Ball python respiratory illness after thermostat failure

A thermostat failure causing an overnight temperature spike is one of the most distressing things that can happen — and respiratory signs in a ball python almost always trace back to exactly that kind of thermal stress. Getting heating and UV lighting right is genuinely the single most important factor in reptile health, and most illness — including respiratory infections — comes down to temperature going wrong. Before I point you toward the right solution, can you tell me: how old and large is your python, what size enclosure are they in, and what thermostat and heat mat were you using when this happened?

Really glad she's been seen and is on antibiotics — that's exactly the right call. The problem here isn't the heat mat itself, it's that cheap unbranded thermostats have no reliable over-temperature cutoff, so when they fail they often fail open, meaning the mat runs at full power all night. For a 4x2x2 with an adult ball python, you need a thermostat with dual-probe capability so one probe controls the output and a second acts as a high-limit safety cutoff. What heat mat are you currently using, and do you have any temperature logging from the night it failed?

That's a very common setup and unfortunately it's the one most likely to cause exactly what happened to you. A single probe on the mat surface means the thermostat is controlling the mat temperature, not the air temperature your snake is actually living in — so if it drifts or fails, there's nothing to catch it. The Habistat mat itself is fine and can stay. What you need is the Inkbird ITC-306A thermostat. It's a genuine dual-probe pulse proportional controller: one probe monitors the warm-spot air temperature to control output, and the second acts as an independent high-temperature alarm and cutoff. If the primary circuit ever malfunctions, the safety probe shuts everything off before temps become dangerous. It also has a built-in temperature alarm that will alert you on your phone via the Inkbird app — which means you'd have known within minutes the night this happened. It's around £35–40 on Amazon UK and it's the most important upgrade you can make before your python goes back in her enclosure.

Yes, and this matters a lot. Place the primary control probe at hide level on the warm side — roughly 5–8cm above the substrate, not touching the mat or the glass. That way the thermostat is responding to the temperature your snake actually experiences. Set your warm-side air target at 30–32°C for a ball python. Then position the safety cutoff probe touching the mat surface itself, and set its high-limit cutoff at 40°C — that's the point at which you want everything to hard-stop regardless of what the control circuit is doing. Your cool side should sit naturally at 24–26°C with no intervention needed in a wooden viv. Once she's recovered and the vet gives the all-clear, that setup will be genuinely safe.

Almost certainly, yes. Ball pythons are notoriously sensitive to subtle thermal gradients, and if your warm-side air temperature was being under-read because the probe was on the mat rather than in the air, your actual warm-side air temp was probably running lower than you thought — 26–28°C rather than the 30–32°C she needs. At those temperatures digestion slows significantly and feeding drives drop. Once you have accurate temperature control with the ITC-306A and she's fully recovered, don't be surprised if her appetite improves noticeably. Give her two to three weeks of stable temperatures before offering food again after the antibiotics course finishes.