Wheezing/"hissing" noise.

[MontyAndMelissa]

I am hoping to god Monty doesn't have a URI. When she breathes out I can hear a wheezing noise. Almost whistle like, could she have some old shed stuck in her nose that is making that sound? I tried to record a video of the noise, but you can hear it over the TV in the other room. I had her outside, and when it was right in my ear it sounded almost like hissing, but when I listened closer , I noticed it happened with every outward breath. Almost like a kid with asthma. Her breaths don't seem short, or like she's having problems breathing. I tried scheduling a vet appointment for her, but the reptile vet in my area only comes in to the clinic on Wednesdays, and she is packed for the next few weeks. Any suggestions?

[MontyAndMelissa]

I forgot to mention, I have not noticed any mucus, or bubbles, or anything like that.

[MontyAndMelissa]

about half way through the video you can hear it. Kind of.

[Sauzo]

Make an appointment since you will have a few weeks wait. Then raise her temps by a few degrees to kick in her immune system. Then watch for any signs of RI like bubbles, mucous, stargazing, sitting with mouth open. Some snakes will make noise and it could be shed. You can hear my 6ft BCI girl breath if she is next to my ear and after exercising. When did she shed? Is she going into shed? But like I said, I would make an appointment and then watch close for the next 2 weeks and see if any of the above listed signs appear. If not, then you are probably ok and she might just be a noisy breather. Just make sure the vet is a good one and not one that will just throw antibiotics at the drop of a hat as antibiotics are rough on any reptiles system and should be only used if needed, not just because.

[MontyAndMelissa]

Well, we're in the process of moving, I'm contemplating making an appointment at the reptile vet out in the desert (where I'm moving in two weeks) she never sits with her mouth open. She is coming up on shedding time. Last shed was before valentine's day I believe (of course, I have a shed journal that's lost in my room) she isn't blue. But I've noticed her scales have kind of a blue sheen before she'd, and her scales certainly have that sheen. The vet out here is kind of a moron, but if she had a free appointment I'd rather have a professional opinion on it.

[Albert Clark]

I forgot to mention, I have not noticed any mucus, or bubbles, or anything like that.

First, calm down and take a deep breath! You have to double check your temps and humidity. Take a day or two to confirm what you are hearing. You can begin to bump up the temps and lower the humidity a bit. Keep an eye out for any other symptoms and any worsening. If you must then look for a different herp vet. Stay in peace and not pieces. Good luck.

[MontyAndMelissa]

First, calm down and take a deep breath! You have to double check your temps and humidity. Take a day or two to confirm what you are hearing. You can begin to bump up the temps and lower the humidity a bit. Keep an eye out for any other symptoms and any worsening. If you must then look for a different herp vet. Stay in peace and not pieces. Good luck.

I just checked her ambient. It's 76.8. It's normally higher. Around 82-83. I just kicked on the space heater in my room to raise the temp a few degrees.

[MontyAndMelissa]

Her humidity is 84, I replaced her water while I had her out and it kinda splashed.

[Sauzo]

Well if no other signs and she is due for a shed and it sounds you got the temps all good, I would personally wait until you move and avoid the moron vet as they can do more harm than good especially if there is nothing wrong with your snake. I keep Dottie at around 85F hot side, 81F cool side and around 50-60% humidity all the time and she is an eating, pooping, shedding machine so your temps seem good. But like I said, I would bump the temps a little for 2 weeks. I always bump the temps on any new animal I get to make their immune system go to work since shipping is stressful and that is the best time for something to attack them. Anyways I think you'll be ok. The first time I heard Rosey my 6ft BCI breath in my ear, I freaked out and watched her for weeks for any sign of RI. Now about 8 months later and she is fine and still breathing heavy in my ear after exercising Drop the humidity some, you really don't want over 60% all the time as that with the warmth can create a perfect medium for bacteria/mold to grow which can give your snake a fungal RI

[MontyAndMelissa]

I've heard that stress can cause loud breathing too. I know she can sense that her dad and I are stressed about the move, and I was on vacation for a week, so this is the first time I've personally held her in a few weeks. She was slithering all around me outside, sniffing all the airs and all that good stuff. It's been a week since her last feed, so we will see what happens in the next few weeks. I'll keep her temp bumped up a little, and hope I'm just overreacting to a goober snake. When she made that sound in my ear it did make me a little nervous, she was wrapped round my neck, and making a hissing noise. And she had been known to strike. So my mind went straight to my headline in the newspaper "22 year old female killed by 4 foot ball python" lol. I didn't want her stressed out any more so I put her back.