Quote Originally Posted by Xo'Phoeah View Post
This might be a dumb question. I recently bought a young normal BP from a local petstore (wonderful people who had gotten him from a local breeder). Anyway, I have to fill out an application with Animal Control for an exotic animal permit. No big deal. I have 10 days to do it, but they sounded like they'd be flexible as long as they could tell I was working on it. One of the things I have to include is the name and address of the vet that certified my snake was healthy. This is also not a big deal, because I'd love to know the gender of my little guy (even though I already decided on his name!) Also, someone suggested that he may have some RI issues since he had his mouth slightly open in a few pictures. He didn't/doesn't have any other symptoms (in fact, he's sleeping on his head right now), but I'm sure I'd feel better knowing he was ok.

The question I have is this. He's going through a shed right now. I have no idea how much longer it's going to last. I'm pretty sure he's on at least day 7, but I've been pretty much leaving him alone. So, should I wait until he's done with the shed before I call the vet or is it ok to take him now? I don't want to put off the application too long because I know I'll just forget about doing it, but I also don't want to stress him out too much. Would you wait?

If it helps, a trip to the vet will take at least 2 hours just in the car, so it won't just be a quick little trip.

As always:

Cool Side 75ish
Warm Side 90-97
Humidity 70%
Substrate Cardboard
Hides identical - one on each side. He loves them and moves back and forth throughout the day.
Other he has a rough rock-thing and a large waterbowl. I've never seen him in the waterbowl. He also gets spritzed once or twice a day.
Enclosure glass
Everything is checked by digital thermometers one of which also measures humidity.

Where are you from? How long ago did you buy this little guy? I'm just asking because I was told that I would need a permit for our bp but turned out that they were wrong.

Shouldn't it be the responsibility of the pet store to certifiy that he is healthy which obviously it doesn't sound like he is since you mention he has a possible RI. Did they offer some type of health guarantee? I don't know all that much about RI but as for taking him to the vet, maybe if you called them they can advise you if you should wait until after the shed or bring him in now. Sure they are pissy when they are in shed but it's not like you would be taking him on a car ride for the heck of it. Know what I mean? I think it was mentioned that the longer an RI goes untreated the worse it can get and the harder it will be to treat him, but don't quote me on that because I could be wrong.

As for the temps, how about getting a red bulb that you can leave on 24/7? That's what I have to do to maintain my temps. Sure it kills the humidity but a few spritzes takes care of that. Also, like somebody else mentioned, covering 3 sides helped as well.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck! And, your question wasn't dumb!