Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all, my wife and i have a 2ft male bp, a 3ft male ca-king, and a new 4ft female bp. We got the 4ft fem bp (Zoe) 3 weeks ago. She was doing fine up untill about 1 week ago. I'm worrying she has an RI but I've never had a sick snake including ones i've owned in the past so I'm not quite sure.

I started noticing:

- weird, almost hissing or clicking sounds when she was hanging on my neck or close to my ear.
- constant, all day soaking in water bowl.
- she struck my hand (bite strong enough for my finger to bleed) when i was fixing the bedding and water bowl last night. this is completely out of her character so far...shes very docile...we were shocked because it was no where close to feeding time and, as always, my hands were washed and sanatized with germ-ex.
- as ive read other postings i have noticed that when coiled up, or in her water bowl, she does have her head raised up against the tub or resting at a 45* angle.
- when she struck my hand she got some aspen bedding stuck in her mouth. I took her out and held her gently behind the head to pull the aspen out. I noticed some saliva or something on the aspen chip. My wife held her and she left a couple streaks of this saliva on her shirt. I'm not sure if the saliva is from an RI or if it was induced in trying to get the aspen out of her mouth.
- rubbing her face against a rock the other day.
- i have not noticed any mice.
- the cal king and baby BP are doing fine.

Here are pics and details:
*aspen shavings for bedding
*fake plants
*zoo-med forest moss for additional humidity
*no heating pad (have never used one in the past 6 yrs of owning snakes)
*heat is from infrared bulb with a dimmer switch
*temp and humidity monitored with accurite weather station
*temps are around 80-85 (cool side) and 90-95 (warm side)
*humidity 50-60% (i have a hard time keeping this constant even with the moss and daily misting)
*water is changed daily
*she eats 1 large rat (frozen then thawed) every 7-9 days with no problems

so my questions are:
• Does my snake have an RI?
• What causes an RI?
• Are there any home remedies for it?

Here are pics of enclosure (Click to enlarge):

P.s. Sorry for all the info on post, but i want the best possible answer to my questions.. THANK YOU!!!

P.s.s. Any critique on our enclosure setup will be helpfull..

ok so im not gonna actually tell you youre snake is sick, im not a vet or anything, but i have a ball python (way younger however) with a RI right now. She does make a popping/clicking sound, its very faint, which could be why you hear it when shes around your neck. and mine doesnt have the salivia, but that is a sign. also look for anything coming out her nose. the head tilting up thing is a major sign for these. my snake goes to her water ball (she doesnt hardly ever get all the way in) and rest her head up on it. or on her hide. she also randomly will make a wheezing noise if i scare her or she gets too cold. i took mine to the vet bc these can get really nasty if you let them. they can give you either a shot to give once a day for a week or liquid you syringe down the throat once a day for 3 weeks. i took the syringe (i dont do needles hahha). these take a long time to heal. i have heard of people healing them without meds. just raise the temp in the tank. humidity too if you can. this may not make it go away, i dont know much other to tell you than that, but if it gets worse, vet is probably the best bet. i spent 75 dollars so it wasnt toooo bad. GOOD LUCK!

oh and try to not handle it as much, when they come out the tank or whatever your housing them in, it drops their heat drastically.

and btw, i didnt even read if it was a boy or girl, mines a girl, and i kept sayin she on accident. sorry hahaha

I think maybe you are keeping her too humid. It´s quite dry were they originate from.
I´m not a regius expert, but i would probably only have a little warerbowl and no moss or spraying.

Jonas

I agree with this post. They do not have to be kept so humid. 45-55% will do with a occasional spay down. I use Cypress when I can to hold in humidity, but aspen is fine. Also, does she have mucus coming from her nose? Just because you hear clicking and sniffling when the snake is a inch from your ear doesnt mean she has an RI. I have seen snakes drool water after they have drank and I thought they were sick, but no. I would change the bedding, reduce the misting and keep her at 80-87 degrees way off on one side "hot side" and let it create a natural gradient which will leave the unheated end at like 70-75 degrees. Then watch snake for few days.

As for the soaking, you may want to check for mites if she is soaking that much and you have the cage very humid. I use a 10x loupe and I look at all the snakes scales for the little black/brown buggers. Use a pair of tweezers or dull probe and pull scales back to look under and between. I especially have found them around eyes, in folds of neck and by rear vent. Get yourself some Provent-A-Mite and treat per direction, The stuff is AWESOME!! It is a very good proventative to have on hand anyhow, even if you do not have mites now. Look on google images for mite pics.

Good Luck!

First off I would be safe and take the snake to a vet, you don't want to treat it for an RI and that not be the problem... If your snake does have an RI they are VERY hard to treat without antibiotics. They will probably give you prefilled syringes to give shots once a day. Also talk to the vet about your set up. For me I have mine on cypress mulch (forest floor). I spray the tank once a day (in the morning). The aspen bedding could be too dry.
GOOD LUCK!!

All of the previous posts about the humidity being too high for this species are correct. These are not a lowland tropical species and they therefore require only moderate humidity at best. This python does have the beginnings of an RI. To assist recovery, stop spraying, increase cage ventilation, and increase entire cage temps to low 90's 24/7. If you do not see any improvement in 5 to 7 days, you will need to see a vet. Good luck.

Kelly

it may be because its breeding season, if she is 4 ft, her instincs are probally ready to breed. and females alwasy get testy during that time. atleast a few of ours do, none of them have the same temperment.

....Not saying she dosent have RI, but if you are like the way i get sometimes, i over analyze every movement and changing detail in a new snake. BUT if she in fact dose have RI, her mouth may be slightly open, under her chin could swell, as well has inbetween her eyes, depends on the severity of the RI case. drool, bubbles, wheezing (like a faint whistle) and you can just tell they dont feel good.. but raise the heat, and lower the humidity... if you catch it soon enough you can bake it out of her. or it may lead to you having to take her to a vet and get anitbiotics! Best of luck to you and your snakes!