How to cure RI [Archive] - sSNAKESs : Reptile Forum

CamHanna

10-08-04, 11:09 PM

Yeah, you could just dink around with your sick snake and replace it if dies, but chances are good that the replacement will need some kind of veterinary assistance in the future. So will you dispose of that one in favour of a $100 replacement?

I tend to think of the price tag on an animal only as what you pay for the privilege of working with the animal; the cost of the animal is the price of the animal plus housing, feed, veterinary care and everything else that creeps up. Just my thoughts.

Cam

Joe

10-08-04, 11:22 PM

I think it's kinda rude to say is it worth it?... you chose to have that animal... not the animal choosing you, if you cant care for and get the necessaryvetrinary care for it, it's your problem not the animals... If it's such a chore to take care of your animals maybe your in the wrong hobby... best of luck bud!

mykee

10-09-04, 12:02 AM

VI; what a disgusting attitude. I hope you NEVER have children. I guess this is going to be #11. Grow up.

snakesterdelux

10-09-04, 12:29 AM

VI: You never cese to amaze me with your comments .. unreal.. maybe try something like chess or monopoly because reptiles definitly arn't your thing

emroul

10-09-04, 12:39 AM

Originally posted by VI Reptiles
Hi, how high does the moisture have to be to cure RI

Do you even CARE? If not, why not go for a hobby that doesn't involve animals; that way you don't send these creatures to deaths' door. Geez... :mad:

A respiratory infection requires medical treatment/antibiotics 9 times out of 10. If you don't care, give it to a shelter or something, don't just let it die because YOU didn't feel like spending your precious gas money.

Sorry but that ticks me off.

Jennifer

Tim_Cranwill

10-09-04, 12:43 AM

10 words...

Crank up the heat a bit and keep it <b>dry</b>.

Cold and wet are the REASONS they get RIs, not the cure. If you let it go too long, it can become a chronic thing. Get on top of it. Don't make the animal suffer for YOUR laziness. YOU are all it has... as scary as that is.

Syco

10-09-04, 07:46 AM

Originally posted by VI Reptiles
Hi, I got my first bp 9 months ago and now im getting 3-4 more next weekend. Is it worth it to get 1.4 Rats or is it not? Im planning by the end of 2005 im gonna have 20 bps hopefully and then im guessing i'l need rats constantly.

Not if you keep killing off your snakes!
Seriously, you posted this in the Feeder Forum and then went on to say that Mykee and others might be buying snakes from you some day. Gimme a break here!
If you can afford to buy these het BPs and care for them why can't you get this one to the vet? Do you think breeding snakes is going to be cheap and all profit? I'm truly hoping you are just a Troll that has infested these forums and don't have any reptiles at all. If not...... I really feel sorry for the ones in your care. :(

robitza

10-09-04, 09:59 AM

I don't think VI deserves the opportunity to work with such great creatures. In my area there is a reptile rescue facility that would come to your home if they heard of such speak and remove the animal with police assistance. The animal would be treated and given to a caring responsible person.

My ball, Chip, had a burn that I was successfully treating. I still took him to the vet, 125km away and paid the fees for the vet to look at him. The vet said that whatever I was doing keep doing it. I didn't want the burn to become infected so the money was worth it when the burn disappeared with his next molt. Not even a scare.

If you want a snake so bad then look after it! I see this so much, people getting animals they have no clue how to raise. Then when they are sick they don't really care enough to do anything about it.

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 10:54 AM

ok, ok, I just thought of something! Im going down tommowrow and will bring it in to the vet and have him checked out and whatever they wanna do they can do. Im guessing its worth it because it could be a female which I need and if it dies I will have to start all over again. The snakes only had it for 3 days, can it still die by tommowrow?

BoidKeeper

10-09-04, 11:13 AM

ugh, to go to a vet I have to drive 70km.......... probably $40 on fuel there then another 100+ just to pay for the medicine etc.... Is it worth it even??? $100 snake and pay $140 for it?
I think you should have thought about this before getting a snake. The price you pay for a living thing is irrelevant. Of course it's worth it. That snake didn't ask to live with you and if you can't provide it with everything it needs than maybe you shouldn't have it. These animals are not expendable. Keeping them is a privilege, not a right. You have taken on the responsibility of caring for another living thing and in doing so you owe it everything it needs to be safe from harm and healthy. It's sick in your care than it's your responsibility to make it better in your care.

How do you even know the snake is sick? Im guessing its worth it because it could be a female which I need and if it dies I will have to start all over again.
You're guessing it's worth it because it's a female???? It's not a stock or a bond or cash cow; it's a living thing. "You'll" have to start all over! What about the poor animal that lost its life because you didn't put in the time needed to know how to care for the animals properly? If you are asking whether or not it will be dead by tomorrow that tells me you don't know much about RIs. You came here and asked us to do your work for you.
I hate like heck to say this but buddy I think unless you change your attitude real fast you should sell your snakes to someone who either knows what they are doing or has what you appear to be lacking, a willingness to learn for themselves.
Yes we were all newbies once and in many ways I still am but no one held my hand or read the snake books to me. Why should we do it for you?
Your animals are not investments they are animals, work on your attitude buddy.
Trevor
PS
You're trying to breed these animals so you can sell them obviously. Well best of luck to you selling them in the highly competitive Canadian market where reputation is everything.

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 11:52 AM

I'l do my best to take him in tommowrow and have him checked out and whatever the vet will want to do with him! Im not into reptiles because of the money, I like them so much and I hate it when my animals get sick!!! What I was saying is that because he/she is my first snake I wanna keep it and maybe breed it later. Ok, one thing is I just didnt go to the petstore and buy the damn thing! First my parents would never never ever let me get a snake for 2 years so between then and when I got the snake I researched them over and over again. Then again maybe the snake isnt sick! but id rather take it in and be lucky then have to deal with a dead snake. I agree im quite a nooby but I wont quit because my reptile dies. Its trial and error when your a nooby. My parents also said that if my snake dies I wont get another one! I will do my best to keep it alive for a long long time.

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 12:00 PM

ok, I looked at a care sheet and I looked at a part called "is my bp sick"? My bp isnt breathing with his mouth open or is blowing bubbles or has mucus in his mouth! he is just sometimes makes a weezing sound and thats it! Maybe a very minor case of RI??? He had a retained shed but got it off and thats what i thought was why. Would he still be making the sound if he had got off the retained shed?

mykee

10-09-04, 12:11 PM

GO TO A VET!

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 12:17 PM

I cant today but monday I can!

marisa

10-09-04, 12:24 PM

Take this advice and you will never have problems again.

Get a job. A decent one.

Wow suddenly, you'll have money for transportation to vets, money for pets, and money to treat those pets if need be. If you do NOT have your own source of cash readily available, breeding snakes will NEVER happen for you. Never.

If you are in school, and do not have time for a good job, then it's simply not the right time to be thinking about pets because school is more important.

Marisa

Tim_Cranwill

10-09-04, 12:53 PM

Originally posted by VI Reptiles
First my parents would never never ever let me get a snake for 2 years so between then and when I got the snake I researched them over and over again.

Then why is it you're asking some of the most basic questions? Were you researching hunsbandry or how much each morph is worth?

BoidKeeper

10-09-04, 12:59 PM

Its trial and error when your a nooby.
Maybe if you are a newbie to an undiscovered species. But if you have a ball or a corn and you can read...there is no trial and error. The trial and error with this species occured before you were born.
If you've done your reaserch like you claim you have you wouldn't be asking some of the questions that you are asking.
If you did your reaserch you would know that sometimes snakes wise during a shed cycle.
Best of luck on Tuesday I hope it's nothing.
In the mean time maybe you could help us help you.
What are you using for a cage, type, size etc?
How are you heating it?
What are you using to measure the temperature in the cage?
What is the temp on the hot spot, cold spot, in the room and how cold is the room the snake is getting at night?
What are you using for substrate?
How many snakes do you have per cage?
What are you feeding them?
Where did they come from?
How old are they?
What books do you have? Maybe we can tell right where to look in them to help solve your problem.
Trevor

Artemis

10-09-04, 02:34 PM

Wow, VI, it was like a week and half ago I told you to get to a vet, I believe. Tell ya what. Instead of that, just ship your snake to me, and Ill hope he makes it here and take care of him myself aftert that. Yeesh.

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 03:51 PM

boid keeper :

40 gallon tank
stick on thermometor (im feeling ur gonna tell me to get a probe)
gonna get a probe
Room temp : about 90
I keep the uth on all night and thats where he mostly spends.
The snake room goes down to 80
damp newspaper as the substrate
1 snake per cage
2 adult mice
petstore
11 months +
"philippe de vosjoli's" ball python manual

Thanks boid!

mykee

10-09-04, 04:28 PM

1..Damp newspaper is the reason your BP has an RI. Bad choice. Newspaper (DRY) repti-carpet (DRY) Aspen shavings (DRY) etc...
2. That book is terribly outdated. Time to get a book that was written in this millenium. So much has been learned since.
3. 2 adult mice = 1 small adult rat. Switch over ASAP.
4. "Snake Room" for ONE SNAKE!! You mean bedroom.
5. Warm side 90-95 all the time, cool side 75-85 all the time.
6. Probe, probe probe.
This is all BASIC husbandry that you would have learned reading any book on the husbandry of BP's. Let me know when you have snakes for sale.....

CamHanna

10-09-04, 04:32 PM

God-damn-it Mykee, I was going to point out the substrate and feel like a big shot. Way to steal my thunder.;)

Good Luck VI.

mykee

10-09-04, 05:18 PM

Sorry, you snooze, you looze. It was just such a red flag, that something had to be mentioned.

zero&stich

10-09-04, 06:11 PM

VI,
I'm sorry that everyone jumped down your throught but I can understand from a hobbyist point of view why so many got upset with you. For exp ill-judgement on seeking vet help right away and seeming like "just out for the moolah". Perhaps it was the way you worded everythin and that may be the reason why so many got offensive. Everyone here was just giving their opinion and though some were harsh, open both ears and take all the advice in. You have to remember for many of us this hobby is a passion and when we see someone "not giving there full potencial" to the care of an animal, it's hard for most of us to grasp, like neglect.

Second, more books and education the better :) . Unfortunatly some of us have been keepin herps so long that when we see a basic question as you asked about a possiable resportory infection we're quick to jump, which isn't nessessarily a good thing but way I see it, if you don't know an answer than its not a dumb question. So don't feel bad bout that or be afraid to ask questions. That's how you learn. Just expect critizism.

Reading over everything, I would have to agree with most of everyones advice, that you should have done a bit more researching.

Now to give my advice on your question, lol.
Lowering the humidity and raisin the temps so the effect your goin for is a dry environment. Try placing yourself in a posistion that if you had resportory problems and were havin trouble breething, would high humidity help you? Think outside in the summer. When it reaches say around 80% humidity it is a bit hard to breath, right? But say if you lived in Arizona, there is very little humidity and just dry heat which is more tolerable than high humidity. Does that help you out?

All in all, echoing everyone else seeking professional advice with someone who has a degree in herpotology and is well aquainted with herp is a good way to go. May I suggest compiling as much info you can find bout this problem and take notes and prosent them to a vet and go from there and narrow things down.

Sorry for the long post.
(writer, lol)
Good luck,
Jess

mykee

10-09-04, 06:47 PM

You don't want a dry environment as was stated above. You just don't want an overly humid environment. 50-60% (as normal) will work well. Just increase the temps and get to a vet.

zero&stich

10-09-04, 06:55 PM

You don't want a dry environment as was stated above. You just don't want an overly humid environment. 50-60% (as normal) will work well. Just increase the temps and get to a vet.

See what I mean VI by wording somethin wrong? lol.

Mykee, I appogize. Thanks for clearing that up. :) Apperiate(sp?) it. :p

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 07:56 PM

ok, thanks for standing up for a big newbie like myself! Eh, im just wondering how can you keep up the moisture with newspaper? I had damp newspaper in there to get his retained shed off which came off nicely! Im not sure if anything will be open tommowrow because of thanks giving but on tuesday I will get some aspen bedding, a probe and whatever else you guys think I need for a successfull bp and newbie

CamHanna

10-09-04, 09:26 PM

When I want to change the humidity I change the size of the water bowl. Another good way to raise humidity is to use moist paper towel. News print doesn't absorb much water, meaning that your ball is sitting on soggy substrate (can lead to skin problems). Have you used a hygrometer to actually measure the humidity? I find that my snakes normally stay about 55-65 with very little intervention on my part.

Corey Woods

10-09-04, 09:35 PM

Well here's my advice. I figured I'd let everyone yell at everyone else before I added in my two cents.

First off it sounds like your little guy has a very mild RI infection......if any at all. If the humidity is kept too low sometimes shed skin gets stuck in the nostrils and makes them whistle when they breathe. This can be missidentified as a RI infection. Before doing anything I'd check to make sure he doesn't have any restricted breathing. Clogged nostrils are very common when you keep them on any type of mulch or bark chips.

Now, for treating a mild RI infection I wouldn't go to the vet. First off I'd put him in a rubbermaid (Balls do better in rubbermaids anyways). You'll want to give him a hot spot of 100-110 F and put his hide box on the hot spot. Also, you'll want to INCREASE the humidity as close to 100% as possible. The higher humidity will increase his metabolism to help fight off any infection. The higher humidity will help break up all the flem in his system to help clear him up quicker.

I've seen all the posts above where people advise to lower the humidity. IMHO this is the wrong thing to do. How many of you have had a stuffed up nose and then had a really hot shower.......makes you breathe a whole lot better doesn't it? If the snake can clear out his system of flem it'll reduce his stress level as well as giving his lungs a chance to heal.

Cold and wet isn't good..................hot and wet is good. Actually, the hotter you get him the more water you need to give him. The higher temps not only increase his metabolism it also evaporates all the water too. If the snake is allowed to get dehydrated (which happens quickly with high temps) you'll end up killing him.

After all this is said my question to everyone is..................how many people above advising to use lower humidity to treat an RI have actually treated an RI infection using this method? I think this is another case of people offering up advice without having done it themselves..........verbal diarhea?.........Oh, theirs me sounding like a prick again (don't worry.......I make it look easy...lol).

Good luck with your snake.
Corey

Corey Woods

10-09-04, 09:38 PM

Above I should have said the following in the third paragraph -

The higher temps will increase his metabolism to help fight off any infection. The higher humidity will help break up all the flem in his system to help clear him up quicker.

Corey

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 09:40 PM

ya I have a hydrometer and it was at 40% so somone told me to put newspaper and wet it down nicely, not like sitting watter but nicely wet. It seemed to fix my problem well and now my humidity is at 60-65%. my mom is gonna take my snake to the vet for a full check-up when she goes to work (her break). Im just wondering how she can keep my snake nice and warm for 2-3 hours at the most. Will cardboard hold in the heat good? maybe I will put in a nice warm water bag to keep it warm? I will take all ideas into consideration.

VI Reptiles

10-09-04, 09:50 PM

Corey, im actually gonna make a rack system next week. If i get a rubbermaid can i just put the rubbermaid inside his 40 gallon on top of the uth or do you think he can wait till next week, right now I can keep the humidity to 90-100% humidity for 2 hours but I will cover up the top so less humidity will be lost. When I go to school i will give a nice mist and when I come home a nice mist will happen. Ok, another question we went to walmart today and I told my dad that people keep there snakes in rubbermaid containers and of course he thought, oh thats BS! He also thinks 2 mice every 4 days is BS! If you guys can confirm its not BS then I can show my dad and he will believe me. Heh heh, i'l show him :)

CamHanna

10-09-04, 09:55 PM

Coolers and styrofoam hold heat really well. Be careful with your heat sources. It's better the snake be a little cool than A LOT warm.

zero&stich

10-09-04, 10:01 PM

ok, thanks for standing up for a big newbie like myself! We all learn somethin new or improve on something everyday. That's human nature.

CamHanna

10-09-04, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by VI Reptiles
Ok, another question we went to walmart today and I told my dad that people keep there snakes in rubbermaid containers and of course he thought, oh thats BS! He also thinks 2 mice every 4 days is BS! If you guys can confirm its not BS then I can show my dad and he will believe me. Heh heh, i'l show him
I keep 13 out of 15 snakes in rubbermaids. They are easy to clean, they stack well and occupy little space, they don't break, they don't need specially custom built lids and they're cheap. However many are escapable. You can skimp out and buy the cheap ones then weight down the crappy lids, but the lids bend and don't last long. I prefer the ones with swing-up lids, fastened at one end with latches on the other.

daver676

10-10-04, 12:30 AM

Originally posted by VI Reptiles
ugh, to go to a vet I have to drive 70km.......... probably $40 on fuel there then another 100+ just to pay for the medicine etc.... Is it worth it even??? $100 snake and pay $140 for it?

My snake's vet is 100 km away. I took the afternoon of work to go drop of a fecal sample! Cost is never something that comes to mind when I think my snake may be ill.

You should try a pet rock. Very easy maintenence, and no vet bills! And I hear breeding is a snap too! Go get 'um tiger! Roooaarrr!!

zero&stich

10-10-04, 07:48 AM

I keep my pine in a Sterlite sweaterbox. He does great. Heat and humidity is far easier to control then the glass cages. Just as long as a thermostat/rehostat is used if using a pad. And ventilation is bein incorperated in the enclosure.

I'm currently movin my pythons to 3ft Sterlite enclosures soon as I get over this damn cold, lol.

Best feature is, you can stack! :D Saves space.

Um bout the mouse feeding issue. Is your dad shocked snakes have a slower metabolism or he doesn't believe their diet in captivity is rodents?

VI Reptiles

10-10-04, 10:26 AM

Eh, ok, i'l show my dad what you guys said and he thinks that im over feeding my snake with 2 adult mice.....

zero&stich

10-10-04, 02:21 PM

How big is the snake girthwise? Babies can take rat pups. A full adult can easily take a lg or jumbo rat pending on the girth. Some feed 1lb rabbits to some of their balls, most likely the females. But I haven't gone the route yet. Maybe someone who feeds rabbits to their BP's can clarify more.

VI Reptiles

10-10-04, 02:38 PM

well hes about 2.3 ft long...... so im gonna guess with 2-3 inches. I gotta get some food for him!

zero&stich

10-10-04, 07:13 PM

Well I have 2 adults at home, both close to 4 ft. Actually the girl is a bit longer by 2 inches. But anyway the boy takes a md rat and the girl takes amd rat. I feed every 7-10 days unless they begin to fast.

That should give you and your dad a better idea.
Hows your ball doing?

raebug2000

10-13-04, 12:13 AM

man o man
it's been a while since I have been here.( speaking about VI Reptiles)
i wouldnt sell this person a pet rock.
it's people like you that disgust the HONEST AND HARDWORKING breeders and hobbyists out there. Also, i am very certain
that I ( if not everyone here) has made a note NOT to buy ANYTHING from you.

oh . hehehe
Hi everyone.

update on the collection
3.8 ball pythons
1.0 WC red Axantic ( rescue from an importer in Miami)
1.0 Labyrith yearling
1.0 Pastel

0.2 CBB Adult
0.1 CBB Yearling
0.6 Hatchlings