Respitory Infection Or pairinoia!

[Kesosip]

well for starters I have been extremly pairinoid of my ball python since I brought her home, always worrying! Its extremly stressfull lol. I know my temps are right in fact I was worried about it geting to warm the last few weeks do to the summer heat and a poor air conditioner. anyhow Im starting to notice things that are making me extremly worried due to my current situation.

Naga went in to shed last week, I noticed it when I took her to get probed, afterwards she became inactive which I was sure was due to sheding, I left her alone for the most part over the shed peroid except for maintinence and daily checks to see how she was progressing in the shed.

well when her eyes cleared up I soaked her for 30 mins to try and help the shed the next morning I found the shed mostly in one peice however she had some stuck shed on her head and neck so another soak took care of that, I got most of the skin off except for a small stuborn peice on top of her head.

its been 2 nights since her shed and she is still inactive even when holding her and she just doesnt seem her self she has allways been fairly active when being held crawling around and such now she kinda stays balled up and just moves her uper body around.

I have also noticed a increase in her yawning, but no weasing,sneezing, and no mucas at all. I have uped her temps from 92/82 to 95/85 in hope that i caught it early enough that she can fight it off if it is RI.

My situation is limiting me on my options due to a week suspension from work for mouthing off to my boss lol I have a slight problem with authority lol So I am really hoping this is just pairinoa and that she might be stress from the probing, or the bad shed. I dont want to have to sell my car to take her to the vet but I will If need be!

anyhow im going to speak with the vet tomorow and see what the damage will be for treatment and try to set up at least a check up as soon as i can.

[frankykeno]

If this is your regular vet most will work with you and a basic appointment shouldn't run you so much you need to sell a vehicle. Remember too that a lot of vet clinics have programmes for lower income pet owners so never hesitate to ask if there is anything in place to assist you that way. Heck offer to clean cages if it takes that to help lower your bill and get good health care for your pets.

[JLC]

I'm not a vet, and no one can diagnose over the Internet. However, I'll tell you what I would think and do if I were in your situation.

From what you say, I'm not seeing signs of RI, but of stress. A trip to the vet followed shortly by continued interference during the shedding process (not saying it wasn't necessary, just how the snake might see it) could lead to a great deal of stress. Yawning can also be a sign of stress.

If I were in your shoes, I'd just put her in her home and leave her completely alone for a couple of weeks, except to feed and provide water. (Or clean out any waste, of course.)

[joepythons]

I'm not a vet, and no one can diagnose over the Internet. However, I'll tell you what I would think and do if I were in your situation.

From what you say, I'm not seeing signs of RI, but of stress. A trip to the vet followed shortly by continued interference during the shedding process (not saying it wasn't necessary, just how the snake might see it) could lead to a great deal of stress. Yawning can also be a sign of stress.

If I were in your shoes, I'd just put her in her home and leave her completely alone for a couple of weeks, except to feed and provide water. (Or clean out any waste, of course.)

I second this recommendation.

[Kesosip]

I'm not a vet, and no one can diagnose over the Internet. However, I'll tell you what I would think and do if I were in your situation.

From what you say, I'm not seeing signs of RI, but of stress. A trip to the vet followed shortly by continued interference during the shedding process (not saying it wasn't necessary, just how the snake might see it) could lead to a great deal of stress. Yawning can also be a sign of stress.

If I were in your shoes, I'd just put her in her home and leave her completely alone for a couple of weeks, except to feed and provide water. (Or clean out any waste, of course.)

See i was thinking that this could also be stress, do to the probing while in shed and the soaking, I thought a sign of stress was when the constently roam there cage?

naga normaly comes out and roams a bit after dark, and now she is just staying in her hide all the time, any more in put would be great. I to dont think its Ri!

the other thing i forgot to add, is she did eat last fryday while in shed just at the end stage of blue so im kind of at a loss for this change in behaivoir from being fairly active to hiding.

[Kesosip]

bad shed can be a sign of stress also correct? cause i kept her humidity up the whole time durring shed and she had some trouble. a secton on her neck and top of her head1

[Kesosip]

I have been reading alot about ball pythons and stress and i came across something about to much lighting. I had my timer on the light for my ball python only set for 9 hrs I learned it should be more about 12 hrs on and 12 off, so i switched it adding a hour of day light a day. could changeing the light cycle like that be the cause? should I change it back?

[JLC]

A really bright white light shining directly in the cage could cause stress...no matter what sort of timer you have it on. For a light cycle, you can just use the ambient light in the room. They really don't need anything direct.


I don't keep mine on a specific schedule....she just gets light in the daytime, and some after dark because we're using the room. But if we're going to use the room really late at night, I cover her cage with a dark cloth she she'll get her "bed time." She is eating like a champ and showing no signs of stress, despite not being on an exact day/night schedule.

[Kesosip]

its a flouresent bulb the ones like used for reptiles but just a normal one no uvb. I switched it from 9 to 12 hrs on perhaps she is stressed do to this.

[JLC]

its a flouresent bulb the ones like used for reptiles but just a normal one no uvb. I switched it from 9 to 12 hrs on perhaps she is stressed do to this.

Maybe....but I still think the most likely culprit would be all the recent traveling and "rough" handling. And you have to consider that snakes don't measure time in the same way we do. While it may take us a day or so to recover from a particularly bad day...a snake may take a couple weeks or more. That just live on a muuuuch slower time-line than we do.

Also...while a change in normal behavior such as you described is a significant indicator of stress...it COULD be that the snake is just settling into a more traditional BP lifestyle. They typically don't come out much at all.