Wish me luck! RI

Ugh, everything started out so well with my guy! Somehow, he's gone from apparently good to RI in just a few days. The vet is finally open tomorrow, so he'll be going in first thing.

I am just amazed at how quickly this has progressed. The first day I got him (last Wednesday), I didn't notice anything and he ate for me. Three days later (Saturday), he defecated and I took him out to clean and spend a little time handling him, and he was pretty calm and curious. As I was handling him, I noticed some popping, a little mucus, and what seemed like a lot of yawning. Today (Monday) he's now gasping and blowing bubbles! I feel awful and I'm just stunned that he's taken such a quick turn for the worst.

I imagine part of this is my fault, as I was following outdated info in a book I got several years ago. I just picked up the book by NERD, and made the corrections needed. The humidity was low for the first two days I had him, I've since raised it, but it bounces around a bit from 75-80% after spraying to 55-60% by morning. The only other problem is that my night drop was too much thanks to the old book.

Could those two things have caused such a rapid deterioration in his health, or do you think I got him sick from the store and just made it worse with my inexperience?

Being a noob sucks at times!

Wow, goodness me..I do hope your BP comes right soon! I'm not an authority by any means, but sure wouldnt expect an infection to culminate so soon. Wonder if you maybe bought your BP with an infection?

Once again, the more experienced folk in this forum can help, but humidity of 75-80% seems high to me. Usually 50-60% is enough, maybe a little higher during shedding.

Best of luck at the vet..do let us know how it goes!!

RAISE THE HEAT! if i know anything about snakes, they will recover faster and maybe recover easier if you raise the temperature, a hot spot of 95 degrees is usually necessary, but you may want to give him an even hotter spot since he's sick. correct me if i'm off anyone, but heat will help his body fight the infection. I don't think higher humidity will do much for him right now...
the temperatures and stress probably helped get him sick. contact the seller of the animal after you raise temps and see the vet. they need to know about this, their other animals may be infected, and if it dies, you may be able to get a refund or replacement if it was sick to their knowladge when they sold it to you. However, as harsh as it is, you may have caused the RI, so don't expect a refund unless you know the previous owner was not taking proper care of it.

His daytime temps are fine, but I was following bad advice on the night drop and it was 75 at night.

I know I am probably the cause of it, but I am really surprised how fast this has progressed.

Originally Posted by A_Kendergirl

Could those two things have caused such a rapid deterioration in his health, or do you think I got him sick from the store and just made it worse with my inexperience?

Shanti, sorry to hear he got sick. I don't know a whole lot about bp's compared to some, but my first came down with a RI right after I "adopted" him, too. The vet gave me instructions on how to treat him without even using meds and it cleared up pretty quick. At least you caught it early. If I had to guess though, I'd say he was probably borderline sick at the store and the inevitable stress of moving just served as a catalyst for the infection taking hold--not your inexperience. That's what the vet figured caused "Bob's" infection too; he didn't think that it was because of my husbandry or anything I did/didn't do. Anyway, I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Originally Posted by A_Kendergirl

His daytime temps are fine, but I was following bad advice on the night drop and it was 75 at night.

I know I am probably the cause of it, but I am really surprised how fast this has progressed.

Oh. That part I didn't know.

Is that drop in temps in the evening from say 80F to 75F important? I know some folk say a drop in temp is okay, even maybe recommended...I just thought the whole idea was keeping the environment as stable as possible?

I really feel like a heel.

The book says 68 - 73 for the night drop. I thought it sounded low...and figured 75 would be safer. I kept seeing mention of a night drop, but no numbers other than the book. Guess I need to learn the hard way.

Personally unless I am breeding my temps stay the same 24/7. 90-92 on the warm side and 76-80 on the cool.

Oh and kender..... truly sorry to hear you are having troubles with your first snake. Hope things get better, they truly are wonderful animals.