ri balls

[greg19]

I have two balls .every time i set them at 88 they start rattling i dont know why.there bedding is dry,the humidity statnys between 45/60 they have been to the vet at university of tn they used ceftiofur first then zithromax and they were clearing up.now one is better so i thought i put her in the breeding colony two weeks ago and now shes acting funny so i pulled her out and its like its getting worse again.i notised me temp fluxuation is droping doown to78 at knight and climbing to the upper 80s in the day.the vet said its a gram negitive bacteria called sicromidized bac.caused by high humidity and mold or mildew,but i clean every 2 weeks wash bowls the inside of the 40s and all.when i put these 2 snakes in with my health balls it starts again.i keep them on coco soft with an under the tank heater 100w heat emitter on top and i put a 20 to 40 gallon stick on heatmatt on the bottom,the heat matt of course,the bed temp is eighty two to eighty four,and the tank temp goes up and down with the weather dropping to about seventy eight and it don't seem to bother the other ones I can't seem to figure out why its doing that to just two of them.they all eat like clockwork.could stab ility bother just two or could I have another problem going on.I have combed the internet for answers and talked to a llocal breeder friend at the critter barn named larry brown who says higher humidity ercombinedned withhotter temps will help them and when I do that they go of feed.let me know what I'm doing wrong. Thanks

[Matt2979]

I keep my hot spot around 90. I would recommend keeping them in quarantine for at least 60-90 days after their symptoms go away, just to be sure that whatever is causing those symptoms is really gone.

[greg19]

They will be.thankyou

[dustinNMpythons]

might want to swith out the coco fiber bedding too because it might hold humidity too well

[MrBig]

I too suggest not using straight coco husk. First it sticks to the snakes and second it holds humidity too well. I use a blend of coco husk and cypress mulch and humidity stays high.

[greg19]

The coco I have stays dry because I let the mothers hatch there own I don't wet it or spray it I have the emitter over a large water bowl and change it periodacly it seems to work pretty good that wayand after I had a snake die do to the cypress I don't use it anymore.she struck and stabbed her throut straight through my question is could stability bother just one or two if the other ones do fine

[dustinNMpythons]

I don't use either, I use aspen and have NEVER had any issues exept when aspen gets wet it does decompose faster than others.

[Matt2979]

After re-reading what I posted yesterday, I left out half of my thought! lol (Guess I got distracted.)

I also agree that your humidity is very likely too high with the coco fiber. Personally, I prefer to use paper for all of my balls. It can't be spot cleaned as easy as some substrate, but I've never had any problems. With most substrate, I've always worried about it sticking to a rat as my snake swallowed it.

[GREGORY J HALL]

The coco I have stays dry because I let the mothers hatch there own I don't wet it or spray it I have the emitter over a large water bowl and change it periodacly it seems to work pretty good that wayand after I had a snake die do to the cypress I don't use it anymore.she struck and stabbed her throut straight through my question is could stability bother just one or two if the other ones do fine

?you let them incubate thier own eggs? Why ?thats alot of stress on the females? you cannot dublicate natural conditions?

[Matt2979]

The coco I have stays dry because I let the mothers hatch there own I don't wet it or spray it I have the emitter over a large water bowl and change it periodacly it seems to work pretty good that wayand after I had a snake die do to the cypress I don't use it anymore.she struck and stabbed her throut straight through my question is could stability bother just one or two if the other ones do fine

Since I missed this, this morning, I guess my last post wasn't of much help, either. I was guessing the coco was NOT kept dry.

But to answer the question in bold, fluctuations can cause problems with any of them, but it's no guarantee that it will or won't. In nature, only the strong survive. In captivity, we offer many of those that would die a chance to live and thrive. In other words, what might one sick will not necessarily make them all sick; however, with continued fluctuations, my money would be on more getting sick before long.

[MrBig]

If your coco is kept dry then there is no way you are maintaining a 60% humidity. Coco will actually wic humidity/water from the surroundings if it doesn't contain enough moisture. As to loosing a snake to cypress, I'm sorry to hear that. However using triple shredded mulch and removing large pieces negates this issue. The fact that your temps fluctuate 10-12 degrees is an issue that needs addressed as well, my temps don't fluctuate that much and I use a night drop thermo. The fact that dry coco husk is basically a dust that can be inhaled could be adding issues to the RI situation. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, but I would find a new substrate you can live with.

[MrBig]

After rereading your post and noticing that you use a heat emitter, you aren't housing all of these"healthy" balls in one enclosure are you? if so I would change that immediately. I would not even think about reintroduction until you have appropriate housing for each snake individually.

[scratchypen]

1. Make sure they have their space
2. Just go to the feed store and purchase a $50 hovabator and there you go. Make sure temps are good, stick some perilite (or vermiculite or mix) in a container, get it damp (lots of info online on correct dampness for each egg hatching substrate) and hatch your eggs that way..way easier
3. I use a mix of aspen and cypress. BPs do not need as high humidity as a brb or something like that (I keep those on a cypress/coco fiber mix). Coco fiber is so dusty im not sure why you would want to use it. That could be what is causing your issues, that they are breathing in the dust, especially if its really dry. I have to keep it damp for my brbs or they can sometimes show problems because they get it in their nostrils.
4. Everyone else seemed to have good suggestions I think.
5. And why are you trying to put snakes that were sick back in with your other snakes so quickly? Seriously, normal quarantine for me is about 90 days, if they show any sign of being sick, even if its something as minor as missing a meal, they earned themselves an extra 3 months in quarantine.

[greg19]

I would agree the fluxuations are my hole problem.I guess over the years my trailor has witthered away.welp that's it I'm going to go buy a new one asap.what is the minimum and max fluxuations they can handle

[greg19]

I have seprate housing for each but rarly use it I leave two males in with four fms. Trying to get them to breed but my fluxes are preventing it they aren't breeding I havnt tryed in a couple of years and I have always let the mothers do it I do have incubation boxes ready incase they kick an egg and use spagnum moss for. Wormth and a thin layer of damp vermiculite to hold humidity the coco I put one cup of water on it in there hid but yes the rest is dry could the dust really be causing. A problem. And I set the incubation temp at eightyeight I'm going to buy a new home ordering it first week of april shoul be here by may

[MrBig]

One of the reasons they may not be breeding is because you are housing 6 balls together. Way stressfull and not conducive to breeding. Each snake needs it's own enclosure, and when you get all the other issues settled, then you could start to work on breeding again. Do this by introducing 1 male into a lone females enclosure for 3 days on and 3 days off. Yes the dust from coco is extremely fine and WILL cause resperatory problems. I only use in a mixture with other bedding and I keep it moist with daily spraying. I try to keep my hotspot within 2 degrees and my ambient temp fluctuates no more then 4 degrees year round. With night drop, I lower temps by 5 degrees at night and it never varies more then a degree or 2 from that. 89 hotspot with 82 ambient. Before you go buy a new home for you, I would go buy an individual home for each of your snakes.

[GREGORY J HALL]

we all know what works thats the best way to keep, in a rack system bythemselves.

[greg19]

I have a rack of forty gallon breeders stacked three high,I also have a four stack rack and I have a stack of ten gallons for my juvies.so the space is for each tens for the juvies and rack systems for the rest.so they do have there own