Is it at all normal for a snake to make any sort of a breathing noise?
I had a problem with a larger honduran making a wheeze noise when breathing ... I could not isolate this snake (space and heat limits) and I have noticed a couple other of my larger snakes begining to make this noise also. I assumed that this was a simple respiratory problem from an uncleanly enclosure that would go away eventually ... but it is still lingering around months later.
Just recently I have noticed some 05 hatchlings making the same noise (mainly only when eating) ... I was under the impression that things like this would not spread through the air? I now use hepa filters with an ionizer, open the window periodically. For a while now I have also been using papertowel bedding which I can change roughly every 3 days - I spot check 2-3 times daily for any mess/spill.
Should I add a dehumidifier? I personally would think that humidity should be below 20% or something since they have dishes of water if they need it - I have not heard this from others though. Lately humidity has spiked to 70% on rainy days but 40-50% is about normal for summers here in Ontario. Any problems were noticed at the lower humidity levels and are not from the higher spikes. Temps are 78-82 in the whole room (no gradients). Maybe this is part of the problem?
Am I going to have to start injections on these guys? I would really like to avoid that if possible. I have had some practice with it but getting the proper amount of drugs for this many snakes is the real problem .. Its to expensive and time consuming to bring in 10 or more snakes for a "physical" exam .. especially when I knew more than the previous vet about milksnakes in general.
Anyways .. any tips on tackling this problem would be greatly appreciated!
