respiratory infection????

[fabregasreptiles]

hey guys,

i have noticed that both my diamond python which are 2 years old and are kept together are making not loud but hearable to my ear noises when i listen to them closely. I think they are breathing or something and if i make no noise at all, i can here them like wheeze. it isn't with every breath, only once like a minute. is this what snakes normally do (wheeze) or could it be respiratory infection???? both of them do this.....

any opinions. it is not very loud but if i listen to it close i can hear and it is only about once a minute. they both do this like wheezy sound.

opinions would be great..

thanks

 

[AM Pythons]

sounds like RI .. turn your heat up to 35-36 degrees, 24/7 heat in the hot end, take them to the vet & get some shots of baytril... both snakes will need an injection every day for 10-14 days..

 

[AM Pythons]

2 reasons why.. no heat, or the snake can sometimes just sit in the cold end to long & not thermo-regulate properly...

 

[Slats]

+ too much humidity can also cause ri

 

[pyrodarknessanny]

baytrill, isnt that a bit harsh!? , see what the vet says, (wont hurt to get an overall check up anyways) my vet prescribed fourtoum (spelling) as the antibiotic of choice.. and yeah bump the hot end temps to 35 ish, also make sure theirs no wet patches in there cage.

but yeah if it is an RI you're looking at about 2 to 3 weeks of inject-able antibiotics at 3 day intervals ,

 

[AM Pythons]

seperate them aswell, never house 2 sick snakes together..

 

[Fangus]

I'm not gonna say "don't worry, I'ts nothing" Everyone should always be concerned if any pets display unusual behavior... But .. I have three pythons.. A coastal, a murray darling and a bredli. We have had all of these snakes for close to two years now ( I'm no expert ).
Ever since we got the coastal he has made a similar noise to what you described. we took him to a reptile vet in Warranwood vic. Vet seemed to think it was a pathetic attempt at a hiss, snakey got probed as well so maybe it was a hiss but either way Vet seemed to think it was nothing to worry about.. My coastal is approx 3yrs old and my Bredli is approx 1.5 yrs and ocasionaly I have noticed him making a similar sound.
As i said we have had coastal for close to two years always made this sound.. always been a great feeder, never had any other symptoms at all.
He is a perfectly fine snake appart from this sound .. which don't get me wrong I still closely monitor , and till this point ... no change.
They only thing which I can possibly think of is possible lung damage due to his enclosure being spray painted by his previous owner .. if you ever smelled spray paint .. you understand.. (enclosure is no longer used )
I was givena can of "Top of descent" with the snake so I guess he had mites at some point and has been sprayed with T.O.D..... dunno if this would do any damage.
I'm only sharing my experience ... I dont really have any advice other than go to the vet and get proffesional advice. and in the meantime find out as much info as possible on R.I. and check for more symptoms. mucus around nose + wiping nose on things + etc.
Good luck.

 

[The Devil]

+ too much humidity can also cause ri

I didn't know that......given the humidity level around Darwin ect in the wet season I guess there would be a lot of dead or dieing pythons.

 

[fabregasreptiles]

ok. will se th vet. at the moment, they seem healthy as they are moving around and one of them is sitting just under the heat lamp which is about 34 degrees. this was the first time i heard it because i really had to listen closely as it was not that loud. i have not seen any other symptoms aswell. but i will just check with the vet incase anything is wrong

 

[fabregasreptiles]

the diamonds are now huddled together right under the heat lamp which is about 35 degrees. is this ok???

 

[FAY]

Vet would be your best bet. Best to be on the safe side.

 

[fabregasreptiles]

also, can someone tell me all the signs of respiratory infection so when i take them out tonight, i can see if they really hav it. cant take them to vet now but will get them in hopefully next week, is this ok???

 

[dangles]

tony gave some valuable info above ie dont house 2 potentially sick snakes together. 1 may be sick the other not, if the sick one is contagious u will end up with 2 sick snakes. I like the idea of quarantine by housing seperately. If it is concerning you get them to the vet asap and not next week

 

[Slats]

I didn't know that......given the humidity level around Darwin ect in the wet season I guess there would be a lot of dead or dieing pythons.

Look into it before you have a crack.
Too much humidity for too long in a confined space is not good for anything.
(except fish)

 

[fabregasreptiles]

i held the diamonds today and there was no sound from either of them. i took each one out seperately and switched off all the noises (tv,s etc.) around me. i then listened carefully and they didn't make a sound except once or twice when i kinda annoyed them and they did a sort of puff like what dragons do in fantasy movies. could be a very small hiss or something. anyone knows??? and i listene to them and they made no noises whatsoever. when they have RI, do they always wheeze like very 30 secs and whenever they breath or do they do it like once every 30 mins???

do you think i dont need the vet because today they made no noise whatsoever excecpt one like puff which they did when they moved back into an 's' postition.

do you reckon they are fine???? any comments???

thanks for all your help so far

 

[fabregasreptiles]

how often do snakes wheeze when they have RI... whenever they breathe or like every 30 mins randomely???

 

[fabregasreptiles]

just wondering if these temps are ok..

hot spot: 35 degrees celsius

warm side: 27 degrees celsius

this is in winter so it is obviously a bit cooler. are these temps ok???? or should i raise them or lower them...??? to what temps if so????4

thanks

 

[AM Pythons]

if you cannot tell yourself, go to the vet, my vet charges $56 for a consultion, if nothing is wrong, you paid $50 to find out, if something is wrong you will be looking at a nother $40-50 for antibiotics..

 

[Wally]

They're new snakes in your collection anyway so a vet check certainly won't hurt.

 

[AM Pythons]

then the fun starts of giving injections to sick snakes.. you may need someone to help you.. its a task..