Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just noticed my cal. king sneeze a couple of times, and I do believe i've heard it a few other times recently (last 3 weeks). Is a lung/respritory infection the only thing that would cause a snake to sneeze? What else may cause a king snake to sneeze, and what can I check for to help diagnose the problem? The temp. in her tank is just right, everything is clean, etc. She also just ate a whole bunch, which i didn't think most snakes will do while sick. Any advice woudl be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hello,
She sounds healthy other than the sneezing... if there's no discharge from the nose, weezing or gasping for air, she may not be sick. Loose skin around the nose can cause sneezing before a shed cycle... they can also sneeze if they get a bit of water in their nose while drinking. For now, you should probably just keep the temperature and humidity up, and keep an eye on her. If it gets worse, or she doesn't stop sneezing after her next shed, it could be a respiratory infection. If in doubt, it might be better to err on the side of caution and get her to a vet for an x-ray.

Nate

I have a snake (not a kingsnake) that is perfectly healthy in all ways, but he has sneezed every once in a while for as long as I have had him (approx. 1 1/2 to 2 years). I think some snakes just sneeze more than others, because I have never heard any other snake that I have owned over the years sneeze as often as this one.

Cool, that is a good thing to hear. I'm starting to think that it was just a random thing. Everything about her seems fine, except for a couple of sneezes. thanks for the input