health question

[kreaturekeeper]

hi there. have a two year old bp that has always been in perfect health.
I have her temp and humidity correct. I just moved from bc to alberta and brought her with me. since being home. (haven't taken her out much so she can relax after the trip) but the couple times i have had her out i could very faintly hear a bit of a wheezing noise. like every min or so. not constant. Mouth is not open and no mucus. Could it be a bit of an infection from not being able to keep the humidity up in the car on our long drive home? Does anyone have experience with this? I am bumping up the humidity and temps a bit. But is this slight random sound enough to cause more action like a vet visit?
She is my first and only snake. and though i have had her for two years i am still overly protective of my hunny and any comments would help. thank you

[youngster]

If it's an RI you want to bump up the heat and not the humidity, usually RIs are caused by too much humidity rather than too little.

[millertime89]

bump the temp and drop the humidity a bit and see if it goes away?

[kreaturekeeper]

If I bump up the temps over the weekend do you think I will see a change by Monday? Cuz of she is still wheezing I should prob take her to a vet :(
It seems to only be her right nostril. No mucus. And closed mouth. But I'm still very concerned..

[millertime89]

it depends, she could just be a heavy breather. Better safe then sorry. What are your temps/humidity now and what are you using to measure?

[kreaturekeeper]

I have owned her for two years and never noticed anything like this before.. thats why im thinking something is up. she has a round hydrometer that i keep in middle of the tank on the wall and similar looking round thermostats on either side (warm and cool). i dont have those fancy digital ones but the ones i have are pretty accurate i think. Like i said never had a problem before this.
humidity is 50% now and her hot side with her belly heat is 89 F and her cool side is 79.
It is a bit cooler at night here than my old house at night so im going to pick up a heat lamp for a night heat bulb now too make sure those temps dont drop too low at night

[millertime89]

hygrometer, not hydrometer, is it one of the analogue ones? If it is I wouldn't trust it. I've got one in the same spot as my digital one and it reads 20% humidity lower.

[SpOoKy]

For an RI you bump the heat and humidity.
They need the humidity in the air to be able to breath properly, lack of humidity can be a cause of RI.

Gonna pm BB, she can explain much better.

[BarelyBreathing]

Yes, SpOoky is correct, you need to bump up the temperature and the humidity.

Ball pythons come from humid environments, and they actually need humidity to breathe. Most keepers will actually form a humid air chamber to treat early symptoms of respiratory infections. This is highlighted in an episode of Snakebytes TV if you want visual guidance. (I'll find it for you upon request)

Basically, what you want to do is find an insulated styrafoam box, and cut a hole in it only large enough to insert the tube of a fogger, and poke some ventilation holes in the sides. Put your snake in the box, and turn on the fogger for ten minutes. After ten minutes, turn off the fogger, but leave your snake in there for another ten minutes. Then put the snake back in the enclosure. Repeat daily as necessary, but if you see the symptoms getting worse, you need to take your animal into the vet.

[Skumbo]

I have owned her for two years and never noticed anything like this before.. thats why im thinking something is up. she has a round hydrometer that i keep in middle of the tank on the wall and similar looking round thermostats on either side (warm and cool). i dont have those fancy digital ones but the ones i have are pretty accurate i think. Like i said never had a problem before this.
humidity is 50% now and her hot side with her belly heat is 89 F and her cool side is 79.
It is a bit cooler at night here than my old house at night so im going to pick up a heat lamp for a night heat bulb now too make sure those temps dont drop too low at night

BB took care of the rest, for your hygrometer issues let me show you...

this:
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-enclosure-discussion/90447-your-humidity-may-way-off.html

[kreaturekeeper]

For an RI you bump the heat and humidity.
k iam no expert but this was my first reaction and makes sense to me..
thanks for the helpful link Skumbo! it is very possible mine is not reading accurately. never thought of this.
Thanks for the tip Barelybreathing. I don't have a fogger.. i could prob find one tomorrow though.
I just picked up a heat lamp and night heat bulb for tonight because i believe this is where i went wrong. Moved little over a week ago and i didnt realize how much colder it is at night in this house. It was toasty in my old one and i didnt need anything extra to keep her temps at night correct. I should have figured this out day one... and feel very foolish i have a potentially sick snake because of my neglecting this very important factor.. :(

[SpOoKy]

Don't be so hard on yourself, these things happen sometimes. You caught it early and trying to fix it and that is what counts. Sometimes things can be overlooked, especially in a move there is many things going on.
If I can suggest for tonight if you are bumping up the heat put another big water bowl closer to the heat source. This should help keep the humidity up in the tank for the night until you can get a fogger.

Best of luck with it and keep us posted :)

[kreaturekeeper]

oh ya it was a hectic move to say the least.. and my animals always come first but i was unfortunately having my beloved horse shipped too and this was a very distracting factor.. :S
That's a good idea with the bigger water bowl. I will for sure do that.
And try to find a fogger tomorrow.. Ill keep you posted and thanks for everyone's help!
It makes me feel less alone in trying to care for an exotic pet.. And i do believe i caught this really early which makes me feel better too.

[insignia100]

Yes, SpOoky is correct, you need to bump up the temperature and the humidity.

Ball pythons come from humid environments, and they actually need humidity to breathe. Most keepers will actually form a humid air chamber to treat early symptoms of respiratory infections. This is highlighted in an episode of Snakebytes TV if you want visual guidance. (I'll find it for you upon request)

Basically, what you want to do is find an insulated styrafoam box, and cut a hole in it only large enough to insert the tube of a fogger, and poke some ventilation holes in the sides. Put your snake in the box, and turn on the fogger for ten minutes. After ten minutes, turn off the fogger, but leave your snake in there for another ten minutes. Then put the snake back in the enclosure. Repeat daily as necessary, but if you see the symptoms getting worse, you need to take your animal into the vet.

If you don't have a fogger, you could also try putting him in a rubbermaid container with a lot of holes for ventilation and bring him in the bathroom with you when you take a shower. If you don't turn the vent on, you will have a nice, warm, cozy, very humid room that should work just as well as the insulated styrofoam box method BarelyBreathing mentioned. This also works great for you if you have a cold/sinus infection/congestion, and can be beneficial for cats and dogs as well.

[BarelyBreathing]

That's a great suggestion, Insignia!

[kreaturekeeper]

ya that is a good suggestion! thanks :) ill do that for my morning bath tomorrow!

[kreaturekeeper]

so good news today!
I didn't hear anything at all from her nose when I took her out this morning but I didnt want to bug her too much.. I did the steam idea in the tupperwear container while I had a hot bath. I inspected her more carefully and longer when I took her out and no wheezing at all :D not even a little one. I listened for a good ten min.
so now my question is.. should i do this steam this again tomorrow? It wouldnt hurt would it if I wanted to be careful? and should I also have the heat and humidity bumped up a couple degrees like I have had it?
thanks for your help guys! soooo appreciated,
Alexandra

[SpOoKy]

Awesome! glad to hear she is doing better.
Personally I would probably keep head/humidity up an little longer.
Another steam bath wouldn't hurt, it's up to you though.
Again, congrats :)

[kreaturekeeper]

thanks :) huge relief to me! its funny I have also gotten a cold since moving. This dry air isn't good for either of us.. haha we want to go back to bc!

[Skumbo]

thanks :) huge relief to me! its funny I have also gotten a cold since moving. This dry air isn't good for either of us.. haha we want to go back to bc!

Great news! (other than the cold!)

I cant stand dry air either, and it gets very dry up here, so I have a little humidifier I always leave running and its amazing, I used to wake up feeling like I had woken up face down in a desert and now its much better!

[kreaturekeeper]

I have gone through multiple bottles of lotion already haha hate the feeling of tight skin.

[jarich]

Ya, Alberta air is much drier than out in BC, especially if you are out on the plains. Even the move from Rocky to Lethbridge made a big difference regarding humidity. Glad to hear that the problem cleared up

[kreaturekeeper]

Ya I moved from salmon arm back to leathbridge. or should I say Deathbridge.. yuck haha. for scenery, humidity, and weather

[jarich]

Haha, ya I cant say I miss it...

[mattchibi]

Hey, dont know if this has been said, but any chance it could have been stuck shed in the nose? That sometimes causes a whistling noise. Also, after soaking one of my hatchlings for a bad stuck shed, she got some water in her nose or mouth and started making whistling noises but I havent heard anything abnormal from her since.

[kreaturekeeper]

Hey, dont know if this has been said, but any chance it could have been stuck shed in the nose? That sometimes causes a whistling noise. Also, after soaking one of my hatchlings for a bad stuck shed, she got some water in her nose or mouth and started making whistling noises but I haven't heard anything abnormal from her since.
I don't think it was said but that was my first thought actually and inspected her nose very closely. She started making this noise out of no where and before she shed. So i thought if it was a shed stuck I would have heard it earlier, like right after her last one? (she has always had beautiful all in one sheds too. never in pieces) I did notice a tiny piece of substrate in that nostril actually. And remove it safely with tweezers but this was after I had first heard the noise, so I cant imagine it was related. Although I am sure it didn't feel good!