Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, my ball has been out for 3 weeks, i found her yesterday in the back yard (my little sister decided to "Free" her) so she's been out in the weather, i live in western new york and it got really cold most nights..i tried to get her to eat, and she wouldnt, she lost a LOT of weight but is still active..We got her to drink water last night, but right after drinking it, she rose up and acted like she was trying to regurgitate it..She hissed, then some water came back up, i thought she was dying..Could it be some kind of cold, or respitory infection from being out in the damp cold weather? If so, what can I do to help her out at home..money's a little tight plus vets are closed for the holiday..if anyone can help me out at all, please let me know..also should i try just feeding her a pinky instead of an adult mouse? just to get something in her? any replies are greatly apreciated..shes' my baby..

If it's still cold in NY, I would get her in a warm area and keep it warm until her symptoms clear. That means no night time drop.

You may also want to consider a vet visit as you have no idea what has happened while on its vacation.
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Jay A. Martin

Thank you!! So does it sound like a respitory infection?? Should i offer her food now? How long do these usually take to clear up..Also, if i try feeding her a baby mouse might she accept it better than an adult? She feels really stiff..Any idea why she feels this way, could she be dehydrated? I have her temps around 90 now, is that too hot for her or good..usually it's 85-90 and at night around 80 but if 90s good i will keep it at that all the time til she gets better, should i spray the cage with water for humidity? thank you again

She may have RI. She may not. I would heat the cage 82-85 cool end and 90 on warm end with a localized hot spot of about 95. It depends on how quickly it will clear up, if at all. I don't know her condition. If all she has is minor wheezing, it may be as quick as a week. BPs can go months without food. Leave her alone for at least a week. The cold may have taken a toll. Once she starts coming out at night, you might want to offer some food.

I have successfully cared for boas with RI and I do not spray until after they clear up.
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Jay A. Martin

Well, I've only seen her wheeze like that once and that was after she drank some water and she spat that back up..I'll go fix her tank now to those temps. Thank you so much for your help, I might go talk to a columbian boa breeder i just bought from, he might be able to take a look at her or something. Thank you again, I really hope she pulls through, I Found her, I'm not going to lose her again.. I'll keep you posted on her condition....

and after all that clears up, you might want to get her to a vet anyways to have her checked for mites and internal parasites.

She may have coughed the water back up because she drank to much to fast...just a thought though.

keep a hot spot of 93-96 and cool side 80-85 degrees.
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose, 1.0 red blood

Thanks, I thought so too because after she drank I picked her up because she was acting weird and out came the water..She's set up in a 10 gallon for now so I can keep her temps perfect, she drank a lot of water and soaked in it last night, she seems to be doing better this morning I think she'll be fine, but she still feels really stiff, could this just be from being hungry? Thanks again so much

>>Hi, my ball has been out for 3 weeks, i found her yesterday in the back yard (my little sister decided to "Free" her) so she's been out in the weather, i live in western new york and it got really cold most nights..i tried to get her to eat, and she wouldnt, she lost a LOT of weight but is still active..We got her to drink water last night, but right after drinking it, she rose up and acted like she was trying to regurgitate it..She hissed, then some water came back up, i thought she was dying..Could it be some kind of cold, or respitory infection from being out in the damp cold weather? If so, what can I do to help her out at home..money's a little tight plus vets are closed for the holiday..if anyone can help me out at all, please let me know..also should i try just feeding her a pinky instead of an adult mouse? just to get something in her? any replies are greatly apreciated..shes' my baby..

If she had food in her system before the chill she could have food rotting in her gut and or a URI and or have it all go systemic and you will end up with a dead snake. I personally would find a way to get her vet checked. It was near freezing in my part of western NY the last few nights and even 50s is going to do more than 'chill' her. Don't try to feed her for a week or two. Then I would go with smaller prey than 'normal' so as not to tax her system.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

thanks..i took her to the breeder i bought her from today, he said she may just be really constipated and to soak her in warm water for awhile, i think i'll try that..she's holdin water down now and alot more active..i can try to take her to a vet but its really hard i am in school and my parents dont see the point in taking a snake to the vet, but my fiancee's mom said she might pay for the visit..i hope she makes it..thanks again