I have a Question about my new Baby Python?

[Elite_agent]

This past weekend my wife said I could get a baby python.. So we went out and found a few baby Pythons. We finally found the one that best fit our needs. Samara is a great snake, I often forget that she is a snake because of all great things she does.

Samara just had her first meal late Tuesday night, After she ate we put Samar back in her cage and left her their for 36 hours. Tonight I got her out of the cage. After spending some time with Samara we put her back in the cage, it appears that she is breathing heavy. The breathing inhale is around mid point of the snake.

Although after looking at the Snakes Digestion system it appears it could be the stomach or the small intestine area... Later on it appears she may have used the restroom, with a slimly white furry looking discharge. Is this normal? Or is she breathing very heavy? Should I be concerned? This is my very first python so I want her to be around for 20-40 years...

Steven

[Aaron_S]

Well, first off congratulations on your first snake! Always a fun time.

Secondly, what kind of python is she?

For the heavy breathing, if she's a baby python then she will easily feel threatened. So the heavy breathing is most likely due to her just being stressed from her handling session. If you keep them to a short duration, then she'll grow out of it in time.

[Elite_agent]

Samara is a Royal Python....

This Morning Samara is not breathing as heavy as she was last night. That is good news I guess.. When we first got her you could hardly tell she was breathing at all.. Today it appears she almost back to the way she was when we first got her.. The breathing is now more normal..

A question about the handling? Samara seems to love to be handled and loves to be wrapped around my hands. She will stay like this for hours if I let her. When I put her in the bed room she loves to explore. Am I handling her too much? I play with her about 2 hours a day?

[Aaron_S]

I would say yes. She's still getting used to her surroundings. I would just keep the snake handling sessions down to 20 - 30 minutes a day. Unless she's just eaten, then skip them altogether for a few days.

[mykee]

Yup, for fear of being repetitious, exactly what Aaron said.