Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just recently moved to north carolina from pa just about a week or two ago. just the other night i started to knotice that my one ball whos name is kennan looked different then the others. so i went over and picked him up and started crying because of his condition. i feel terrible but i dont know what to do. i guess its from stress. hes not eating or drinking much. i try and try to give him food but he wont eat. money is rough right now because of the move, and i dont have everybody's homes all set up yet. i dont know whats wrong with him. can somebody help me and tell me what i should do? please.

What exactly is his condition? Is he wheezing or gasping or making gurgling noises? Is he lethargic or unresponsive? A complete list of symtoms would help a lot.

Keep your chin up...

Chris
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he will lift his neck and head up into the air and kinda open up his mouth kinda make a hissing caugh sound. hes looking worse and worse. his skin is dry and flaky, he has a bowl next to him and he just curls around it and lays there. he doesnt move much he just kinda looks around, he even rubs his nose against everything, even against his body. i dont know what do to, ive never experienced something like this, and iam new to the ball python species. i have only own them for a few months now. his color used to be like a tanish brown, (like the normal coloring of a ball) but know its like a black and dark chocolate brown color. im scared! i dont want to lose him because i love this little guy, but i do not have any money. i dont want to give him away because i would feel like i have failed in owning him and the others. i love him!

I don't think giving the animal to someone more experienced to save it's life is failing. Don't be so hard on yourself. I feel (IMO) that you should address dehydration first. A dehydrated snake is way more prone to disease. If the snake is drinking on it's own try adding some sport drink in with the water. Make sure it's loaded with electrolytes. I'd mix it half and half. If the snake is not drinking on it's own, you'll need to get a feeding tube and administer the sport drink yourself. What ever you do make sure that is in the best interests of the animal and not you.

Good luck, Quinton

Force feeding is VERY stressfull, and can sometimes do more harm than good. Be carefull, and do some more research befor you go attempting this on your own.

I may be way off here, really what you should do is take him to a vet and have him looked at for sure. But everything you described can occur when a snake is having a hard time with its shed. Maybe not the cough, but if you have low humidity and he's unable to shed right, then sometimes there can be a sneezing sound from the dry skin irritating him, but the color change, the flaky skin, the nose rub, the open mouth, laying next to the bowl, just laying around, it's all signs of a snake having problems with his shed. It's really hard to tell without more information, like how has he been eating, what are his temps and humidity, what kind of set up you have him in, etc. It could be a shed problem or it could also be something else, best to take him to a vet.
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Tosha

"Of course, this is just my opinion...and I believe I am God." -- Christopher Bianco

6.24.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope John Paul)
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 Pool skimmer rescues for this season

Couldn't the low humidity cause both the bad shed and the respiratory problems? Humidity sounds good. Look into it. But first...get that animal to a vet. Make a payment plan. Ten dollars a week. Something.

Good Luck,
Chris
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(insert something profound with a touch of humor here)

I agree with Chris. You should really get the little guy to a vet asap. Most all vets will take a credit card and like Chris said, some will let you make payments. It will be worth it. Good luck!!

the only thing i can say is that gravid female ball pythons will wrap around their water bowl for a period of time, they will usually not eat at all, stay very inactive and soon go into a Pre-Lay shed, but i am only an owner, not a breeder so I am not fully qualified to diagnose your snake with something. If some one has something to add on to what i said, by all means do so.