# Potential R.I. With my Pastel Ball



## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

So, 
Last night i was handling my Ball, and i noticed some mucus out of his upper nostrile.
i cleaned it up right away and then he opened his mouth and made an adjustment to his jaw or whatever.
so, i started to look around online and found many signs pointing to an RI.

im not sure what the deal is, so i made an Apt. with the local Herp vet.

i found a few pieces of info which state that when some boa's or pythons are tired or do not wish to be handled, they may regurgitate some or dig their anal spurs or such behaviors that may indicate they want to be left alone.
i do know he is about to shed, his skin is tough and rubbery and he hasnt shed in almost 6 weeks now.

so, bottom line i have an apt. with the vet for monday (soonest possible visit, they close today in 3 hours and all booked) im hoping to go spend about 100$ to find out its nothing at all but my snake being a moody bitch.

the other thing that makes me skeptical about him being sick, as soon as i put him back in his tank, he stopped.
no more mucus (wasnt much, just one bubble more than enough i know, but ive seen worse) no more opening of the mouth, and i didnt notice anything else, no raised head to ease breathing, nothing, he seemed fine.
i watched him for about an hour, maybe bit less, but no irregular signs of behavior.
so at this point, im very upset with myself for allowing this to happen, i raised the temp in the room to about 30c (90f) from about 25(about 81f).

one thing i can think of, about 2 weeks ago i changed his substrate, the guy at the local store rec. that i used a new type of coco bark, i soaked it in water to enlarge it, maybe it was too damp in his cage for a week? may have caused a bacterial infection???

many ideas come to mind, as i said, i hope he is fine and i go spend money for nothing, which would make me a very happy happy happy person at this point, didnt sleep at all last nigth.

i will update more as we go, for now, here are some shots of him in the past 2 weeks, when he wasnt being so fussy or sick.
first shot, is when i brought him home, he was so small, next shots are within the past 2 weeks.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

I know nothing about snakes but that is a nice one man

hopefully there's nothing wrong with him
except being moody


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

Trigga said:


> I know nothing about snakes but that is a nice one man
> 
> hopefully there's nothing wrong with him
> except being moody


Thanks Trigga, hope you are well.
hopefully on the weekend of the 12th of dec. oi will be heading to T.Dot to pick up a female lesser ball python from the breeder i got this one from, im hoping to breed next season.
so bottom line, this time when i come by, we should chill!
maybe ill bring the new snake


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

joey said:


> im not sure what the deal is, so i made an Apt. with the local Herp vet.
> 
> so, bottom line i have an apt. with the vet for monday (soonest possible visit, they close today in 3 hours and all booked) im hoping to go spend about 100$ to find out its nothing at all but my snake being a moody bitch.


wow, way to be responsible... this is your first snake, right? you don't hear too many ball python owners that will make an appointment at the herp vet, too bad really, but i guess to most first-time owners, they are more of a novelty item than a pet that requires the same kind of attention and care that you would provide for the family dog.

it may turn out to be nothing, but it's never a bad idea to make sure, especially if you haven't had experience with this before.


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

joedizzlempls said:


> im not sure what the deal is, so i made an Apt. with the local Herp vet.
> 
> so, bottom line i have an apt. with the vet for monday (soonest possible visit, they close today in 3 hours and all booked) im hoping to go spend about 100$ to find out its nothing at all but my snake being a moody bitch.


wow, way to be responsible... this is your first snake, right? you don't hear too many ball python owners that will make an appointment at the herp vet, too bad really, but i guess to most first-time owners, they are more of a novelty item than a pet that requires the same kind of attention and care that you would provide for the family dog.

it may turn out to be nothing, but it's never a bad idea to make sure, especially if you haven't had experience with this before.
[/quote]
Thanks man, i really do appreciate the kind words, and yes, first snake which i hope to keep for at least 20-30 years (life expectancy) 
i cant stand to see him in any sort of bad health or discomfort, i know there isnt much i can do till monday, but im not at ease for the time being.
Truth be told, i really care about my Ball, and i have only good intentions for getting a female and breeding them.
i do want to one day get into breeding for sale and collection, but i will always hold a high regard for the health and well being of my pets.
i dont care about the time or the money, i want him to be happy and healthy, so what ever i have to do, so be it.

i will keep all posted, as of today, i watched him for about an hour or so, he seemed to be normal aside from rubbing his nose up against his hide for about 5 seconds at one point.
other than that, he seems active as he normally is, trying to climb out of his tank, i am doubtful to feed him tomorrow, as he normally doesnt come out of his hide for about 2-3 days after he eats, since i have to take him to the doctor on monday, i may not feed till after that.
when i made the apt. on the phone today, they asked me to get a stool sample, he only goes once every 2-3 weeks, and thank god he went today!
scooped some up in a zip-lock, will take that and some substrate to the doc on monday as well.

im afraid to take him out, but i had to let him on my bed to clean his cage for about 5 mins today, and he has been awake and active since.
anyways, heres the update for the day, and thanks again dizzle my nizzle fo shizzle


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

> So,
> Last night i was handling my Ball, and i noticed some mucus out of his upper nostrile.
> i cleaned it up right away and then he opened his mouth and made an adjustment to his jaw or whatever.
> so, i started to look around online and found many signs pointing to an RI.


"R.I." meaning respiratory infection? Wich is what I was thinking. Very common and deadly. Reptiles are very good at hiding their ailments until it's almost too late...it's their nature. Good eye, and good idea making a vet appointment.


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

SERRAPYGO said:


> > So,
> > Last night i was handling my Ball, and i noticed some mucus out of his upper nostrile.
> > i cleaned it up right away and then he opened his mouth and made an adjustment to his jaw or whatever.
> > so, i started to look around online and found many signs pointing to an RI.
> ...


Hey Serra, ya, i have read in a few articles now that they try to hide it has best as possible, as in the wold any sign of weakness and you are yesterdays lunch







.
im starting to wonder how long he may have been sick, i recall about a month ago, i picked him up, he tightened himself so hard, i heard a gasp of air, but i thought it was just him squeezing too hard maybe ???
im guessing not now, and since he hides his illness, i wonder how long it has gone unnoticed now.

luckily, i have a good friend who is getting married to a sweet gal who does work with wild life rehab.
we all went to go see 2012 last night, and i told her what was up, she made a rec. to go see a herp vet she works with often, and also spoke good words of who i have my apt. with tomorrow.
she has studied herpetology and based on what i told her, she seems to think it is a slight R.I., told me to raise the temp to 35c (no clue what that is in F but 95-98 if i had to guess), which is not to far off from what else i have read.
she also said that the mention of mucus being present while handling is due to stress allowing the illness to present itself, as i mentioned when he is back in the tank he does not show any signs of mucus.
i found that many reptiles such as snakes often get RI in the winter due to the cooler temps in the house.
currently, my room is a sweat box and i have been sleeping on the couch since friday, not sure what ill do once he is better, but i will keep higher temps to maintain his health as much as possible.

also, when i bought him a new tank earlier this year, i bought a new heat pad for his warm side, i dont think it works that well as last winter i remember the temp in my other apartment was not as hot, and he never showed any of these signs.
also, i am going to be switching to paper towel from coconut bark as well this week.

anyways, he has just come out of his hide, all he is doing is climbing as he normally does, i will not feed today as i normally would, and i have not been taking him out, and i bought a carry case to take him to the vet tomorrow.
i was also told to heat up a magic bag and put that into the container to transport (not sure if americans have magicbags or sakmagic as they call it in french).

well, ill update more as it comes, wishing you all who read this a great day and thanks for stopping by


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

goodluck with ur python joey'd. btw is that a tank behind u in the pic with the python around ur neck?


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Gopod luck Joey'd....I bumped up the temp in my tank when I was in the situation.
Nothing ever came of it which is a plus.
Hope it all works out man.


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

speakyourmind said:


> goodluck with ur python joey'd. btw is that a tank behind u in the pic with the python around ur neck?


thanks speak, and yes, its 125G with a lonely red, 14 garra rufa, and one comet that has been living in the tank now since i set it up 2 months ago, i dont think he will be eaten, as the red is on pellets and shrimp now.

notaverage, thanks man, im hoping just that will be enough, in the mean time i want to see what his cultures are at the vet tomorrow, see what sort of treatment may be needed.
last thing i want to do is start an antibiotic regiment that has no effect or need, i dont want his system to form an immunity to the meds in case of a real future need. the cost of the meds doesnt bug me, is whether he actually needs them or not is what i wanna know.
for now, here is my 125G


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

So, just got home from the Vet.
he is fine.
in the words of the Vet whom inspected him and took time to speak with me, "you have an extremely beautiful and marvelous snake."
i wanted him to take a swab or culture, but he told me it would cause un-needed stress to him, as he seems fine.
he did pry open his mouth (did not take well to it, i had to hold him down) and said it was healthy and pink and no signs of mucus.
i forgot the poop at home so i will bring it by tomorrow for a parasite sample to see how healthy he really is.
so all in all, im very happy, the vet seems to think it was a natural occurrence under the circumstances of what happened, and said to watch him for the next week or so and see if any other signs present themselves.
ill update with some pics later, gotta go food shopping


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

awesome man, glad to hear everything turned out alright... like i said earlier, sometimes it's good for your peace of mind if you take it in just to make sure.


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

joedizzlempls said:


> awesome man, glad to hear everything turned out alright... like i said earlier, sometimes it's good for your peace of mind if you take it in just to make sure.


Thanks, and yes, the 80$ will let me sleep now, as i have not slept well since Friday, so peace of mind well worth the $$$.
here are some shots i took when i got home (with the 125G in the background) he did not want to come off me, he stayed this way for about 20 mins before i had to put him down to go shopping.
will feed tomorrow, here are todays pics


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Glad to hear everything turned out and that your snake is doing well!


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## Uncle Jesse (Feb 18, 2007)

Good news!

I have a big male pastel a lot like yours, except every time you go to grab him he tries to tag you. He came from a breeder so I don't think he was handled too much.


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

febsalien said:


> Good news!
> 
> I have a big male pastel a lot like yours, except every time you go to grab him he tries to tag you. He came from a breeder so I don't think he was handled too much.


well, when i picked this one up, the breeder straight up told me he does not handle his snakes, and i would have to get him accustomed to such.
i did over some time, but he never once tried to tag me (thank god)
thanks febsalien and Mettle


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

very nice looking snake joey. glad to hear its healthy and doing well


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## TJcali (Mar 27, 2009)

good thing he's ok bro


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