IBD? RI? Or just paranoid?
Hello, I own a 5 month old ball python and I purchased her from a local pet store. She is my first snake and I was unaware that I was purchasing a severely underweight and dehydrated snake with mites. After a bit of luck I got her eating and after a few times of force feeding water and soaking I got her to a healthy weight and she drinks and soaks on her own. I fought the mites for a while until she got what seemed to be a RI. I soon took her to the vet for a professional outlook. He gave me trichlorfon for the mites and an oral cleanser for her mouth, which he suspected mouth rot. The vet also said I should look for signs for IBD as well. After doing the research I've become very paranoid and I watch her like a hawk. After the trichlorfon dip and a good shed she was mite free and seemed so healthy. One thing I noticed was how she was having problems pulling the skin from her face. I ended up having to aid her and it seemed stuck to her nose. Finally it pulled free and what looked like plugs came out. She took a DEEP breath and stopped open mouth breathing, popping, and wheezing. Everything seemed to be perfect, except the threat of IBD hanging over head.
I've seen her start to stargaze (she'll stick her head straight up for about 2 or 3 minutes at a time but never doubling back) and after a 3 weeks of good health, she's open mouth breathing, popping, and wheezing again. I've done a few tests that I've read (laying her upside down and she does right herself imidiately as well as holding her from her tail and she doubles back and climbs back up to my hand). She is eating like clockwork, and doing her business just fine.
IBD? - Do the signs of IBD ever seem to fade then return? Or is it normally a constant downhill of health?
RI? - Any way I can help this without taking her to the vet? I wish I could take her, but I currently do not have the funds. Should I continue to administer the oral mouth cleanser, or is that going to cause more problems with her breathing?
Sorry for the lengthy post, I hope I got everything.
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