# My royal python sneezed help :(



## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

ive only had him since last saturday 18th sep 2010

it just sneezed once but i heard it before once the other day.
Im very worried my snake has respatory infection, i havent seen any discharge.

it doesnt have "breathing problems" that i could see how would i know?

i live in a little town called glossop, and i dont have acar so i need avet that treats snakes withing a short pubic transport like local machester picadiully station or ashton under lyne , hyde,stallybridge some place like that.

i hear if it was respatory infection then and early best way to help it would be to try raise the temp but without my microclimate thermostat that im waiting for in the post this week i have to leave the heat lamp on 24/7 cos when thats on the temp is around 82f (27.7c) i know it should be about 88f but im havng trouble untill my gear arives in the post.


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## CollaredLizardGal (May 17, 2010)

I can't give you much help but would advise putting this in the snake help and chat (more viewers that way) 
Hope someone can help soon.


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## Tolbia (Mar 28, 2010)

are you sure it didn't hiss at you instead?


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## chewy86 (Mar 12, 2009)

check your temps try to have a basking area of 32/33c and a nice gradiant to the low 80's in cool end and 
humidity in the 55-60% area. 
make sure you have a hide at both ends so the snake chooses temp and not safety as priority.
If thier is no wheezing, bubbles out of nose or and obvious signs of distress things should be fine just keep an eye on him/her.


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

*Update on that temp prob*



chewy86 said:


> check your temps try to have a basking area of 32/33c and a nice gradiant to the low 80's in cool end and
> humidity in the 55-60% area.
> make sure you have a hide at both ends so the snake chooses temp and not safety as priority.
> If thier is no wheezing, bubbles out of nose or and obvious signs of distress things should be fine just keep an eye on him/her.


Yesterday i Installed a ceramic bulb/lamp with fixings 150W
a bulb guard
a microclimate B1 dimming thermostat

past 24 hours is a steady 86f (30c) in the hot end and about 77c (25C) cool end
if it dont like the cool end it will start to move twards the warmer end, in which next week i have another hide comming that will go in the middle
so it has a bigger choice to sleep or lay


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

I would turn the stat up a tiny bit till your digital thermometer reads between 32-34 degrees C (90-91 degrees F). 30 is really a bit low for Royals :whistling2:.


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## chewy86 (Mar 12, 2009)

i kept mine at 33c never missed a feed or a regular poo and shed.


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

chewy86 said:


> check your temps try to have a basking area of 32/33c and a nice gradiant to the low 80's in cool end and
> humidity in the 55-60% area.
> make sure you have a hide at both ends so the snake chooses temp and not safety as priority.


i have a hide at both ends, i have a 3rd one for the middle comming real soon.

ive checked about 8 web sites on royal python tempritures and they all say the same that 85-90f hot end and 75-81 cool end thats (9.4 - 32c) hot end and (4.8 - 27.2c) cool end

i personally am going for the top ends temp i.e 31c (88f)hot end and 81f cool end


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## chewy86 (Mar 12, 2009)

totally upto you mate 32-33c always worked well for me and low 80's cool end see how you go but make sure you have the humidity right also as too high will cause problems 55-60% is optimal really.


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

kaleluk31 said:


> i have a hide at both ends, i have a 3rd one for the middle comming real soon.
> 
> *ive checked about 8 web sites on royal python tempritures and they all say the same that 85-90f hot end and 75-81 cool end thats (9.4 - 32c) hot end and (4.8 - 27.2c) cool end*
> 
> i personally am going for the top ends temp i.e 31c (88f)hot end and 81f cool end



I was like you, read lots of care sheets etc.. before i bought my first Royal to find out how was best to keep them. It wasn't until i spoke with a few breeders that i have learnt a hell of a lot more & that includes what's the best temp to keep them at (they feed better at between 32-34 C) with a cool end temp of between 23-26 C (you need a good temperature gradient or they can't thermoregulate).


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## Madmonk (Apr 30, 2009)

*royals*

Didn't we go down the temperature road yesterday???
with lots of people telling you to up the temps??
Now for the sake of your royal get the temps up.
A sneeze should not be dismissed too lightly as it could be the start of something due to low temps. Is the snake yawning excesssively or breathing with its mouth open?


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## quadrapop (Sep 20, 2008)

Temps arnt really and "up top you" thing its what the snake requires which are 32/33. Remember on the net ANYONE can make a care sheet. Doesnt mean they are right. Several keepers/breeders of royals have advised the right temps and 99% of the royal keepers here will tell you the same.


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## heron (Nov 21, 2008)

Madmonk said:


> Didn't we go down the temperature road yesterday???
> with lots of people telling you to up the temps??
> Now for the sake of your royal get the temps up.
> A sneeze should not be dismissed too lightly as it could be the start of something due to low temps. Is the snake yawning excesssively or breathing with its mouth open?


This thread is a few days old mate...


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## Madmonk (Apr 30, 2009)

*sneeze*



heron said:


> This thread is a few days old mate...


My point is: Yesterday OP had lots of advice regard temps and hopefully the advice will be very much taken in, I know the thread is old and thank you for pointing it out.


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

Madmonk said:


> Didn't we go down the temperature road yesterday???
> with lots of people telling you to up the temps??
> Now for the sake of your royal get the temps up.
> A sneeze should not be dismissed too lightly as it could be the start of something due to low temps. Is the snake yawning excesssively or breathing with its mouth open?


your a bit late on that one, its about a week old that thread

i sorted my temp out yesterday, you must be reponding to a another thread


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

quadrapop said:


> Temps arnt really and "up top you" thing its what the snake requires which are 32/33. Remember on the net ANYONE can make a care sheet. Doesnt mean they are right. Several keepers/breeders of royals have advised the right temps and 99% of the royal keepers here will tell you the same.


 old thread

it is at 32.2c and has been for just over 24 hours
what bothers me is after almost 2 weeks it acts likea new commer.

the viv its in now its the same one its been iin before i got it, because i baught the viv and the snake together.
the snake traveled in a rub to me and was in there for no longer then 1 hour

according to the previous owner and now me, this saturday will be 3 weeks since its not eaten.
if it keeps acting like a new commer then it aint never gonna come out for food i think

im due to try feed it on tuesday, but its looking the only way to even get close to feeding it is getting the snake out its hiding place and presnting it with food and leaving it seeing if he takes it.

i got a royal python for the colour, i know there fussy eaters but still if it was gonna be this much trouble id have got a corn snake, and would still swap the royal for a young corn snake if there where offers and someone wanted to take on a royal


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

Madmonk said:


> My point is: Yesterday OP had lots of advice regard temps and hopefully the advice will be very much taken in, I know the thread is old and thank you for pointing it out.


yes i am taking the advice but im getting really frustrated with this royal, im trying my best to acomidate him, but he never ever comes out not even at night

it almost seems he would rather starve to death then come out of that hide.
id swap the royal for a more active snake if i could thats how frustrated i am with it:bash:


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

kaleluk31 said:


> after almost 2 weeks it acts likea new commer.


The last time you interfered in its viv was last night. That means it's at* Day 1*, not Day 14 of "settling in".



> its looking the only way to even get close to feeding it is getting the snake out its hiding place and presnting it with food and leaving it seeing if he takes it.


*No, you do NOT need to get it out of its hiding place to feed it.*

If you dangle the food in front of the hiding place you think it's in, and it doesn't strike, fair enough. Leave the prey with its nose sticking in the hide (like a curious rodent that doesn't know that scary things lurk in the dark) overnight. 

If your snake is in the hide you stick the nose in, it can SEE the rodent just fine. 
If your snake isn't in that hide, it can SMELL the rodent just fine.

If it's hungry it'll come out to find and eat it when it's good and ready.


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

Ssthisto said:


> The last time you interfered in its viv was last night. That means it's at* Day 1*, not Day 14 of "settling in".
> 
> 
> *No, you do NOT need to get it out of its hiding place to feed it.*
> ...


that curious rodent is gonna get cold fast when i leave it, will it still go for it at some point?

ok on tuesday what im gonna do is, place a rodent in there near where it is and leave it over night

the fact it doesnt come out for nothing day or night worries me, the fact it dont even come out for water:gasp:


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

kaleluk31 said:


> that curious rodent is gonna get cold fast when i leave it, will it still go for it at some point?


Yup, if it's hungry and it feels safe enough to do it, it'll eat. 

But your rodent shouldn't cool down any more than the temperature in the area you put it.... it's not going to refreeze itself in the viv.



> the fact it doesnt come out for nothing day or night worries me, the fact it dont even come out for water:gasp:


Unless you're watching the snake 24 hours a day (in which case, stop that, you're probably making it more frightened - the only way to do that without disturbing the animal is if you're pointing a webcam at it) you don't know that it's not coming out for water/etc when you're not there.


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## SirSlithers (May 8, 2010)

Ssthisto said:


> Yup, if it's hungry and it feels safe enough to do it, it'll eat.
> 
> But your rodent shouldn't cool down any more than the temperature in the area you put it.... it's not going to refreeze itself in the viv.
> 
> ...


As always great advice from a great person. To the original op, take the advice of the people who no i.e. ssthisto, wlw bb etc they know because they keep them not because they say so! Best of luck with your royal


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

Ssthisto said:


> Yup, if it's hungry and it feels safe enough to do it, it'll eat.
> 
> But your rodent shouldn't cool down any more than the temperature in the area you put it.... it's not going to refreeze itself in the viv.
> 
> ...


no no ill place the rodent near the hide and leave it.
but my prediction is, the way its been acting is that dead rodent will be there the next morning

its almost like it would rather starve to death then come out, but i hope to be plesently suprised

i cant tel its not come out, paper is down, ti would have got wet, or the snake would be in a differnet posisition in the hide

i dont watch it 24/7 i probabbly take a llook in once or twice in a day

the temp is a good 32.2c (90f) and has been a stable temp for over 24 hours now

thermomiters and thermostat is in the right posistion as advised


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

kaleluk31 said:


> no no ill place the rodent near the hide and leave it.
> but my prediction is, the way its been acting is that dead rodent will be there the next morning


Yes, you're probably right, and you probably will find the rodent exactly where you put it. 

It may well refuse the first feed and want another week or two to settle in. 

Or it might hit the rodent like a freight train when you dangle it at the doorway (use tongs when you try, or tweezers - it's better if you don't get in the habit of dangling the rat by its tail at your snake, because that's a great way to find out what a feeding bite on the hand feels like)



> its almost like it would rather starve to death then come out


Your royal is not exactly at that point yet, is it?

You've not mentioned that it looks wrinkled, skinny, ribs and spine showing or anything like that.... so it isn't going to starve to death in the weeks it takes to settle in.

When I got my first royal - a wild-caught adult male - he did not eat for a full four months after I got him, and I did get worried towards the END of the fourth month because he had lost a little bit of weight and was starting to look a little less "square" and a bit more "triangular/hollow underneath". 

When he finally DID decide to eat, we rejoiced - and we hadn't tried anything unusual or odd, we'd just waited him out and waited to feed until HE decided he wanted to eat.

And no, he wasn't my first snake - I waited to get a royal until I knew I had the patience to out-wait a long fast without panicking.



> i cant tel its not come out, paper is down, ti would have got wet, or the snake would be in a differnet posisition in the hide


My royals can drink without getting water all over the paper  They don't lap up water like dogs and make a mess - only way they tend to get water everywhere is if they've climbed into the bowl for a soak.


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## Madmonk (Apr 30, 2009)

kaleluk31 said:


> your a bit late on that one, its about a week old that thread
> 
> i sorted my temp out yesterday, you must be reponding to a another thread


Im glad to see your temps are up, I was simply tying in the fact that:
1. your temps were too low to Start with.
2. a snake sneezing may be something to be concerned with or nothing.
3. I like others have offered pointers as to why your snake is still hiding in you other thread, yes its an old thread but do you see how temps can affect the snake now and the knock on effects.
People will help you with issues all day long if you are struggling until you get experienced with royals.


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## heron (Nov 21, 2008)

Patience and the royal will gain confidence and emerge. Mine hides a fair deal (i've had it 6 weeks now) but I often see it out late at night and in the morning oddly enough. She watches me using the hairdryer when getting ready for work 

It does however sound as if you would get more enjoyment form a corn. Mine is about 4 - 5 months old and roams most evenings, unless due a shed


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

It's a shame your Royal is male or i would of taken it & given you my Amel Corn snake in exchange. Corns are more active than Royals but i love my Royals more :2thumb:.


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

corny girl said:


> It's a shame your Royal is male or i would of taken it & given you my Amel Corn snake in exchange. Corns are more active than Royals but i love my Royals more :2thumb:.


why do you need a female?
amel corn snake those are the orange ones right?

wouldnt portsmouth be to far away being 186 miles from glossop as the crow flys :lol2:?
regular zoo huh lol


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

heron said:


> Patience and the royal will gain confidence and emerge. Mine hides a fair deal (i've had it 6 weeks now) but I often see it out late at night and in the morning oddly enough. She watches me using the hairdryer when getting ready for work
> 
> It does however sound as if you would get more enjoyment form a corn. Mine is about 4 - 5 months old and roams most evenings, unless due a shed


i think cos im not as experienced as you guys maybe a royal wasnt a good choice as a first snake.

i will percivier on hope things get better
i will be darn glad when and if he eats for the first time and i hope he would get used to me.

its kinda a "catch 22 situation", i want him to get used to me, i hear the more you handle them the more they get used to you but.....
at the same time hes trying to settle so i cant handle him lol:lol2:


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## Vikx993 (Sep 20, 2010)

OK I don't own a royal but I own a little Corn, I only got it on Sunday and I have been very lucky so far, I spent a long time reading up about snakes etc their set ups the lot, I have come to the conclusion that its great reading all the care sheets but most of them all have different info, find one which is reputable and stick with it and also take what advise is given on here. 

patients is a massive thing, I am lucky that my little guy fed Yesterday, as it was being fed every 5 days. I popped him out the box, in to his feeding box, then placed the feeding box back in to the viv and have not handled him since. I watch and observe from a distance, when I am up close he doesn't come out. 
When I am at my distance he goes all over the cage having a good time. the only other time I go in there is to adjust the location of the probes (say it has moved them for me) or to change the water. 

another thing I have picked up on is snakes like a bit of clutter in their cage, as its all different things for them to mooch around on, and explore. 

Have faith and all will work out


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## kaleluk31 (Sep 6, 2010)

Vikx993 said:


> OK I don't own a royal but I own a little Corn, I only got it on Sunday and I have been very lucky so far, I spent a long time reading up about snakes etc their set ups the lot, I have come to the conclusion that its great reading all the care sheets but most of them all have different info, find one which is reputable and stick with it and also take what advise is given on here.
> 
> patients is a massive thing, I am lucky that my little guy fed Yesterday, as it was being fed every 5 days. I popped him out the box, in to his feeding box, then placed the feeding box back in to the viv and have not handled him since. I watch and observe from a distance, when I am up close he doesn't come out.
> When I am at my distance he goes all over the cage having a good time. the only other time I go in there is to adjust the location of the probes (say it has moved them for me) or to change the water.
> ...


i guess the worrying thing is, not only has he not eaten in almost 3 weeks but hes shwing no signs of comming out night or day, doesnt seem to even budge the same hide hes always been in

i dont wanna wake up one morning with a dead snake :gasp:


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## Vikx993 (Sep 20, 2010)

kaleluk31 said:


> i guess the worrying thing is, not only has he not eaten in almost 3 weeks but hes shwing no signs of comming out night or day, doesnt seem to even budge the same hide hes always been in
> 
> i dont wanna wake up one morning with a dead snake :gasp:



But how can you be 100% sure its not coming out when you aren't around. I know you said you look a few times and its always in the same place, but it may of just gone out done want it wants to do then gone back in again. Unless you sit and watch 24 hours a day at a distance so the snake cannot notice you till it has settled you will never know. 

No body wants to wake up with a dead snake, I worry about the temps in my little guys set up but I check them then leave him be. 

As everyone has said on here they can go long periods of time with out eating, and from you photos it looks healthy as in not wrinkled and bony. 

My little guy is always in the same hide, or under the aspen. I think you may of got your self a little worked up about well everything, and need to take a step back and let the snake do what it wants to do, Even if that means sitting in its hide all day and all night and not coming out. When its ready it will do so, you cant speed up the process for it.


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## heron (Nov 21, 2008)

Put loads of toilet rolls in there. Some horizontal, some on end. Remember how you have positioned them. If your snake has been out and about, no doubt they will have moved/been knocked over. They're very light and easy for a snake to push out the way.


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