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My male ball has just started making a weird high pitched whistling type sound occassionaly. I have never heard this before. I have never had a snake with any type of respiratory disorder or the past 12 years. Has anypne ever heard this before? It is not a weezing type sound and he doesn't open his mouth to breath. I inspected the inside of his mouth and found no mucous, no mouth rot. It did look oas though he was missing one of the smaller front teeth near where his tounge flicks in and out. Could this space cause the whistling sound much like a kid who looses a tooth?

Is it anything like the sound people make when they are trying to breath through a stuffy nose? (Not the wet snorty sound but the high-pitched whistle)

Mine did that last year, and I was worried, but saw no evidence of a respiratory infection. I took her to the vet, and he told me that he thought her humidity was too low. Kinda like for us if we go to some place that is really dry, and our sinuses react funny - he said that having her humidity just a shade low was the culprit.

I've raised her humidity since then and haven't heard the sound again... but in talking to this vet some more he is also convinced that Ball Pythons come from tropical rainforests and want conditions that I would call WET - and I don't agree. I'm not 100% sold on his explanations for things, but I haven't heard my female making that funny sound anymore.

Hope this helps.

~Rebecca
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1.1 Ball Pythons (1.0 '05 Ghost, 0.1 '03 Normal)
0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40 lb darling lap dogs)

thanks for the info. I have a humidifier on in the room all night and cut it off in the morning. He doesn't make the noise all the time and I didn't hear it last night. I am looking for a vet that is familiar with balls because the other I have talked to thinks they come from rainforests as well.
Thanks again.