Hi I'm new to this forum...help!

[ede618]

I recently bought my first snake. he is a male ball python, about 1-2 years old and 4 feet long. as i stated, he is my first snake so im new to their behavior. my set up is a 40 breeder tank with eco earth coco fiber bedding. i have a large corner water dish for him, although i never see him soak or drink from it. he has a rough log for help with shedding, and two hides on either side of the tank. the basking spot is between 95-100 degrees and the cool side is a constant 82 degrees. he always stays in the hide on the warm side of the tank, day and night. i received him on june 25th, exactly two weeks ago. we took him out for a short period after about 24 hours of having him and he was ok for a while. right before we put him back he let out a high pitched squeak, or huff. im not really sure which. he did it for the rest of the night. he does not do it when he doesnt see me. he does it with just about every breathe when im around him, touch him, spray him, soak him, or handle him. it almost sounds like a bird chirping. there is no wet mucus coming from the nostrls or mouth, and there is no dry mucus either. he does not lift his head to breathe and there are no bubbles. he is still very alert. i tried to feed him the friday after i got him and he only snapped at the rat twice while the rat jumped away. then he lost interest. the tuesday following he went into shed. today, 6 days later his eyes finally cleared up, so i assume he will begin shedding soon. i have heard of pythons huffing and puffing when they dont want to be bothered but he is still very friendly. i have not fully ruled out a URI but i have not seen any other signs of one. oh additionally he does yawn from time to time, but in the 2 weeks ive had him ive only seen this 5 times. and i should state that the reason the temperature is so high is because the reptile breader that i bought him from told me to up the temperatures to about 95-100 degrees to ttry to fight off a possible URI, just incase. as i stated, i am very new to snakes and would appreciate any advice anyone could give me. im not sure what to do and im currently saving for a vet visit as a precaution.

[MoreliAddict]

Paragraphs would make this a little easier to read and get you more responses.

Anyway, I didn't read the all of that, but if his eyes went blue like you said he's approaching a shed. Snakes are alot crankier, and don't eat as well during the shedding process. Best thing you could do is get your temps right, provide a hide at the warm end and cool end, provide water and humidity, leave him undisturbed, then see if he eats for you after he sheds.

Not sure about the noises, but maybe it's worth taking him to a vet if they persist even after he settles in more. Best of luck!

[ede618]

I'll take your advice about the paragraphs. Thank you

[Lankyrob]

Your temps are too high, 91f hot side 75f cold side is recommended

[ede618]

I'm currently waiting for a temperature controller in the mail. I'm more concerned about the squeaking though

[StudentoReptile]

Exactly how is the enclosure heated: heat lamp, undertank heat pad or both?

Off the bat, I think most of the problem is a relatively large glass tank with an open top (I'm sure there's a screened mesh top on there - by open, I mean completely open to air-flow). However you are heating it, you are having a lot of heat and humidity lost right out the top of that tank, in this case, the latter being more important.

Drape a towel over most of that top, or better yet, use some saran wrap instead. Just make sure to leave enough space for your heat lamp (if you're using one), and it doesn't touch the towel or saran wrap.

Then make sure you invest in a temperature gun so you can get a better handle on those temps. You may be able to use a lower-wattage bulb for heat.

Personally, I prefer belly heat for ball pythons, especially in glass aquaria...but that's just me.

[ede618]

I was using both a heat lamp and a UTH, but the UTH cracked the glass on the bottom of the tank. I had to make some repairs to that and now I keep the UTH off.

[StudentoReptile]

I was using both a heat lamp and a UTH, but the UTH cracked the glass on the bottom of the tank. I had to make some repairs to that and now I keep the UTH off.

Just curious...did you have the bottom of the tank raised, as to allow air flow underneath the tank and not to pinch the cord? I only ask because a lot of new keepers make that mistake...and end up with UTHs overheating and causing problems.

[ede618]

Yes I did have it slightly elevated and the cord was not pinched. I was thinking that it may have cracked because it was placed partially under the water dish. The contrasting temperatures may have caused it

[alessia55]

Take a look at the Setting Up page of my website: Setting Up | Python Regius Care (http://pythonregiuscare.com/Setting_Up.html)

You'll want the UTH to be under the hide on one end of the enclosure, not under the water bowl.
Has he been eating for you the past 2 weeks? Do not handle him until he is eating for you regularly. Even though he seems "friendly," he is probably still feeling stressed from the move to a new home with new scents and sights. Give him more time to adjust.
Keep the temp up in case he does have a respiratory infection, but lay off on the handling. Make sure he has the right set up (2 hides; one on each side, etc). Is he in a quiet room? A quiet room with little to no human traffic is better. Only approach if you need to check clean feces/urates, change the water, etc. Be patient! Good luck

[ede618]

He refused to eat once but I believe it was because he was raised on live and I tried feeding him frozen/thawed. Before I got a chance to try again he went into shed. I was afraid to put the UTH under the hide because I didn't want him to get burned

[alessia55]

He refused to eat once but I believe it was because he was raised on live and I tried feeding him frozen/thawed. Before I got a chance to try again he went into shed. I was afraid to put the UTH under the hide because I didn't want him to get burned

That's why it needs to be on a thermostat. Get one ASAP.

[SnakeyJay]

Seriously shouldn't be running any heating equipment for reptiles without thermostats... Not unless you want to come home to a cooked snake one day.

[undertaker_79]

ok for one thing your tank is too small and the other thing is that the temperature is way to high for the snake try bringing it down some and whenever you get a new snake always leave it alone for about 1 week so it can get used to it's surroundings ok try that cause i got a 4'9 colombian boa constrictor 6 months ago and had to change the size of the tank and now he is doing very good, did a shed 3 weeks ago and it measured 6'9 so he is growing very well,so what i told you try that

[StudentoReptile]

ok for one thing your tank is too small

First of all, welcome to the site! :D

Secondly, I'm gonna have to disagree with you about tank size. A 40gal breeder is 36" long x 18" wide x 16" tall....adequate amount of space for a single adult male ball python, a species that, even when healthy, will likely spend 90% of its time curled up in a ball in its hide and remain relatively inactive.

[Wildside]

Oh Noez! Not the tank size debate again :wacky:

[DeesBalls]

First of all, welcome to the site! :D

Secondly, I'm gonna have to disagree with you about tank size. A 40gal breeder is 36" long x 18" wide x 16" tall....adequate amount of space for a single adult male ball python, a species that, even when healthy, will likely spend 90% of its time curled up in a ball in its hide and remain relatively inactive.

i agree, i forget the specs, but when i built my cages, i was thinking this way:

a 41 qt tub is like 36x18x6 or something like that, so a 40 gal breeder which is 36x18x16, just 10 inches higher (somthing like that, i dont know the exact measurements of 41qt tub)...

so i agree with that being fine for a single royal... IF it is heated to correct temps, has anough hides, and the humidity is up to par...

[ede618]

I'm happy to say that I found a full shed skin in his tank this morning all intact. He still squeaked at me when he saw me though.

I ordered thermostats that should be here within a day or so

[StudentoReptile]

Oh Noez! Not the tank size debate again :wacky:

I guess so...lol:wacky:

I mean, my BP has been in 20 longs, 29 gal (turned over so it was 30 x 18), 55 gal, 40 gal breeders, 75 gallon tank, 36" Neodesha, and currently in a 24x24" Vision. The snake is nearly 20 yrs old, and in every cage he has been in, he spends 90% (or more) of his time sleeping in a cave. I'm not saying every 4-ft snake is like that; obviously every species is different. But IMHO, ball pythons just do not warrant a huge amount of space because quite simply, they do not use it.

[Wildside]

I guess so...lol:wacky:

I mean, my BP has been in 20 longs, 29 gal (turned over so it was 30 x 18), 55 gal, 40 gal breeders, 75 gallon tank, 36" Neodesha, and currently in a 24x24" Vision. The snake is nearly 20 yrs old, and in every cage he has been in, he spends 90% (or more) of his time sleeping in a cave. I'm not saying every 4-ft snake is like that; obviously every species is different. But IMHO, ball pythons just do not warrant a huge amount of space because quite simply, they do not use it.

Here's how I feel about cage size... IMO it's very obvious to tell if an animal is cramped in it's enclosure. The internet may say one thing while the keeper's eye says something completely different. I mean it's pretty clear to see that a 5 ft. boa is not going to fit comfortably in a 55 gal. tank, right?

[SnakeyJay]

did a shed 3 weeks ago and it measured 6'9 so he is growing very well,so what i told you try that

Welcome :) ... Just had to say, measuring a shed skin is inaccurate as they stretch quite a lot... My 4ft corn will easily give me a 5ft shed skin sometimes. Run string down the snakes body and measure the string after.

[StudentoReptile]

Here's how I feel about cage size... IMO it's very obvious to tell if an animal is cramped in it's enclosure. The internet may say one thing while the keeper's eye says something completely different. I mean it's pretty clear to see that a 5 ft. boa is not going to fit comfortably in a 55 gal. tank, right?

I heartily agree! That's why my earlier statements were specifically about ball pythons, as according to my own personal experience.

Indeed, I would concur that a 5-ft (or even a 4-ft one) would be cramped in a standard 55 gal. In reality, a 40-breeder offers more floor space, although it is lacking in height and overall volume. I personally hate standard 55 gal tanks, even for fish. Just too long and too narrow of a tank for decorating, and not suitable for most herps.

[and mind you, I'm not suggesting that someone keep a 5-ft boa in even a 40-breeder. Just pointing out the difference in the footprint.]