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I have an Eastern King that I estimate to be almost a year old now. Every once in a while while I'm holding her She will make what I can only describe as a sneezing sound and tighten up for a second, almost like a convulsion. I didn't think too much of it until someone told me they used to have a king who did the same thing, this king went into severe convulsions one day and died. Do I have anything to worry about? What is causing this?

TIA

Jason

If you arent using enough supplemental heat it may have a respiratory infection...the equivalent of having phlegm in your throat and clearing it.I suggest increasing heat and limiting access to water(hand water)for a week or so and seeing if that doesnt help.Good luck,Jeff

Thanks for the reply, it's cage has been a bit colder lately, and she loves staying in her bowl alot too, even when the water's really cold. I had a heat rock in the cage but removed it a while back for my GF's Collard Lizard. I put a heating pad under the cage but I probably dont have it on high enough.

thanks again

Jason

...that it sounds like a upper respiratory infection - in fact, with smaller snakes I often see that little jerky-like action to cough up any mucus they may have in their lungs, etc. It looks different - at least to me - than when they are 3' or more in length and have some girth on them.

Like Jeff said, check the temps. and provide only minimal water - Jeff suggested in the hand which is good...I usually give them a sanitized bowl that they cannot in anyway fit into but can drink from. I would also (I don't know what substrate you're using) clean the cage with at least an anti-bacterial soap and then line the cage with paper towels or something similar. Also, take any hide boxes and any other item out of the cage and maybe drape a cloth over the warm end to keep the cage covered (but not the airflow!) so the snake will feel secure. What kind of cage do you have - sometimes a cage will allow too much airflow and it makes for drafty conditions; the snake has no where to go and that can create medical problems for you too.

The good news is that if you haven't noticed any gaping, mucus in the mouth, or bubbling at the nostrils then you've probably caught it early or your snake is healthy enough at this point to fend it off. If the snake is sick with a respiratory infection, you can't act quickly enough - probably the number one killer of captive bred kings, or at least it is as a secondary response to another medical condition.

You can also go to a vet. Most vets that work with herps like to see them and are pretty cool with the fees (they see SO many cats and dogs!) and an shot for the infection and a clean cage should do the trick for you.

Good luck!

-John

Thanks for the info, I'll clean out the cage tonight and turn the heat up on the heating pad. The tank is a 20 Gal tall tank I believe.

Hi there,

Be careful when turning a heat pad up to increase belly heat. Unless your pad is attatched to a thermostat or rheostat (dimmer), turning it up will raise the temps significantly. Possibly way over the useable limit for the snake. In which case, the animal may avoid the area, rendering it inneffective. Or worse, the snake may sit on the intense heat and suffer a burn.

It is often easier to raise the basking temperature in an area within the enclosure by insulating the area more efficiently. For example, in order to improve heat retention in a back heated (as opposed to belly heated) baby rack, I loosly piled the substrate against the back of the shoe boxes, creating heat traps. You may want to try something similar to retain heat instead of cranking that pad up. Just trying to save you some unnecessary dough on vet bills. More than once I've turned a minor UR infection into a major UR infection through the snake's avoidance of the over heated area. Or worse, when I've turned a minor UR infection into a severe UR infection (from assoc. stress), with a side order of belly burn. Just be careful with that heat.

Will

Hi,

Give this a try in order to determine if it is an upper respiratory infection. While gently, but firmly holding the snake, place your fingers on the lower neck, just above the middle (belly) area of the snake, and GENTLY press upward, applying very slight pressure to the underside neck region. Move your finger upward toward the lower jaw region while maintaining slight pressure on the neck. This will push excess mucus up the windpipe and cause it to be expelled, if indeed an ur infection is in progress.

Immediately after applying this upward pressure check the inside of the snake's mouth. If you see nothing, then your problem is likely caused by some other irritant. If you see bubbly mucus, than a mild ur infection is the culprit. Provide optimal basking temps in a stress free area and it should clear up within a week. If you see a thick, cheesy tube-like discharge remaining in the mouth after applying pressure, than you have an acute UR infection - bad pneumonia. If that is the case, a vet visit and drugs is the next step. Please administer this test only if an ur infection is suspected, and then if confirmed, avoid stressing the snake further. This procedure is likely uncomfortable for the animal, especially if you are putting pressure on an actual infected area. So once confirmed don't do it again thinking you can manually clear the windpipe and help the snake out. You will in all likelyhood do more harm than good. As a one shot confirmation tool, this technique has been helpful in positively identifying upper respiratory infections in hundreds of snakes since 1990. It works, but use it sparingly. Good luck.

Will