Hello,
I am new to the site and relatively new to New York. I have a 3 year old, female ball python who until recently has been in excellent health. This is my first winter in my new place and it turns out that it is either 65 or a dry 85 degrees with no in between. Since dry 85 results in headaches and nosebleeds I have gone with 65. This has had a bad affect on my snake however. I noticed she was having difficulty shedding so I gave her a soak in the bath but as I was patting her down I noticed she had squeak accompanying her breathing and the area around her heat pits are a bit puffy. It is obvious she has a respiratory infection . I am increasing the temperature in hopes that her immune system will kick in and defeat it but if not I will be taking her to vet. So I have two questions.
1. I live in Brooklyn, can anyone suggest a good veterinarian?
2. Could her difficult shed be a result of temperature as well as humidity? She has a water dish large enough to soak in, is there more I could be doing?

Well many times, when there are shedding issues, there can be an underlying health issue. I would advise that you keep a consistent warm end of around 85-90 degrees for the ball python in hopes that the respiratory ceases. That can be attained by using an infrared heat bulb that can be kept on for 24 hours without interrupting the light cycle of the snake. However, I would also suggest you keep a cooler end for the snake to retreat to.

In case this issue does not stop, I would suggest you contact a veterinarian. While I do not know about any herp vets in Brooklyn, we do have a few vets that work with reptiles on Staten Island. One veterinarian who is also a member of our club is Dr. Peter Astarbi. He can be contacted by phone (718)356-3010.

You might want to come down to one of our meetings some time. We are meeting this month on the third Friday night - March 18, 2011. The meetings start at 7:00pm and are held at the Blue Heron Park Nature Center on 222 Poillon Ave, Staten Island, N.Y.

Sincerely,

Harvey Bird Jr.
President - Metropolitan Herpetological Society