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Breathing/Shedding problem

E

egdevilboy

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I just recenlt purchased a 2 year old female ball and it appears that her nose is not shedding. She has trouble breathing and tends to breath through her mouth. Also she has not eaten in the last week and i hope that's not due to the breathing problem.

Any suggestions, lemme know.


- Robb
 
also one more question...

Approx. how much space should an adult ball python have for comfortable growth and living? I plan to have about 6 in seperate cages, so whats a good size for each cage?
 
breathing through her mouth is bad. Sounds like it could be a respitory infection. Need a Vet check for that one.

One week not feeding is no big deal. But the breathing issue is. She probably will not feed if she has an RI.

I keep adults in breeding racks, the tubs are 36"X16"X5". This is perfect for young adults, but a bit cramped for older larger balls.

Good luck.
 
It may also be that there is some stuck shed in the nostrils which is clogging them up. You can try to remove it manually, though this is a very sensitive spot. A good long soak may make it easier to get the skin off too. If she's not bubbling or wheezing it is probably clogged nostrils. You might also try getting some really sticky tape, like duct tape and see if you can't remove the stuck skin with that.

good luck and keep us posted

Wes Pollock
 
yea, there is definately unshedded skin over her nostrils. Im working on raising the tempurature in the cage to about 90 F and also raising the humidity. I will try the long soak cause there is not weezing, but there is somewhat of a gasp for air when she opens her mouth.


Thanks much!
 
well, i am working on raising the temp in the cage as we speak to 90F. I was told to let her be in the tank with 48 hours of lighting at the 90 F temp. Also i am trying to create a moist hidebox for her.

She is currently soaking in the tub and we found out that there was a scab over her nose which is now bleeding. What are some recommended medications for this?
 
It should dry up pretty quick. If it doesn't you'll have to get some quickstop or something to help it stop. If it's on the nose though, and this is not uncommon with multiple stuck sheds, it should stop bleeding fairly quick. Put some neosporin or other antibiotic ointment on it but be careful to keep it out of the nostrils and try not to get it on the eye shields. Be sure to soak her when she next goes blue as that will assist in shedding. Eventually the nose will scar and you may not even know that she had problems.

Once the skin on her nose is thoroughly moistened from the soak you may be able to pull it off and out of her nostrils which will help her breathing a lot.

Can you post a picture of her. That would help a lot too.

Wes Pollock
 
Yea we soaked her for about 30 minutes in a nice warm bath. We also opened up the nostrils and she is now breathing through her nose and is happier than ever (even tho she was a little P.O.ed afterwards).

There is still some unshed skin on her nose but its not obstructing anything so we're gonna leave it til her next shed.

Also we got the cage at 90 - 92 F and were gonna keep her in there for 48 hours and raise the humidity a little so possibly we can get the rest of the skin off her nose.


Thanks much.
 
Thanks for the reply about the stuck shed Wes. I didn't even realize that was a possibility (Never has happened here, but now that I think about it, I suppose I should have realized it COULD happen)

egdevilboy~ Keep us updated on how she does, and if you can post pics, please do. I'd like to "see". Thanks!
 
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