I've had my ball python for nearly two years now. I'm not sure of his age, but he's exactly three feet long right now. Up until very recently, I had him in a 15-gallon aquarium, which he seemed content in, as he rarely left his hide log, with the exception of a little bit of cruising around at night. I know that I had his cage set up right; although the temperature was probably about five degrees lower than most people recommend. I had a daytime light for heat during the day, and an UTH for heat during the night, which seemed to suit him fine. In the two years I've had him, he's been a perfect eater (he gets a mouse once a week) and he's had, with one exception, very good sheds. However, about a week ago, I looked into his cage, and couldn't find him! All of the latches were latched properly, but after a bit of investigation, I realized that he had somehow worked his way under his water dish. (The side of his cage the water dish is on has a piece of wood hidden under the substrate to help steady a platform a few inches above it.) He had created a burrow under the ground-level piece of wood, and had spilled most of his water into the substrate in the process. I extracted him from his burrow to make sure he was okay, moved things around a bit so he couldn't do that again, but, lo and behold, he found a way to do it again the next night.
I'd been intending to get him a bigger cage for some time, and I decided that it'd be as good a time as any to do so, as I was wondering if he was trying to tell me he didn't have enough room. I bought him a 30-gallon aquarium, and a heat light which runs 24 hours, in addition to the daytime light. His cage is currently at the right temperatures, if not just a little warmer now. The first night, he spent the entire night cruising around, exploring everything, and seemed incredibly active and happy. The second night, as I was sitting by the computer, I heard a strange, almost whistling noise. I immediately looked over to my snake's cage, unsure if he'd made the noise, or if it had come from somewhere else. He was out cruising around, and in the next fifteen minutes, it happened twice more. The first thing that came to mind was, of course, respiratory infection. All sorts of possibilities went through my head... he'd gotten too cold and wet while he was in the little burrow he created for himself. I decided to keep a close eye out on him, and sure enough, I heard another wheeze the next morning as he was coming out of his hide log. I looked for any signs of mucus, and didn't see any. He came out of his log, and spent the next few hours cruising around, exploring everything, WAY more than I'd ever seen him do. I decided to find the number of a reptile vet, just in case, but he wasn't going to be in until the next day. (I'm from a rather small and unexotic town, reptile vets are a bit hard to come by.) My husband got the snake out and held him for awhile to see if he could hear anything... he said that the snake made a little bit of noise (breathing hard was how he described it) when he was climbing around a lot, but none at all while the snake was sitting still. I didn't hear any noise from him whatsoever for about 36 hours (and I made a point to check up on him pretty often.)
I started to feel a little bit better, and did some online research about respiratory infections, and read that it's possible for snakes to make a "wheezing" noise while they're moving around, simply because the way they're moving is somehow forcing air from their lungs. I also read a few accounts of people who say their ball pythons wheeze pretty often, and don't have a respiratory infection at all.
Now, just about an hour ago, he started wheezing again... he's probably done it four times in the past two hours (wheezing is all I know to call it, what it really sounds like is a squeak, or helium coming out of a balloon.) Now, my question is, if this were a respiratory infection, would the wheezing be consistent, or would it just be every once in awhile? And, would I be able to hear it, if the snake were inside his hide log, inside a glass aquarium, with me on the other side of the room? Because it's really quite loud, and a couple of the times, I've found myself thinking... "that noise can't possibly be coming from the snake." Sometimes it doesn't sound like a wheeze at all... more like a high pitched squeal, more suited for a mouse, actually. (Maybe his cage is haunted by spirits of past meals... who knows.)
Other strange behavior I've noticed today (and only today) is that while he was out cruising, he was making it a point to rub the end of his nose on practically EVERYTHING he came in contact with. I've seen him do this before a shed, and although he's due for one, he hasn't shown any signs of pre-shed (cloudy eyes and the like.) He also "yawned" once or twice, and I was able to look in his mouth... no mucus or bubbles or anything suspicious. Another thing is, while I was looking at him (which I do fairly often, he seems to enjoy being talked to, and will occasionally even come right up to the glass to get a better look at me) he actually HISSED at me, which I've never heard him do. He's never been aggressive with anyone.
So, basically, my question is, I have a snake who's never made a peep before Friday night, and in the past few days, he's made three noises I've never heard before (the wheeze/exhale, the squeak, and the hiss.) Could it be a respiratory infection? Is he just for some reason making noise because he's been put in completely new surroundings? Why is he rubbing his nose against everything?
The reptile vet will be there all day tomorrow. The reason I'm asking all of this is because the price the receptionist mentioned for a mere consultation is a pretty hefty fee, and this vet is probably about 40 minutes away. If my snake is sick, I will certainly get him the care he needs/deserves, but it would be a lot easier to justify an expensive trip to the vet if I knew these were for sure signs of a respiratory infection. Sure, he's making odd noises, but no mucus or bubbles at all, and he's ACTING healthier than I've ever seen him... he's all over his new cage, all the time. Should I take him tomorrow? Should I wait and keep an eye on him? I just don't know...
My apologies for what is probably a REALLY long post, but... I wanted to make sure you all had all of the information you might need to help analyze the situation more. Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to give me.
