Strange breathing sounds and strange behaviour...

[Rottencore]

I checked on my MD today and found 1 poo with a rats tail in it(that I fed him) and diarrhea. When I took him out of his tank he was making a ho**** breathy sound that my girlfriend mistook for a hiss, it sounds like he's breathing with something blocking his mouth. He's behaviour has been erratic, he moves a lot faster and seems to get irritated quicker, I assumed it to be a respiratory infection and turned up the heating, what do you guys think it might be? I can take him to a vet in two days but I'm worried if anything will escalate. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[BenReyn]

You seem to be doing everything correctly prior a visit to a vet. If i were you i'de leave the snake alone until it's time for the vets!

 

[Chris1]

are his forks sticking together?

a vet visit isnt really that expensive when the alternative is possible losing a good friend,....

 

[FNQ_Snake]

Geez mate, that does not sound good. Hope he gets better. As with most infections that get contracted they do seem to escalate. I would try to lower the humidity and up the temps in the short term. Too humid air can cause problems. The partially undigested rat could be the result of him becoming infected. Have a search on this site for respitory illnesses in snakes and have a bit of a read of them.

Not much info mate, but hopefullt a nerve settler. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Renagade]

vet for sure

 

[Rottencore]

I'm sorry about my late reply, I put him in a room and turned the heater on high until the room was hot enough to make me sweat, I left him in there for 2 days and then the sound went away, he appears to be perfectly normal other than a bit of constipation.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[Dan19]

What temp is his basking spot? It seems that it might be too low and has caused a mild RI and would most probably be the cause of the partially digested rat.

 

[Dipcdame]

Good luck with your little guy, hope all goes well for him.

 

[NSavage]

You seem to have done the right thing except for one MAJOR problem. The snake should have (and still should be) taken to the vet . It would probably cost well less than $70 to have it examined. In the event that the snake is still sick and suffers due to having not been to the vet I will feel very sorry for it. :cry:

 

[Sturdy]

Had a quick read in my medical book

Diarrhea
Diarrhea is the occurrence of loose, watery, and usually foul - smelling stools, the causes of diarrhea in snakes are similar to those that cause vomiting, and in many cases both symptions occur. as with vomiting (and indeed with most other medical problems in snakes), the first part of the treatment for diarrhea is to correct the environment. if the problem persists, then you must seek medical solutions. repeated fecal exams of a gastric wash may reveal protozoan or metazoan parasites, an a fecal culture an sensitivity test may reveal primary or secondary bacterial invaders causing the losse stools.
a verterianarian may also replace fluid losses an provide supportive care.


get some stools samples to a vet mate.
you may have treated the symptoms but there maybe a bigger problem in there.