Concerned

[Reptile King]

Two nights ago I opened my male ball pythons cage to clean it. The substrate I'm using is plain 'ol white paper. When he does his business the paper gets torn. While looking at him I heard a popping noise. I dismissed it as the paper being rustled while he was moving about.

Last night I fed him his weekly rat. While he was eating the rat I heard the popping noise again. This time I know for a fact it was coming from him. While he was eating I looked in his mouth, without disturbing him, to see if I could see the mucus type stuff in his mouth and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

My setup is as follows. I have a 2X3 reptile basics enclosure that contains two identical black reptile basics hides. The cool side of the enclosure is 81 degrees and the warm side, heated with a radiant heat panel, is 90 degrees. I have the heat being controlled by a Herpstat ND.

I turned the heat up one degree and will monitor him over the next few says while he digests his food. In a week I will take him to my vet to be sure he is okay.

Because his husbandry is spot on, at least I think it is, how would he get an RI if in fact he has an RI? If he does have an RI what is the treatment? Please don't tell me it's shots!?!?! What's the normal prognosis if he does have an RI? Will he recover 100%?

Thanks for your replys!

[Reptile King]

I forgot to mention that he does have a water bowl and the humidity is a steady 50%.

Thanks again!

[llovelace]

If in fact he does have an RI, yes he will recocer just fine, with a round of antibiotics.

[cardell75]

how would he get an RI if in fact he has an RI? The same way we get colds or other minor illnesses.
If he does have an RI what is the treatment? Please don't tell me it's shots!?!?! OK I wont tell you its shots. Actually there are many options available just express your concerns to your vet and you both agree upon a treatment plan for your snake
What's the normal prognosis if he does have an RI? Will he recover 100%? With proper treatment he has a 100% chance of recovery from RI

Charles

[llovelace]

Well if indeed it is, like I stated before, yes shots, your snake is not like a dog or cat where you can give pills.

[sarahlovesmiike]

Well if indeed it is, like I stated before, yes shots, your snake is not like a dog or cat where you can give pills.

Actually when I got my snakes they both had RIs and my vet gave us twelve baytril pills. We administered one pill to each snake every other day and they recovered well before the third pill was given to them. Yes, it's tricky, but it's not as hard as you'd think.

[Valentine Pirate]

I figure the key is not to panic, and if you think it's an RI just go see your vet they'll know what to do, and even if it isn't an RI, it'll be good to have peace of mind

[Reptile King]

Thanks everyone for your replys! I will see the vet in a few days.