I need help if possible

[iluvmypets]

I have a 1200g male from what i was told ball python i got him from a guy in newoyork that honestly didnt take care of him he had the snake in a 10 gallon tank he came to me with a weezing problems from what it sounds like he is passing gas or passing air out his nose now he looks up and opens his mouth to breath. he has shed twice for me in the 2 months i have had him eatten weekly or twice weekly sense i got him. I didnt know i was suppose to soak him in warm water weekly so shame on me. what can i do for him he is in a 40 gallon breeder with a 150 wattlight now i had a 75 watt before and a heat pad under the tank any ideas should i take him to a vet or is this normal?

[Pink Lady Exotics]

This should be in the discussion forum, not the classifieds forum. Your ball python has a respiratory infection and needs to be seen by a qualified and experienced reptile vet. Call around, don't just go to the first one you find. Who told you that he needs to be soaked weekly? That isn't true. Just make sure he has fresh water to drink at all times and adequate humidity levels, especially during shed. Also make sure you're using a thermostat to control your heat sources and digital thermometers to make sure you know what temps you're keeping him at. A 150w lamp + a heat pad together on a 40g tank is going to be VERY hot (unless your house is about 50 degrees), probably way warmer than he needs and you're going to overheat him. The warm side of his tank needs to be 90-92 degrees, the cool side needs to be 80-82 degrees. Humidity should be 60-65%.

[iluvmypets]

The vet tech or whatever she is from petsmart told me they should be soaked once aweek it helps move the food?

[Pink Lady Exotics]

One thing you'll learn very quickly by talking to other keepers is that pet store people don't know JACK. They do not need to be soaked, they are perfectly capable of digesting food just fine on their own as long as they have heat.

[iluvmypets]

i know he was consiptated too im guessing i put him in a warm bath and he poop all over the tub which is good he had not used the bathroom in 10 days atleast and ate twice sense then

[The BoidSmith]

Discard (yes throw away) the fish tank. Buy a snap-lid sweater box in WalMart. Drill a few holes on its sides. Place water bowl and hide spot in it, and use newspaper as substrate. Heat with a small "cobra" heat pad under it. Inject 30 mg per pound of Tylosin sc for 6 days in a row. Do not offer food until you are done with the treatment.

Regards.

[Pink Lady Exotics]

i know he was consiptated too im guessing i put him in a warm bath and he poop all over the tub which is good he had not used the bathroom in 10 days atleast and ate twice sense then

Snakes often poop in the water, that isn't unusual. They also don't go as often as a dog or cat, they only eat once per week and have very slow digest systems. All of mine poop about every 2 weeks, so 10 days was fine.

[Melinda]

This fella needs medical attention right away. Have someone experienced, check his mouth for Stomatitus.

[JeanieB]

One thing you'll learn very quickly by talking to other keepers is that pet store people don't know JACK. They do not need to be soaked, they are perfectly capable of digesting food just fine on their own as long as they have heat.


ok, i see this said alot on reptile fourms and web sites on the web, i happen to work at a pet store. it isn't a big chain one or anything like that but a small mom & pop place. i work with the reptiles and i like to think i know what i am talking about when people ask question about the animal they are buying, and if i don't know i will pick up a book or do what ever i have to to get the proper info. so when i hear people say that "pet store people dont know JACK" it kind of makes me mad. i know there are alot out there that do say anything to sell things to customers. but labeling all pet store workers as that they dont know jack is very unfair to the rest that do care about the animals and people that they sell to.

[Pink Lady Exotics]

I'll revise that. 99% of pet store people don't know jack. I've been to big chain stores as well as small-time stores ("mom & pop"), and in both I've encountered only a handful of people who had a clue about what they were doing or the animals they were selling. Most of the time, even these people needed a bit of education. Kudos to you for knowing what you're talking about and being willing to do research if you don't.

[Dream]

OKAY time for my .02 as well I too work at a pet store, and YES a BIG name chain store. I started working there about 6 weeks ago and I DO know about the snakes, bearded dragons, and birds that are sold there, when anyone of the sales people need to know something they will come to me and ask.

How do I know about them? I have owned and cared for them for years. I now have 6 snakes, 5 beardies 3 parrots, of my own. ( and lets not leave out my cats and dogs don't want to make them mad. )

we DO NOT sell dogs or cats. and I don't tell people things about reptiles I know nothing about. what I do tell them however is if they would like I will go home and research it on line for them if they don't have a computer.

I do know that many chain stores are bad to give info and not know what the heck they are doing, but at the same time if there were more people like my self and Jeanie who were willing to go out and work in the store everyone is so quick to put down maybe the animals they are selling would stand a better chance at a good start in life.

[Pink Lady Exotics]

I have talked to many people who have worked at pet stores and QUIT because while they knew what they were doing, the management refused to let them make necessary changes or do things the right way (even things as simple as giving the ball pythons a few hiding places or bringing their temps up). I've even requested to speak to the manager of many stores (one particular one back in Texas) and have handed them multiple care sheets, pointed out errors in husbandry, told them reasons why ball pythons and boas shouldn't be housing in the same tank...and they tell me that "they know what they're doing" and I am concerned over nothing. :rolleyes:

I'd love to work at a pet store and share what I know, but I can't afford to live on that income nor can I work those kind of hours with an 8-month-old baby. I do hope to own my own reptile shop in the next few years when we're done with the military and give people the chance to buy healthy animals and have correct information on hand, plus someone who will go around with them and make sure they get everything needed.

[MichiganDragons]

To those couple people who were offended by the whole “pet stores give bad advice” thing, GET OVER IT. It wasn’t meant personally against you. Keep up the good work if you are actually doing “good” work. You are defending your “pet store info” but you didn’t offer any helpful advice. Are you really sure you know what you’re talking about? Just wondering. Also, while you are defending “pet store info” would you say that EVERYONE you work with knows what they are talking about? Would you trust everything your fellow employees tell customers? I’m going to go out on a limb and say NO you wouldn’t. IMO, maybe one out of 10 pet store employees are giving out good advice while the other 9 are probably handing out death certificates (bad advice). It's not that they mean to either or that they are just trying to make sales but they get confused or try to help when they don't know anything and therefor they give out bad advice.

In my experience, I’ve seen some bad info being passed out from pet store employees. It’s seems that, in general, there are only a few people who work at pet stores who actually have experience with reptiles and give out “good” information. I used to work at PetCo myself. I had a guy come in asking questions about a Bearded Dragon he had just purchased from the store I worked at. He had gotten it about 2 weeks before talking to me. The girl who sold it to him did not set him up with the proper lighting or anything. He was wondering why it wouldn’t eat. I asked him about his set-up and found out he didn’t have a UVB light or proper basking temps. I’ve breed Bearded Dragons for 3 years now and I know a little bit about them. I’m just getting into Ball Pythons and I do TONS of online research for ALL my pets. You have to read a lot and then use your brain to filter out the garbage. Not everything online is correct but it’s generally better than what you get from inexperienced pet store employees. I'm not talking about the very few who know what they are talking about.

Now back to the original post.

First, it is in the wrong forum.

Second, make sure you actually have a Ball Python because from what you said you’re not even sure what it is.

Third, you need to use a thermometer to check your temps and not the wattage of light bulb that you’re using. There are too many variables for only wattage to be used to regulate the temps.

Fourth, since when does Petsmart have Vet Techs? Just because someone works at a pet store doesn’t make them an expert. I know I already mentioned that in the first part of this post. I was a reptile specialist at PetCo but it didn’t make me an expert. My many years of reptile experience make me knowledgeable but I’m still not an expert. P.S. there are Vets who know nothing about Reptiles and Exotics and I’m sure even more Vet Techs who know even less.

Fifth, a couple of the other people who have posted comments for you have given you some good advice. Let us know if you found an exotic/reptile Vet in your area and how it turns out.

I didn’t mean to ramble or offend. I rarely post anything but this time I felt like saying something. Also it’s late so I hope everything I said makes sense and if it doesn’t, Oh well. j/k. lol.

Thanks for reading and Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

[Pink Lady Exotics]

Fourth, since when does Petsmart have Vet Techs?

Many PetSmart locations have a Banfield Pet Hospital adjoined or inside the store, so he may have talked to one of their techs. That said, I completely agree with you when you say many vets know nothing about reptiles...even ones that claim to treat them often times don't know what they're talking about. Not even a few weeks ago, someone on another forum I'm part of ended up with 2 of her ball pythons getting severe respiratory infections. After much pushing, she finally had her parents take her to a reptile vet she looked up in the yellow pages. Instead of the usual Baytril injections, this vet told her to soak her snakes in some kind of liquid. They subsequently died because this did nothing for their R.I.'s. :ack2:

[iluvmypets]

little update he is started on shots and was told he will pull threw fine he has sense finshed sheding and still whisles when he breaths in and out but will do just fine im sure thanks

[Schlyne]

Snakes often poop in the water, that isn't unusual. They also don't go as often as a dog or cat, they only eat once per week and have very slow digest systems. All of mine poop about every 2 weeks, so 10 days was fine.


I have several adult ball pythons that go about once a month, which is perfectly normal.

[iluvmypets]

ok this is my males 4th treatment today for a R.I he is still whistling when he breaths in. any ideas?

[Pink Lady Exotics]

It's going to take awhile, especially if he was really bad to begin with. It can take weeks for them to heal.

[The BoidSmith]

You never told us what you are treating him with. Do you still have him in the same enclosure? Have you raised the temperature and the moisture? If your enclosure has a screen lid in the top it may be a little on the dry side.

Regards

[iluvmypets]

he is in a 40 gallon breeder tank with a screen how do i raise the moisture?

[Pink Lady Exotics]

Use coconut husk or aspen as substrate and mist with a spritz bottle.

[iluvmypets]

i was told aspen was really bad

[Scott Ashton]

i was told aspen was really bad

Aspen is perfectly fine.

Pine and cedar shavings are to be avoided as are any other woods that contain aromatic oils.

[The BoidSmith]

Use coconut husk or aspen as substrate and mist with a spritz bottle.

You may also want to cover part of the screen top; monitor the temperatures in the enclosure if you do this.