RI and feeding

[decensored]

Hey Guys,

My 6 y/o female Colombian BCI had an RI for the last few months. I've upped the temps to try and combat it. The RI wasn't too bad, she was wheezing for a few weeks, and her nostrils were plugged up. so she was breathing through her mouth on and off. Ne how she's seemed to recover almost totally, she shed and her nostrils look pretty clear. She never had any real mucus discharge from her mouth so I wasn't too worried.

Because her nostrils we're plugged I didn't want to feed her her regular sized meals, as it would take her too long to get a rabbit down and I was concerned that she wouldn't be able to breath.. I've been feeding her half meals when I feed my other boas. Ie. Medium -> large rats.. (note: she hasn't really lost much weight)

My question is, now that she seems to have almost recovered, should I return to feeding her full sized meals or should I gradually bring her back up to make sure she can handle the prey size? I don't want to keep her underfed for much longer, but I am more worried about her suffocating while trying to swallow LOL.

Any suggestions would be great. Thnx.

[Crazy4Herps]

When snakes eat big meals they are able to stick their trachea out the side of their mouth, so even if they can't easily breathe through their nose, eating big meals is not a problem. I'd say go ahead and work your way back up to her usual meals and hopefully you won't have any troubles.

Minor RI's can definitely be helped by slightly higher temperatures and proper humidity, but keep a close eye on her; if there has been much of a mucous buildup in her lungs it may not be easily dealt with without antibiotics, as snakes can't cough and dislodge mucous.

Best of luck.