Possibly RI?

[beanersmysav]

Well so far my Ball Python has seemed pretty healthy. No visible mites, ticks etc. But when I hold her I occasionally hear whistling. Do they tend to make these noises while breathing? I've increased heat untill I can see a vet. The ambient is up to 110 degrees. The hot spot is 112 (all this controlled by a light) where the heating pad is it's 93, and the cool end is 82.

Shows no other signs of RI, head is never raised, no crust near mouth or nose, no open mouth breathing, flicks tongue regularly especially when being held, they are normal flicks no small weak flicks, fork in tongue is not stuck together, no swelling of the throat. Humidity is very good depending on weither the heater is on or not it's between 52-60%. While he's breathing like this should I remove the water dish? It's a 12x6 dish big enough to soak if needed but never does only time I've seen it in the dish is when he attacked the rat in mid air. The place I got her from will not responde to me and I'm worried she was like this before, she's a great eater has no problem feeding. I've got the BP manual and I don't see anything else it could possibly be so maybe I'm just over worried since I've never delt with a BP before but none of my other snakes whistle when breathing. It's not like a wheezing or a popping either.

[nita]

I think with an ambiant of 110 and direct heat of 112 she is going to cook? I wouldnt' allow the temps above 99, when I had RI with my snakes I kept my cool end around 88 and my hot end at 99 never over 100. Those were the temps the vet recomended with the RI.

[HumphreyBoagart]

It sounds like it's probably a mild RI. You were right to raise the heat, but to 112!!!!!!! That's ridiculous!!! You are going to have a dead snake in no time. You should never let it get above 95 degrees. You should lower the humidity by taking out the water bowl, but be sure to put it in once a day for drinking. If the problem persists or worsens a trip to the vet is in order. Hope this helps, and get that heat down before you cook your snake.
Not trying to sound condescending either, I'm just worried about the well-being of your snake. You should read the FAQ's at the top of this forum if you haven't already. Good Luck.
Hump.

[CamHanna]

I would get rid of the heat lamp and rely completely on UTH, but honestly, I've never even tried a heat lamp with a ball so I can only regurge what the pros say. Here's what Corey Woods posted a while back about cleaning up RIs.
Posted by Corey Woods here (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55058&perpage=15&pagenumber=3)
First off it sounds like your little guy has a very mild RI infection......if any at all. If the humidity is kept too low sometimes shed skin gets stuck in the nostrils and makes them whistle when they breathe. This can be missidentified as a RI infection. Before doing anything I'd check to make sure he doesn't have any restricted breathing. Clogged nostrils are very common when you keep them on any type of mulch or bark chips.

Now, for treating a mild RI infection I wouldn't go to the vet. First off I'd put him in a rubbermaid (Balls do better in rubbermaids anyways). You'll want to give him a hot spot of 100-110 F and put his hide box on the hot spot. Also, you'll want to INCREASE the humidity as close to 100% as possible. The higher [temperature] will increase his metabolism to help fight off any infection. The higher humidity will help break up all the flem in his system to help clear him up quicker.
The entire thread might be worth a read.

[beanersmysav]

Well so it sounds about right. I lowered the temp to 106 by simply raising the heat lamp up abot 3 inches, it was only a 40 watt heat light but he easily could have gotten out of the heat by going to the cool end.

I keep him on paper towels and the UTH doesn't heat the ambient enough in rubbermaids. The person before me could have had too low a humidity and that could be what the problem is, does anyone know how to tell if there's a clogged nostril? I see nothing in the BP manual about it and the reason I raised the temps to 112 is because is reccomended upward temps of 110 at the hottest mark in the tank for a possible RI and mentioned nothing about blockage of breathing. Also I only leave the heat above 100 for 3 hour intervals as directed by the manual. The hottest I can get the UTH with a temostat under the rubbermaid is a mere 99 and it's only on the ground the ambient is much lower, 6-7 inches from the heat pad it only get 86 which is why I've added the light.

So I'll check the nostrils again see if there's anything visible and if anyone can give me tips on what to look for I'd appreciate it.

[Asian Jon]

That is a very interesting read. Thanks for the link CamHanna.

I use to use a heat bulb when i was a nub for my BP to get the ambient temps up and found it with sunken eyes shortly after. Those things just suck for humidity.

Good luck with your BP beanersmysav. Hope things get back to normal soon.

[beanersmysav]

Thanks, I dont know if it helps any but I've got it directly over his water dish. I was lucky I cut a small area out and screened it for help in ventilation. Just big enough for a 4 1/2" fixture to sit on, but it's raised up now either way. He definatly doesn't look dehydrated and his humidity is acctually raising with that light over the water but I do notice it's evaporating already.

[CamHanna]

Thanks for the link CamHanna.

You can call me Cam.;)