I'm so frustrated and a bit freaked out about this
- as per my original post, we picked up our new ball python (our first snake) on 3/28/10 and last night while holding her we noticed a mite crawling on her - to top it off we noticed that she was whistling from her nose when she breathed (I've not heard that before yesterday but she's not breathing out of her mouth) so we are taking her to the vet this evening to have her checked out. I called the shop we purchased her from and they said that they don't have any guarantee's in writing as to the health of their animals
(stupid of us not to ask ahead of time I suppose but she seems healthy apart from those two issues). I should mention she's not eaten since we got her (although we've tried a couple of times). We are feeding frozen mice (2) and she initially shows interest but then doesn't eat. She's appx. 30" long and about 2" at most around at her largest point.
Her tank details are as follows:
Temps: 78-82 on the cool side, 86-90 on the warm side, 55% humidity steady with occasional misting. I have a UTH on her warm side that stays on all the time, a UVB bulb, and a 75 watt bulb in a ceramic reflector for warmth. We keep her lights on from 8a-8p and then leave them off (with on the UTH for warmth @ night) - temps in our house have been averaging about 75 for the past week. She has two hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side, a 9" bowl (of which she's not been spending any significant amount of time in - i.e. dip in, and then out once or twice), and a branch for her to climb/shed against. Her tank is a 18 x 18 x 36 glass with a locking screen lid.
Any advice/help/calming words/vibes would be helpful...thanks so much.
Angela