hi everybody! I hope someone can help me

[djtibs]

Hi there,

my name is dan. i'm very much an animal lover and i am a first time snake owner. i have a 9 month old ball python. his name is bud and he is about 2 feet long. he is the sweetest little snake and has never even stricken at anyone before.

I have had him for about 2 months now. i i didn't know that i shouldn't feed him in his tank. i have aspen wood shavings in his tank and the last time i fed him last weekend i think he might have gotten a shaving stuck in his throat. his throat looks a little swollen. i'm not sure if its normal but he has been breathing really heavy lately.

He also just went through a bad shed and still has some scales left on his neck. I think he might still have some scales stuck in his nostrils.

If anyone can help me it would very much appreciated! I am glad to be apart of this site and i look forward to hearing everyones response.

Thanks
Dan

[Aaron_S]

Where did you hear that your snake shouldn't be fed in it's enclosure?

That's the practice I use while feeding my snakes on aspen.

I don't think it's a piece of aspen in the throat. Can you tell us the temperatures you're keeping the hot and cool side? How about the humidity levels? Those are key to giving you proper advice.

The heavy breathing can be a symptom to a respitory infection along with the throat being "swollen". When a snake has this infection the throat tends to swell a bit as it tries to breath. I am unsure of why this happens but I do know it's a sign of a respitory infection. Which is caused by the enclosure being too cold.

The shed problem is due to too low of humidity.

[mykee]

Welcome to the site.
Though it may in fact be bedding lodged in his throat, I would imagine that most if not all of his issues evolve from you keeping him in a fish cage. Fish cages are very difficult to maintain the proper husbandry that is absolutely essential in keeping a ball python happy and more importantly, healthy.
What is your husbandry like?
Temps? (both sides)
Humidity?
Type of heat?
Hides? Where?
Lid or top? What type?

[Smilts]

After having to take my buddys bp to the vet and have a piece of aspen removed from its throat i choose not to feed in there enclosures anymore, so it is possible. But it didnt look like swelling in his snake it looked like a foreign object in his throat.