Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I was holding my July '02 male bp last night and this clear drool looking stuff came out of his mouth. He didn't open it or anthing, just was crawiling around and left a puddle on my arm. He did it again about a minute later. Any ideas on whats up with this? Everything is normal (no new bedding or anything like that), although he was due to eat.

Thanks,
animalmaniac

Is he more active than normal?
Is he holding his head up all the time?
Does he make any wheezing sounds, ever (even slight) ?

Clear mucus is one indicator of a respiratory infection.

If in doubt, get him to a vet.

Regards,

Neil

A more benign reason to add to the possibilities suggested above:

When you removed him from his cage, had he just taken a drink of water? If so, the fluid might not have had time to pass all the way down to his stomach, and just drooled by gravity right on back the way it came in. Even though a human can swallow water and have it pass to the stomach when the head is lower than the rest of the body, I don’t think snakes are able to unless they periodically raise their heads to allow the water to drain down. I’ve read that half of a snake’s esophagus is amuscular which might account for why that is. At any rate, it’s a common occurrence in captive snakes to have the water flow back out if they are handled soon after drinking.

-Joan

No, everything is normal. I'd been holding him for about ten minutes when he first drooled on me, and was in his hide box before that, so I don't think it was water. I may go ahead and take him to a vet.

Thanks,
Taylor