My adult female Ball Python is acting very strange.
She whistles (almost sounds like elephant trumpeting) very loudly sometimes, then opens her mouth to breath.
Ok, so far i would think, respiratory distress.
But when she opend her mouth, it looks perfectly clear, no mucous, no discharge, no discoloration.
Also, nothing has changed in her cage, the temps are fine, and no new snake has been brought in.
She laid a clutch of eggs 2 month ago, and has since been feeding fine. She ate 2 weeks ago, 3 med. rats, which is a normal meal for her, she's a big one...(7 pounds).
She has also shed recently, again, normal shed, nothing amiss.
I took her to the vet this morning, and he is also slightly stumped. He suspects upper respiratory disease, but said, so far you can't see any problems. It might be in the beginning stages...
We also ruled out anything stuck in her throat...he said in those cases they usually "cough" more so then whistle.
She is on bed-a-beast substrate, which is neither wet nor dusty.
Does anyone have any ideas what could be going on???
The vet sent me home with Baytril, to be given every other day, 5 times total.
I put her in a smaller cage for now, bumped up the heat. I have heard diff. opinions on humidity while they are sick. Should it be up higher or lower????
Right now i do not provide extra humidity. She is on towels and nothing is misted. Should i mist the warm side slightly?
I do not want to loose this snake, and it hurts me to hear her fight for breath/whistle like this.
Is there anything else i could do or look into???
thank you in advance for any help...
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reps-r-us
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strange behaviour, upper respt.???
Replies (2)
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reps-r-us
Humidity should be in the average range (50-70%). Too low and any mucus production can be thicker/harder to clear - too high and it makes it better for pathogen growth.
Baytril is difficult to use without causing sterile abscess formation at the sites of injection. Be sure your injections are IM and not sub-Q.
If this is an old snake there can be a host of other conditions such as cardiac, neoplasia, kidney diseases that MIGHT cause this symptomatology. Ruling out RTI is a good start.
Good luck and keep us posted! Scott J. Michaels DVM
