Feeding when snake has R.I.

[Kingspade]

ok me and my girlfriend just rescued a ball python from a girl that had no idea what she was doing... he has a severe case of R.I. i took him to the vet this afternoon.. he said he is very underweight and looks like he hasent eaten in a long time. according to the girl he may also be in shed... hes in rough shape but the vet said with the injections he'll pull through it... my question is the vet told me to try to get him to feed right away and keep trying untill he does eat. he just got his 1st injection so he is still kinda rough... i dont know if it would be good to try and feed when he is so conjested... i was wondering if anyone has had any experiance with this? any opinions would be apperiated!! i have other snakes but none of them have ever had R.I. let alone this bad of a case.

[SatanicIntention]

I would just leave him be, with minimal handling(only handle when cleaning the enclosure). Wait until a week after all of the injections are finished(as he is more prone to regurgitation at this time because the antibiotics are killing off the bad and the good bacteria) and then try to feed him a very small meal(hopper mouse or rat fuzzy).

What is his setup like right now? How are his temps and humidity and how are you measuring these? For your temps, I would aim for(and maintain at 24/7) 94-95 warm side and 84-85 cool side, with 55-65% humidity.

Setting him up in a small tub would be a good idea right now as winter just saps the humidity out of glass enclosures(not to mention, glass isn't a good insulator and you probably have wild temp swings-not good for any snake). I would go to WalMart and get a 27-32qt tub(or smaller depending on how big he is) that is about 6" high. In my snakes' tubs that aren't in a rack, I have newspaper as the substrate, a small water bowl, and two small identical hides.

Good luck with him, hopefully he can get over this infection quickly.

[Kingspade]

thank you backy you answered alot of questions i had... i seen that the humidity should be raised some places and lowered in others and i was very confused on this... he is in a small tub now with a small water bowl and two small hides...he never really goes in any of the hides...he just slithers around and sits with his head up... the vet told me to have the humidity around 80%... i thought this seemed high...anyone else with any info?

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

thank you backy you answered alot of questions i had... i seen that the humidity should be raised some places and lowered in others and i was very confused on this... he is in a small tub now with a small water bowl and two small hides...he never really goes in any of the hides...he just slithers around and sits with his head up... the vet told me to have the humidity around 80%... i thought this seemed high...anyone else with any info?

If I'm not mistaken, You want to lower the humidity to help dry up the mucas, the opposite of people

[SatanicIntention]

Nope, raising the humidity helps to loosen up the mucus so it is easier to expel(like a humidifier or nebulizer for a child when they have pneumonia). Snakes don't have a diaphragm like we do, and are unable to cough. If the mucus dries up, it gets sticky, which makes the lungs unable to expand so they can breathe. When this decreased lung capacity occurs, the snake has to breathe more rapidly to get enough oxygen. If the infection is severe enough, the snake will eventually suffocate from the constricting, dried mucus.

60-70% is plenty, 65% should be sufficient enough to do its job. If he's not using his hides, make sure they're small enough. Also, if he's roaming his tub constantly, you can fill it to the top with loosly crumpled newspaper so he can settle down.

[Entropy]

I have always had the best lowering the humidity.

[Kingspade]

it is a VERY ADVANCED case of R.I. i read that lowering the humidity when symptoms first show will help getting rid of it but this snake has been sick for sometime and has a very bad case... this topic seems to be very up in the air with people...that is why i am asking... raising it seemed to help because when we got him his mouth was stuck open and it was all dry and crusty and all he did was sit around... after getting him home and raising the temps and humidity he seemed to be doing a little better and some of the mucus was comming out... now the vet said raise the humidity to 80% i dont know but in my opinion thats to high...he also told me that temps should be between 80-90 when i knew that you should raise the temps to around 92-95 for the hot side.. anyone else with opinions??

[Adam_Wysocki]

Raise the humidity for a URI ... 80% is fine ... low humidity dries out the mucus and masks the symptoms but doesn't help anything ... just hides it ... humid air loosens the mucus to help the snake expell it easier and leads to faster healing.

In the "old days" people believed that lowering humidity helped ... we know much better now.

Not an opinion ... this is fact.

-adam

[recycling goddess]

not disrespect to any one else who has posted... but IMO if adam says raise it to 80% that is what i'd do... without question.

[Adam_Wysocki]

not disrespect to any one else who has posted... but IMO if adam says raise it to 80% that is what i'd do... without question.

I'd go with what Becky says ... she's wicked smart and ALWAYS posts good stuff!!

-adam