I jsut recieved a Ball via Fedex. My question is probably easy, but since this is my first Snake i have had shipped, i am a little concerned. He seems to ahve had a rough shed and has i believe retained the skin on his head. also it looks as though his nostrils are closed up by either skin or possibly an underlying RI. I gave his a warm soak when i got him to try to loosen it up a little and it seems to have helped a little with the nostrils. When he breaths, It seems he is breathing very deeply and i hear slight clicking, which i think may be the RI. Seeing as though he is still a baby (few months) and he was in fact jsut shipped, what would be the best place to start tog et him heading towards recovery? THis is my first Ball but not my first snake... I have never had a snake with these symptoms, so any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.
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New Ball concerns
Replies (5)
Another note... He is in his tank, and he doesnt seem "sick" in that he is moving about the cage, but he seems more concerned with rubbing his head and nose on objects in the cage in what i think is his attempt to get whatever is in his nose out... maybe I am way off, but it seems to be the case.. But atleast he is active and not just laying there..
i would make sure he is kept warm,in a warmer part of your house,unless you have a room for snakes,that is heated to 87,with a warm spot of 92,if your using a cage set up like in a living room ,but form bourd around the cage so it doesn't lose heat fast.Just keep him warm and see ,and after a week if that doesn't help, take him to a vet asap hope this helps
Greg Van Zweden
http://www.geocities.com/vanzwedensreptiles/
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NOW I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS WHAT YOUR ANIMAL HAS ,BUT A FRIEND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH AN IMPORT PIEBALD THAT WAS IN THE COUNTRY FOR AWILE, HE SAID THE ONLY WAY HE COULD DESCRIBE IT WAS THAT IT WAS CLICKING ,IT HAD A CLICK THE ANIMAL DIED A WEEK OR 2 LATER FROM I.B.D (INCLUSION BODY DISEASE) IT ALSO HAD A R.I, BUT RESP IS ALWAYS AN UNDERLINING AILMENT ,I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS YOUR ANIMALS PROB ,BUT THIS IS THE 2ND TIME IN MY LIFE SOMEONE SAID A BALL WAS CLICKING. SO BE CAREFUL.
P.S I NEVER POST ,BUT THIS I THOUGHT I COULD HELP YOU ON.
Sounds like your ball has an RI and a bad shed. In your first post I think you were a little confusing, does he had a whole head of skin that hasn't come off??? Either way it has a respitory infection most likely so get to a vet and talk to the person who shipped it to you. Right now you can raise his temps in his tank a little higher than they were before to help fight the infection. Also if he has retained some shedding around his head you can put him in a wet pillow case (not cold) and let him work it off in the pillow case before taking him out.
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, it looks as though his entire head has retained shed. I have been checking on him all evening.. He doesnt seem to be in any kind of distress, seems to e breathing heavy, but maybe its because he is so small. His eyes definitely have retained eye-caps as they are wrinkled. I am work tomorrow for a 24 hour shift, but I will definitely take him to a vet on Thursday to be looked at. If for no other reason than peace of mind. I have exchanged E-mails with the person i purchased him from, and they told me they would stand by me through this as they guarantee 100% satisfaction, so for that I am very thankful...
