RI advice

I have an 07 girl that recently developed an RI, I think. She has been wheezing but really no excess fluid that I have seen. She has the same temps and humidity as all my others in the same rack. They are all fine. I've been cleaning her tub and bowl daily and giving fresh substrate. I have no vet nearby that will look at a snake. Any other advice would be great!

If she's wheezing, are you also finding dried mucous smeared on the sides of her tub? A lot of times, if you catch the RI early enough, you can get rid of it without medicine, but I'm NOT suggesting a vet is not needed. Just trying to help since you said you have none available.

First of all, get her away from the rest of your snakes. It may not be contagious, but that depends on what caused the RI and there is no need to take that chance. Bump up her temps 3-5 degrees warmer than they are now and try to feed her. Sometimes the heat alone and a meal will give them the strength to heal themselves (that's straight from the mouth of Dr Wilson at my vet's office).

If she has excessive mucous in her mouth, you need to get it out so she can breath through her nose. If you can carefully pry her mouth open, you can remove it from the top of her mouth with a Q-tip, but this can be tricky if you've never done it before. (You don't want to hurt her!) Soaking in a warm bath can be good, too.

There was a little dried mucus the first couple of days but I haven't seen any since. She is still wheezing though. I will separate her tonight. They are all around 83-86 degrees depending on time of day. So I should put hers around 89?

Originally Posted by AdamR

There was a little dried mucus the first couple of days but I haven't seen any since. She is still wheezing though. I will separate her tonight. They are all around 83-86 degrees depending on time of day. So I should put hers around 89?

Honestly, that could be why she got sick. I make sure that mine have a hot side of at least about 90 (about meaning never lower than 89, no higher than 92). Her temp may need to be jumped up to about 93-95, at least for a few days.

I will asap! I guess I've been neglectful, when I first got into the hobby I was told 85 was good, but I trust you as a more experienced keeper. Thanks for letting me know, now I'm truly angry that this could be my fault. She would not eat last week after several offers of a sm/med rat, what she usually eats. Should I do anything with her humidity? It is at 60 most of the time.

I agree with matt. Except I bump my girls up to 89 and keep the substrate moist or an xl water bowl is good to bump humidity up a good bit. I never feed mine during there time with an ri as I think it might be too stressful to have to worry about a ray while trying to breTh but I like the idea of extra strength
Good luck

I kept my snakes in racks and the back over the heat cable was always 90 degrees, the front area was 75-80. They need to have a temperature gradient so that they can thermoregulate themselves (move back and forth to adjust their body temperature). The ambient temp isn't as vital as needing the warm spot to curl up in being set at 89-90 (highest being 92). Belly heat is always best.

I would pull her from the rack and set her up in a tub in a separate room with a head pad, a thermostat, and some paper towel as substrate (this will allow you to see any mucuous and the color of it). Keep the humdity steady and over 50% as it will help her dislodge any mucous she might have in her lungs. Give her some time to beat this on her own. If it continues or gets worse, you will need to find a reptile vet, even if you have to drive a little ways. Good luck!

She is in a 32qt tub and her water bowl is def big enough for her to soak her entire body plus a little extra. I will have to move her into a different room and use heat lamps instead of the heat tape I have in the rack. Is this ok?

That is great! Thank you! I was mistaken, its a 40qt tub. The rack has belly heat and a lamp on a timer strictly to give them a sense of night and day. I will have to go get a heat pad, I dont have a spare unfortunately, but if it helps i will do it!

Ball pythons spend the majority of their time curled up in burrows. They move in, kill and consume the rodent inhabitant, and then stay there for days to digest. Then they come out at night, move to the next burrow, do it again. They don't bask under the sun like a lizard, they absorb heat from the earth -- so belly heat is a must, lamps don't provide the correct heat. All heat sources should be regulated by a thermostat as they easily get burned.

Ball pythons don't really need to soak -- often times they will do it out of insecurity and will give themselves blisters and scale rot. All you need is a water dish that can't be tipped over and fresh water daily. I used PVC pipe couplings with plastic deli cups inside. They fit perfectly.

I would definitely move her to a separate location and always work with your healthy snakes before doing anything with her or her enclosure. Always wash your hands and arms, wear gloves, etc. RI's can be viral and can spread.