Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My new Creamsicel corn (the 4') was fed Sat. evening. He was perfectly fine as far as I could tell, ate 2 mice and has been tucked away burried under the aspen for the last two days. Nothing odd about that, he seems to like to burrow (I think that's because the pet store kept him in with anohter corn and there was nothing but aspen and some small branches, no hides). So I pull him out last night to check on him and I notice right away that he's making this whistling noise when he breathes. Hum, thats a new one on me. So the first thing I think of is a respaitory infection, but there were no other signs that he was sick. No bubbles, no gurgling noises, no breathing with the mouth open, and he acts totally fine. He is living in a 30 gallon breeder at the moment with Aspen bedding (deep) and a half log, and a few more large hides for him of slate and wood under the heat lamp which is a 50w red light. I read Kathy's book (always good to keep it close at hand) and it said if the case was mild to raise the heat and keep it dry and also to keep him as least stressed as possible. Ok that's easy enough, put another 50w red heating lamp on the cage (not next to the first) to raise the temps which were at about 80 degrees to start with and about 40% humidity.

Is there anything else I should do? Should I check on him daily or just leave him alone for a few days? What do I do if it gets worse? How long should I leave it to get better on it's own?
This is my first snake to show ANY signs of being ill and I don't want to take a chance with him. Is there anything else I can do?

Thanks
-----
Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.3.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.4 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

the first signs of a respiratory infection, but it also could be that your snake is starting to come into its shed and some of the shed in the nose is loose and is causing a whistling sound when it breaths. I have had this happen with mine, and have one snake that does this almost everytime she comes into shed. She makes a whistling sound until she sheds, then is fine.
So, watch your snake for any furthur signs of an infection and also watch to see if it is going into the blues.
I also had one start with a respiratory infection before and did just what you are doing, raised the temp and kept him dry and he passed it fine - refused to eat till he was better but got better without any problems.
Good luck, hope it is just a matter of loose shed in the nose.

I am hoping it's just because he IS in shed. He was in the blue-eye phase when I bought him and he feels real rough on his belly so I'm really really hoping that's all it is. Until then his cage is much warmer (pushing 90)just in case and I'll probably leave him alone till tomorrow and check on him then.

Thanks for the help
-----
Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.3.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.4 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

at 40% RH would a moist hide box be in order since it is in shed?
would that be bad if it was early stages of RI?

You know I kinda had the same thoughts on that too. I was going to put one in there last night after giving him his 48 hr. rest after feeding when I noticed the whistling sound. So I didn't put one in. Good news is that all my snakes are kept at about that humidity (heck we're in Colorado, it's dry) except two snakes who reside in Plastic boxes where the humidity is a little higher. But regardless, all my snakes shed really good, in fact just had one shed yesterday and two last week (those rats really make um grow).

So would it be a good idea to put a shed box in there with the possibility of a RI?

Kathy you out there, we need your expert opinion??
-----
Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.3.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.4 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

Respiratory problems are fairly unusual with corns. I suspect it will resolve when he sheds. If he eats, digests fine, and shows no other symptoms after shedding but still "whistles" a little, then it stll probably isn't dangerous. However, you would want to observe carefully and maybe consider a vet exam at that point.

I have had corns in the past that had a slight whistle or even gap in their mouth closure for years, just because (I suspect) they had many years of exposure to pine shavings (back in the '80s when I always used it for substrate)and I think it caused some scarring in their nostrils or resp. tract. But they always ate and bred fine. I think other kinds of injury could also cause it. However, I doubt that is the cause of your inquiry in this case.

I would just take care of him normally, leave an extra warm basking spot in the cage, keep stress down, and give him a shed box. Make sure the moist substrate in the box is clean to avoid micro organism build up. It will only be for a few days until he sheds, so shouldn't have time to cause a problem.

I'll just keep doing what I'm doing then and add the shed box tonight (if I can find one that will fit in there) and let you all know how it goes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR by the way . I hope everyone has a great one and I hope 04 will be MUCH better for me then 03 (only good thing about 03 is the 6 corn snakes I now have).

-----
Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.3.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.4 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

Well I checked on him last night, found him buried in the aspen underneath the heat lamp (it's about 90 in the spot) and pulled up his head and stuck it by my ear. I listened for about a minute or two and didn't hear the whistling sound. But he did make a sound and I'm not sure if it was a sneeze or he spat at me because I was pissing him off.
-----
Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.3.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.4 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)