, snug hides. You'll want to be careful with humidity now that you have a heat lamp, because they tend to suck all of the water right out of the air and leave things really dry. You might have to end up spraying him down once or twice a day. To help keep humidity stable, you can cover the screen top of your tank with a layer of tinfoil (which I'm pretty sure also helps reflect heat) and then a nice thick layer of cling wrap. Cut a hole out for your light so it doesn't burn or melt anything.

As for the blue tinge of your snake, I don't think it's a pre-shed sign, though I wouldn't know without being able to look at the little dude. All pythons or boas (do colubrids have this too?) that I have ever seen have always had an iridescent blue-ish shine to them, so if that's what your seeing then it's probably not shed. Sometimes it's harder to see in morphs. Most snakes that are going into shed will loose this shiny blue-glow, and their colors become muddled and dull. On the otherhand, if he is indeed going opaque, keep an eye on his eyes as I'm sure you already know. Also be sure to look for a tightness that causes some wrinkles or pulling in the skin. That's also a good sign for pre shed.

The wheezing noise could be stuck shed in his nose? It happened to me once, and I ended up paying my herp vet $50 just so he could pull it out for me. I though it was an oncoming RI, and luckily for me the vet cut me a break because he thought it was really funny. If it's not stuck shed, you need to keep a very close eye on your temps and humidty and keep them nice and stable. It might be cause of stress from not having the right temps and whatnot.

Good luck with your little guy, and welcome to BP.net!