Q:  I need info on respritory problem for a burmese
python. Please help.

A:  You haven't stated anything about specific symptoms you are observing, so I can't determine the extent of the problem. Certainly a trip to a qualified reptile veterinarian would be warranted.

I'd like to focus on the underlying cause for this infection, which is basic husbandry issues in most cases. Even when snakes are exposed to infectious agents, they will usually remain healthy if they have a strong immune system. A healthy immune system comes from providing the correct environment for the snake. Many times people find that difficult to do for large snakes because the animal grew very quickly, and the current cage size may be inadequate--and very likely the heating system is as well (or you probably wouldn't be having this problem).

Sometimes just restoring the caging system to appropriate conditions will allow the snake to heal itself from a mild infection, but I recommend that you get professional guidance as soon as possible if you are not very experienced in these matters. It will cost some money, but think of it as a learning process that will benefit you in your snake-keeping future; and if the infection is bad, you'll need the vet. to provide antibiotics anyway.

These are always difficult questions to answer without actually seeing the snake. I hope you will do the right thing for the snake and take a careful look at the habitat you are providing (and correct any inadequacies you find) so you and the snake don't have to go through this again.

Q:  I've read some Ball Pythons don't eat alot in
the winter time. My 2 ft. ball python hasn't eaten
in a month, I keep offering him a live mouse and he
won't eat it. The mouse and the snake will actually
touch noses sometimes, and the snake will move away!
He's always eaten perfectly fine before. Should I just
think balls don't eat alot in the winter, or is there
something wrong. Could it have to do with mites? He's
having problems with mites.

A:  It's not unusual for ball pythons to take a break from eating for awhile. As long as the snake is healthy (with good body weight) and doesn't lose weight at an alarming rate during its fast, it can probably not eat until springtime if necessary without any problem.

You've got a much bigger problem on your hands--Get Rid Of Those Mites ASAP! They could be one factor in your snake's lack of desire to eat.  Also, mites are probably vectors for some nasty, untreatable diseases, which they can spread throughout an entire collection. Make sure you not only treat the snake for the mites, but also treat the snake's cage. Wash it thoroughly to get rid of mite eggs that have been laid in small cracks and corners (use a brush).  You also need to treat the area surrounding the cage because mites often leave the cage to lay their eggs.

Throw away all the bedding material and any cage furniture that may harbor mite eggs, and use newspaper as a substrate until you've got the problem solved.  The paper will make it easier to see mites if they reappear.  You may have to do treatments once every week for 4 weeks in a row (and whenever else you see new mites) to make sure you've killed any hatchling mites that have come from eggs that you missed.  It can be a lot of work, but it's worth it to get rid of them.

By the time you've finally taken care of the problem, it will be obvious to you why I highly recommend that people do everything they can to never let mites into a reptile collection in the first place.

Q:  My 7 month old boa hasn't pooped now for a
month and has been fed 4 mice. I put her in
warm/lukewarm water, raised the temp, humidity
in the enclosure and nothing worked. I've asked
other people and the answers were both yes and no.

A:  I don't see a problem. Why do you think the snake should defecate now? One month is not a long time at all for a boa to not "poop". Soaking the snake is not producing anything because the snake doesn't need to "go" yet. Keep feeding it, and don't worry about the snake "going" unless you see actual symptoms of a problem (which would be quite rare unless you deprived it of water or made some other major mistake). It's good that you're observing your snake closely, but it's important not to overreact. Remember, snakes have a much different metabolism than mammals. The pattern will vary, but they can eat many meals before needing to defecate.

Q:  I started feeding frozen thawed to my snakes
about two months ago. I have noticed that their
poop has become runny. Could this be caused from
the thawing process? I let the rats sit in hot water for
about an hour, then I make sure they are not hot and
feed the snakes. I have also had one snake throw up
several times since the switch. Am I supposed to dry
off the rats before I feed the snakes? Please help!

A:  The problems you are experiencing are not because of the frozen food as long as the food you are using is of good quality and you are thawing it properly. I have used frozen rats/mice exclusively with my collection for many years, and I'm convinced it's the way to go for most people. For the best results, make sure the rats are completely thawed and warmed to approximately 100°F (in hot tap water or under a heat lamp). If you put food animals directly into water to thaw them, you should remove excess moisture with a paper towel so they aren't dripping all over the place as you offer them to your snakes.

The symptoms you describe sound to me like it could be a problem with internal parasites. You should bring any snake that has runny, foul-smelling stools and any snake that regurgitates to a qualified veterinarian for a parasite check. You should also pay particular attention to your hygiene practices so you don't spread disease-causing organisms around your collection. Each snake should have its own cage, and make sure you wash your hands thoroughly when you're done handling one (or done cleaning its cage) before you move on to the next one. Also, don't transfer food items or water bowls from one cage to the other, because this is a common way that parasites are transmitted from one snake to another.

Q:  I feed my python one mouse a week.
I don't know if one thing is normal. How long after
they eat do they poop? It's an odd question I know.

A:  Not an odd question at all. It's something you should be aware of if you want to give your snakes the best possible care, and it sounds like you do. However, I'm not sure it's a question that can be easily answered. Sometimes they retain a great deal of waste for quite a long period of time. Other times they'll defecate more often. I do know that in most cases we can't predict when a snake will have a "bowel movement" based upon the meals it's eaten. Snakes operate on their own schedules, and much of that has not been extensively studied. In the absence of actual symptoms of constipation, it's something to be aware of but not something to worry about.

Q:  I have some questions about constipation: my
snake (a Californian King, 1 year old, 80 cm
long) looks somewhat constipated: She hasn't made any
stool since its last diner (1 week ago) which appears
quite unusual for her. I feed her a fuzzy every
5 to 6 days. I've just raised humidity up to 80%
by placing her water bowl on the heat source, which
seems to have her show more activity (My flat is quite
dry in winter as I use electric heating devices, which
influence the humidity rate in her tank). Is it already
time to worry about this or not? Anyway, if I have to
soak her in water, can you give me the adequate
temperature for that?

A:  This sounds like it could be perfectly healthy snake to me, and I don't think you have anything to worry about at this point. If it turns out that you do want to soak the snake to stimulate a bowel movement, proper water temperatures would be in the low 80's F (27°-29°C), and it only needs to be deep enough to just come up to the top of the snake's back. It's best to use a thermometer to be accurate. If the water feels warm to your fingers, it's probably too hot.

Q:  I have a 3.5 month old California King.
Everything was fine until about 4 days ago. The snake
is a male and has recently shed it's skin. It still
spends a considerable amount of time soaking in its
dish all day and recently has started to regurgitate
its food. It was being fed frozen pinkies. The snake
is no longer active, it looks slightly bloated and the
vent looks slightly prolapsed. Please help me.

A:  In an emergency case such as this, the best advice is to get the snake to a qualified reptile veterinarian ASAP. Unfortunately, those people are still quite rare, but maybe you've thought ahead and already located one in your area, or you may just get lucky. Please keep in mind the snake's temperature requirements while you transport it to the vet. Also, I recommend that if you have other reptiles you should immediately quarantine the sick snake in order to keep the rest of your collection safe.

I'm assuming also that the frozen pinkies were adequately thawed and warmed prior to feeding them to the snake. If not, this could cause a problem. I highly recommend using frozen/thawed food, but it needs to be done properly. Sometimes when you buy a baby snake, it can have problems that you aren't aware of.  If you have provided a proper habitat for this snake, and the food animals were adequately thawed, then I would say it sounds like this snake could have some internal parasites.  Please get the snake to a reptile veterinarian and also do a thorough review of the snake's habitat to make sure that you're giving the snake everything it needs.

Q:  Sorry for the EXTREMELY basic question, but I'm
totally new at snake keeping. I have a new, 14" long
Cal King and I am wondering if I should supplement its pinkies
with some sort of calcium/vitamin complex?  And what about
frozen food?  I heard that freezing ruins vitamins.

A:  Nature has provided everything your snake needs to eat in one convenient package. It's called a rodent! As long as you provide the proper habitat for the snake and feed it high-quality food animals (I recommend frozen/thawed), it should be a healthy "pet" for years to come.

An added note: some vitamin levels are "degraded" in the freezing/thawing process. My views on using vitamins comes from years of snake keeping, reading about other people's observations, and personally observing other people's collections. Rodent-eating snakes do well and reproduce normally (at least in the vast majority of cases) when fed a life-long diet of frozen/thawed rodents. When you consider the need to be humane to the food animals and the need to safely feed your snakes, I believe using frozen/thawed food is best for both groups of animals, and it's also the most convenient for the majority of keepers. Probably only a small portion of the nutrients are lost in freezing, but people that have a concern about this can occassionally feed freshly pre-killed meals to make up any small deficit that may accumulate.

Some people have tried suppliments, and some people do feel that they are good to use.  But since improper supplementation can cause serious harm, I remain conservative on this issue until we know more about it.

Q:  Hi there, i really need help. Im getting a new snake
soon and can't decide which one would make the best pet.
First i looked at the columbian red tail but i decided i
couldn't handle a possible 14 footer. I then moved onto
The brazilian rainbow boa but this snake seems like it
needs to much care. Im now considering either the borneo
short tail or the jungle carpet, can you offer me any
kind of advice??? thanx

A:  There are many great possibilities, so rather than tell you what my favorites are, let me just explain how I think the process of choosing a pet snake should go. First, choose a snake species that is appealing to your eyes. Then find out everything you can about its needs in captivity to be sure that you can provide that--before you buy it. Next, once you've made your choice, set up the best cage you can, using what you've learned about the snake up until this point. Start with a healthy, captive-bred baby or juvenile of whatever you've chosen so you don't run into major health problems right off the bat. I also recommend that you seriously consider using frozen/thawed food animals for your own convenience and for the safety of the snake.

To me, the bottom line is to make sure you start with a healthy animal and put it into a habitat appropriate for that species (one of the most important things you need to do to keep it healthy). You're already on the right track because you're doing research to find out about the snakes needs before you buy it. I don't care how pretty the snake is when you start out, if it gets sick and dies because it wasn't properly cared for, you'll end up unhappy.

Q:  I was just wondering if you can use chickens as
a primary food source for larger pythons. I have
adult olive pythons, approximately 8-9 feet which
were raised on chickens only from about 12 months old.
The main reason chickens were used was because they are easy
to obtain, as well as growing to a large size in a relatively
short period. I think I would go broke trying to keep adult
olives fed on rats. Where I live, in Australia, guinea pigs
and rabbits aren't avaliable as a food source for reptiles.

A:  You can feed chickens to your snakes, but don't forget that a significant portion of chickens (at least in the US) are contaminated with salmonella bacteria that can be transmitted to humans. In other words, it's a good idea to wash your hands thoroughly after having contact with your snakes, and be extra careful if there are children or people with compromised immune systems around (to whom the bacteria is potentially deadly). I'm not being an alarmist, but it pays to take care when the health of loved ones is concerned, and I'm sure you don't need bad publicity in Australia any more than we do in the US!

Q:  Barry, I have always respected the advice you have
given on the various forums and wondered what you
thought about my temps for my papuan python (I think
they are a bit low) and whether you have any suggestions.

I keep my papuan in a 40gallon aquarium that is covered with
a solid wood cover and is heated by a radiant heat panel (75W)
and the temps. I'll give are what I got after using an infrared
thermometer (digital).

Also I have been planning on purchasing your book for some time
but haven't gotten around to sending out a check for it (I'm sure that
sounds great. yeah, I like your book but I haven't gotten it - but its true
I want both your book and the barkers book but without a credit card
it is not always that easy on the web (now if it was in a book store
by me . . . )
thanks in advance

here's what I got:
room temp (measure by both standard and digital): 62 - 65 F
wall temp (around aquarium) 60 F
window temp (near aquarium) 58 F
outside wall of aquarium (bottom to top) 62 to 66 F (cold side) and 65
to 74 F (panel side)
inside aquarium measurements:
cold panel
aquarium floor 67 69
inside lower hide box 65 65
inside upper hide box 71
snake in upper box 74
basking spot* 73
snake on basking spot 83
branch/climb spots 68 88
water dish 71

I have recently changed the layout of my aquarium to deal with
humidity (i have been forced to spray alot of keep humidity at 75 to
85% and wnated to do so less) and covered the entire aquarium with a
layer of moss (and the moss absorbs less then wood and less than snake
so this may effect temp readings). Otherwise there are three hide
boxes in my 40G aquarium (1) one on ground level in the cold side of tank,
(2) another on ground level on the panel side, and (3) one stacked on
top of the panel side box. all hide boxes are 1.5G rubbermaid
containers with holes cut along the bottom to allow entry.

the temp of snake was after being on the basking spot for apr. 15min
after being at previous temp (74). from this basking spot the snake
is about 6 to 7" below the radiant heat panel. the water dish temp may
be affected the fact that I replaced water with 90F water at 1000 (and
water temp reading was at 1130) so this temp might be too high.

does the temp seem ok to you (this was all taken between 1030 and 1130
in the morning so there should be a little change up and down for
afternoon and night temp changes). i had expected slightly higher
temps (and did see some with a different thermometer on a warm
afternoon day) should I be concerned?

A:  Let me start by saying that I don't have much personal experience with papuan pythons, but maybe I can give you some advice that will help anyway.

I've done the same thing you are doing (taking the temperature of every part of the cage), and after awhile it can drive you a bit crazy. Your ambient temperatures are low (as are mine this time of year), but I have kept boids successfully in these conditions, and so can you.

You wrote that inside the upper hide box and at the basking spot were 71°F and 73°F, respectively. I would think that those places should be the warmest parts of the cage, and those temperatures are not high enough if that's the case. Maybe I'm just not understanding your setup, but let me just tell you what I would go for. You want to provide a hide box that the snake can use to warm itself, and you don't want to make the snake seek out an exposed place to bask and warm up. This would force the snake to choose between feeling secure and being warm, and you don't want to make the snake choose. You want it to be able to get warm and feel as secure as possible, all at the same time.

Once you've got your heat sources adjusted so you're providing a hide box that gets up to about 90F inside, if possible, and you've also got a similar hide box on the cool end of the cage, you need to observe the snake for a few days. Keep track of where it spends its time. It should use both areas, but if it spends all of its time in the warmest parts of the cage, then it may not have access to the heat it needs. At some point it should move away from the heat to cool down. I know you can't watch the snake 24-hours-a-day, but do your best to notice its movements.

Use the infrared thermometer to take the temperature of the snake occassionally. If the snake is using different parts of the cage over the course of several days and its body temperature readings are averaging out to about 80F, I'd say it's probably fine. Based on this information, you should be able to make any adjustments that are necessary, but let me know if you have further concerns.