Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted before on my burmese and what looks like water "flying" out of his mouth when you hold him. well last night i was holding him and he was making little hissing sounds and all of a sudden he hissed loud and "water" came out of his mouth. it is clear like water maybe a little thicker than water. he hasnt eaten in a few days because he is shedding and he dont have an appitite. he got over a pneumonia about a month ago and was fine and dandy until now. what could this be? im going to call my vet today but i thought i would ask you people too. thanks alot!!

First, only your vet should make a diagnosis. RI can be a recurring problem and only EXCELLENT HUSBANDRY will keep it under control. You don't mention anything about how you are caring for this animal so my suspicion is that something important is lacking in your snake's environment (improper temps, improper humidity levels, too small of a cage, inadequate or poor quality prey, etc....could be one or multiple factors). Give us some more info and perhaps we can offer some assistance. Rob

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation (IL)

i belive i am providing a good enviroment for him, but im no expert so any comments are welcome. he is a baby still (4 1/2 ft) and i have him in a custom tank i bought off someone. it is really big so he has room, he has a hide box, water supply, heat lamp and i keep his "hot side" of the tank at 85-90 degrees. he will NOT NOT NOT eat pre-killed rats so that is a downside. but he gets them fast and hard and its over in like 1 minute. i feed him 2 times a week only because the vet said to. because he is growing. if he wanted to he would eat everyday lol.he eats medium rats, i dont want to go to full sized until he is bigger. thanks alot

You didn't provide what your humidity levels are....that is perhaps one of the most important but overlooked aspects of proper burmese python care (and the cause for most of the problems associated with RI in my opinion). Your hot spot is okay but I tend to like to provide temps in the 90-92 deg F level on the warmest area while not allowing my coolest area to dip below 80-82 deg. F. I would also caution feeding twice weekly; even for a growing burmese python...but that is just a matter of personal opinion and if you feel that is best for your snake, then you need to do what you feel is best.

If the cage is too dry, your snake will drink excessively and perhaps the liquid coming out is nothing more than water it has recently drank. Keep an eye on those humidity levels (they should be in the 70% range or even a little higher). Hope this helps, Rob

i check humidity often and im sorry for skipping that step. if it gets too low i will mist his cage and check again. i was going to buy a humidifier when he is shedding but a good frien who owns a petstore said it can cause blisters. thanks again for your help. i called the vet and she said if we see him drinking then hold off on holding him for 24 hours and if it still happens to bring him in. thanks alot!!

Anyone answer!

I've been told the humidity should be as high as 70 but almost anything in print states 50-60. I've also read that most burm owners overfeed their snake. I have a book called "What is wrong with my snake" and a burm owners guide and both give approximate amounts for food which would be roughly 2 med rats every 2 weeks for you 4'. Granted they may not grow as fast but if you overfeed them your also taxing their heart and many die from heart failure due to overfeeding. I have a 9' and I was feeding him 3 large or 2 jumbos every 2 weeks. I now feed him 2 large every week religiously for a firm, steady cycle.

A mister! Don't buy one. In order to get one that actually mists rather than just sprinkles you gotta pay lots-a-do! Get a garden sprayer with pressure release valve-$18, a digital garden timer-$45, and a set of misting jets-$15 and make one. If you interested e-mail me and I'll cut out the guess work and tell you exactly how to make it.

DZ

Heya, I am interested too in how you creat a mister with the products you mentione. Would certainly be better to make my own and adjust it rather than one with virtually no settings other than on and off.

Thanks!

Amanda

tenor_goddess2002@yahoo.com