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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
 Posted - 09/04/2010 : 12:17:26
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So Seth, my late 09 male royal has been a bit off colour lately.
early last week he went blue, when i picked him up he was hissing at me and was very stiff (i.e he was straightening hiself out in my hands and going stiff) he didn't strike at me but kept thrashing around and going stiff. I only picked him up as the rub he was in was getting far too humid and I needed to rehouse him so I could make more air holes. I have put that behaviour down to stress.
However, today he STILL hasn't shed and is still blue...well silver to be fair, it's almost lke he's had a bad shed, so bad that the skin hasn't come off at all.
He's not dehydrated so far as I can tell (his skin isn't wrinkly).
Around his neck was a little wrinkly so I just gave him a quick powerade bath and the wrinkles are gone so I assume that was a dehydration thing.
My main concern is that he is very clicky and squeaky, its almost like his nostrils are blocked, though there is no mucus, he was breathing through his mouth a fair bit. (this was even before the bath)
Could this be due to the impending/overdue shed OR could it be an RI OR could it be both?
What is the best way to treat this?
Should I treat for an RI now, or wait until he sheds and see if that was the problem?
How else can I help him shed? he has a water bowl big enough for him to submerge in, he's now in an extra large exoterra faunarium with two damp moss filled hides (no other hides at all)and has newspaper as substrate. Heated on statted heatmat (under the faun) which reads as 32*c warm end and 24*c cool end on digital thermometers (which I have just tested to check that they are still accurate.)
his last weight was 372g empty which was a month ago.
I have not fed him now for almost two weeks because of this...should I try him regardless? He doesn't always eat when shedding.
Any help/advice would be appreciated.
Thanks :)
edited to add: he wasn't being all stroppy today and straightening/stiffening himself out, he was relatively normal temperament if a little jumpy) |
Edited by - MissCat on 09/04/2010 12:27:46 |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2010 : 15:50:48
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| If the RUB was getting too humid then it may be the onset of an RI. If there is no mucus etc. then personally I'd be inclined to wait until after the shed (which he will do when ready) and if its still there then a vet visit. |
 
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2010 : 20:49:31
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Cheers BE, Spoke to WLW about it all earlier on, he's advised me to up the temps a little bit and mist the faun a couple of times a day for 4 days, so i'm going to give that a blast. Hopefully he'll shed soon so I can get to the bottom of it all as I am sure that's what it is- it will be a vet trip if he sheds and it is an RI.
The plus side is that it's given me a proper chance to check the inside of his mouth and make sure thats all alright |
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 14/04/2010 : 11:27:25
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Okay well took a real close look at him day before yesterday.
He's still not shed yet but I did notice a lot of dry skin over his nostrils, can't really tell if it's just from this impending shed or a combination of this one and some left over from the last. I suspect that it is two layers that has gummed the nostrils up.
I got a cotton bud and soaked the tip in warm water(not too hot, it was about 28*c) and dripped a few drops of water on the nostrils, waited a few minues and gave the nostrils a wipe over. It didn't remove the skin, but it did dislodge it slightly and since then I have not seen/heard him gasp, so I am hoping it's not an RI and that it IS the skin. I am keeping a very, very close eye on him at the moment. There is definately no mucus or bubbling and the crackling noise is coming from his nostrils, not his lungs (which is where I would expect the crackling to come from if it was an RI?).
Still keeping the humidity up and I have him in a faunarium that is well ventilated and also too small for him (working on the premise that less space means he won't move around so much, thus won't lose too much energy and get too weak if it IS an RI, bearing in mind he's not fed now for nearly 3 weeks) despite the lack of space he can move away from the heat source if he wanted to, but I have not seen him do so.
I have upped the temps they sit at between 34-35*c at the warm end and though I have not been misting the faun, I have ensured that the moss stays damp and the water bowl stays full, so that should be enough.
He's getting used to being regularly checked on, i think, seems a lot more calm now to the point where he was leting me stroke his face without jumping a mile, but when I get him out he is still active and able to elevate his head, I don't think lack of energy is a problem. I am still giving him the powerade bath every day, only for 5-10 minutes at a time though and when he comes out you can see a marked difference in the way he looks so I think he is getting dehydrated in preparation to shed.
Any advice would be greatly apreciated. I'm not taking him to the vets until after he's shed unless someone deems this as an emergency. thankies :) |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 14/04/2010 : 12:54:43
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| That sounds positive Cat, I'm sure he'll be fine post-shed. |
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 14/04/2010 : 13:35:34
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| *touch wood* :) |
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dazb
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2847 Posts |
Posted - 14/04/2010 : 16:51:17
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Im sure he will be fine Cat... |
 
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spor
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1226 Posts |
Posted - 14/04/2010 : 19:30:04
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| yeah sure he'll be fine. hissing and crackling sounds like stress and blocked nostrils due to shed. Have you tried offering food and he has refused or are you just waiting to post shed. Hopefully with that bit that you have loosened around his nose he'll start to work the rest off himself. I he using the moss hides? might be worth removing one and putting in a normal hide if you are still misting.what was his last shed like or is this his first with you? good luck let us know how it all goes. |
0.4.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Pastel Royal
0.1.0 Spider Royal
1.1.0 Carolina Corn Snake
1.0.0 Normal Stripe Corn
1.0.0 Yellow Bellied Turtle
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Edited by - spor on 14/04/2010 19:30:50 |
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 15/04/2010 : 17:31:43
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He's only had one perfect shed since I got him last september, the rest have been a bit new labour but easily sorted with moss hides or a bath.
He does normally eat when in shed, but I've not fed him as was a bit concerned, he was pretty much breathing through his mouth all the time because his nostrils were blocked...i was worried he'd suffocate while eating.
Since his breathing has improved i've still not fed him as I'm handling nearly every day (though only for brief periods- litterally a minute or two) just to check him over and shift him from the hide to re-dampen the moss) he is only using the moss hides as far as I have seen. the non- moss hide is in hte cool end, while there is a moss hide in both the cool and warm ends. It's very cramped in that faun lol.
I'm almost 100% confident now that it is because of the shed and not an RI, since i loosened the skin on his nostrils there has been no gasping/wheezing and even the crackling noise is very reduced.
I think he'll shed in the next few days now. I'll keep you posted and probably put some pis up later so you can see what he looks like atm. |
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spor
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1226 Posts |
Posted - 17/04/2010 : 00:26:49
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| fingers crossed for a good shed. |
0.4.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Pastel Royal
0.1.0 Spider Royal
1.1.0 Carolina Corn Snake
1.0.0 Normal Stripe Corn
1.0.0 Yellow Bellied Turtle
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 17/04/2010 : 10:09:38
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| crackling/wheezing/gasping started again last night :/ Knowing my luck the raised humidity has given him an R.I >.< Still no mucus though. Still no shed either :/ |
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mischang
Yearling
United Kingdom
482 Posts |
Posted - 17/04/2010 : 16:06:09
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| its only been just over aweek chick seen he went blue i went to a new reptile shop to a massive one in manchester and gave them some of your sytoms and he said get rid of all humidity keep temps high, let him have a quick bath every other day so his shed will come away but he said he wont shed till his health is A ok, so i think that means get it dry in there clear his breathin up as a well snake is not as bad as 1 poor shed which u can deal with after that . He also added if any snot at long apears then go vets as u dont want to leave that as long . Hope that helps Does that make sense ?? it sort of did to me but i prob wrote it all wrong , i hope you get it sorted x x |
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spor
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1226 Posts |
Posted - 17/04/2010 : 20:16:46
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| i was going to suggest pulling the humidity bag a bit. and keep the temps a couple of degress above normal. should let those airways dry up again. don't worry I sure it will all be clear when shed is gone. I had a similar issue with Dahomey a few months ago with the wheezing and crackling but it soon cleared up after a couple of weeks. |
0.4.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Pastel Royal
0.1.0 Spider Royal
1.1.0 Carolina Corn Snake
1.0.0 Normal Stripe Corn
1.0.0 Yellow Bellied Turtle
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 18/04/2010 : 16:35:08
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have dropped the humidity back to what it would normally be now but still; have a damp hide in there in case he choses to use it (so far he has). temps are at 35*c hot end. I just don't like seeing him look so crispy, makes him look miserable lol.
I'm also really impatient, I have a funny feeling that once he shed's he will be fine...but I want him to hurry up! It's always HIM with the shedding issues too. Despite being kept in set ups identical to the others, he always seems to have issues >.< |
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spor
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1226 Posts |
Posted - 18/04/2010 : 16:54:21
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it may be possible that he is not not drinking as much as the others and not keeping as hydrated. Has he been pretty regular with sheds. in that has he been shed every 6-8 weeks or so around the same time? next time if you think that he is due a shed soon before any of the signs start to show you could try bathing him early to help prepare him for the shed in advance.
my pastel is funny when coming to shed. the first thing that happenings with him is that the eye caps dry up so he looks dehydrated. I have never seen them blue. It has taken a couple of sheds now for me to realize that this is him in pre shed. and not to panic and think that he has got badly dehydrated.
I'm sure all well be fine. |
0.4.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Pastel Royal
0.1.0 Spider Royal
1.1.0 Carolina Corn Snake
1.0.0 Normal Stripe Corn
1.0.0 Yellow Bellied Turtle
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Hullo, help!
