Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my columbian rainbow boa about five years ago as a hachling and have never had a problem with him. hes just over three feet, eats without a problem, i love him to death. lately he has been puffing out his throat when breathing. i'm worried about a possible respiratory infection, but im not sure what the signs are. he doesn't have any discharge around his nose or mouth, but he makes noise very faintly when he breathes.
before i take him to a vet... any ideas?

What's his humidity? It can be tough to keep up in the winter.
-----
"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

your right... it is pretty hard to keep humidity up in the winter... at the moment it is at 55%.
i mist both my snakes at least twice daily... but they dry out again so fast that they'll go from 80% freshly misted to 40% or lower when i wake up in the morning and they havnt been misted in a while.
i'm in the process of building a rack for them instead of aquariums... where the heat and humidity will be easier to control.

this throat puffing thing tho... what does it mean?
after i fed him today, my columbian sat there with his mouth open for ten seconds or so... longer than his usual post-mouse yawn.

i've never had a problem with him before... at all.
he's always done well with lower humidity.

what could this be?

thanks for responding by the way.
~pam

this is iris in his house.

Sounds like it might be a cold... I've got a Brazillian myself and she had some breathing problems due to low humidity before but nothing quite like that. Someone on the rainbow boa forum might have another insight. If it gets any worse I'd take it to a vet if it were my snake.
-----
"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

i'll try gettin him a little warmer first...
if it does get worse tho, he's definitely going to a vet.
gotta take care of my baby.