Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 6 yr old is wheezing also mucus upon exhale is this an ri infection , what caused it. temp is 80 to 90 humidity is 45to70 please help i think she might be gravid also

Yes, I think this is a respiratory infection. I do not know what caused it, but the environmental parameters you mentioned sound okay. I suggest a vet visit soon. Being gravid, your choice in antibiotics might get complicated. Let your vet know that it may be gravid.

As an aside, if there are no obvious reasons for your snake to be sick, then you might consider that it is immunocompromised for another reason. If this is a virus, like IBD or paramyxovirus for example, than breeding and selling offspring have huge ethical concerns. Because of this, I might suggest further diagnostics like bloodwork and lungwash/culture to hopefully find out exactly what caused the problem and/or rule out something bigger.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Ian

thaks i have vet appointment in the morning i will print your reply and take with me

With humidity levels fluctuating as much as you are seeing and getting down into the 40 and 50% range, this could easily be an issue. This would be too low for a tropical boid and could very likely cause respiratory problems, possibly leading to an RI. Even if your cage interior humidity is getting up to 70% occasionally, my guess would be that in the winter months, it is probably at the lower end of the range you stated most of the time. What type of gauge are you using to measure the cage humidity?

Kelly

I have a zoo med needle gauge, and yes your right about the low humidity in the winter. I live upstate ny ,at the furthest most tip of lake ontario 10 minutes from the st lawrence river. Every nite the temp is below zero and i heat with wood . I need a cheap mister or humidifier[ $100.00- $150.00 range] I AM KINDA OF A ROOKIE any ideas, Iam open to any suggestions. right now i keep a spray bottle and a damp towel . temp is not a problem ,sometimes they get to warm .

Temps in the mid to upper 80's in winter are best, and trying not to let it get much higher. This is because when temps approach 90, you really end up driving the humidity down to very low levels. The misting and moist towel wick system is good. Not sure what type of caging you are using, but if you can seal up the cage a little better with glass sheets or plastic, that will help considerably as well.

Kelly