Odd Respiratory Infection Presentation?

[Ares_Iscariot]

I'm not really sure what's going on. By all accounts my snake seems to be very healthy. I took her to the vet recently due to a slight audible whistle/wheeze. The vet assured me that my husbandry was on point, and that my snake was otherwise healthy in terms of weight and growth(She's currently about 700g and 8 months old). However, she did put her on a 3 week injection regimen on the off chance of a slight RI (I don't remember the name of the antibiotic right now.) I finished the injections, and my snake is negative for bubbles, open mouth breathing, clicking, etc etc. But for some reason she has a persistent wheeze (whistle?). I have no idea what it is, but sometime when I go to pick her up she has a kind of whistle. I've read that when stressed there can be an audible whistle, but she will sometimes whistle for an extended period when I hold her. She is still eating regularly, and growing (no weight loss), I'm just not sure if I should take her back to the vet. No cultures were run on the last visit because it was a benign antibiotic and it was considered unnecessarily invasive to culture. I've checked and rechecked her cage, ambient runs between 79-81 F. humidity sits between 58-60% her hot side stays at between 89-90 F. and I always clean it promptly after she passes food. Is it possible to have this whistle so consistently without being anything wrong? Or should I schedule another vet visit? I've also seen a few breeders suggest using F-10 to nebulize the snake, anyone have any results with that?

[frostysBP]

Is there any stuck shed on here face any were?

Sent from my A521L using Tapatalk

[Ares_Iscariot]

She did shed recently, but it was all in one piece as far as I can tell. Visual inspection of her nose doesn't reveal anything, looks all clear. The whistling seems to be independent of her shedding.

[bcr229]

Does she by chance have black pastel in her?

[Ares_Iscariot]

She was classified as "Black Pewter" by the breeder. I'm not sure if that has black pastel in it. Do black pastels have difficulty breathing?

[bcr229]

She was classified as "Black Pewter" by the breeder. I'm not sure if that has black pastel in it. Do black pastels have difficulty breathing?

Black pewter is black pastel + pastel.

Black pastel morphs can sometimes have a "whistle" when they breathe. I have a few with it and while you don't hear it while they're resting, if they are stressed, excited, moving, etc. and breathing harder it becomes apparent.

IMO it's related to the super form sometimes having duck-billing problems - but that's just my opinion, and it's why I won't try to make super black pastels or 8-balls from the ones I have in my collection.

[Ares_Iscariot]

Thank you so much for the info. I had never heard of that before. Seems to fit, though. The whistle is most apparent during handling. I almost never hear it when she's alone in her cage. Thanks again for the tip.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

If your vet prescribe anti-biotics just in case of X Y Z here is my advice change vet.

Just like for human or other animals antibiotics should not be prescribe in case but after a diagnostic is made, the vet should have started with a culture not a prescription.

There are reasons why snakes can make that sound, stuck shed, but also the snake itself, I had a female years ago (Black Pastel) that was making a whistling sound and she did so since I hatched her, some people who had held her though she had a RI because it did resemble the sound of a RI.

So find a new vet one that is specialized in reptiles and make an appointment to confirm or eliminate any doubt if you think there is something wrong,

[CORBIN911]

If your vet prescribe anti-biotics just in case of X Y Z here is my advice change vet.

Just like for human or other animals antibiotics should not be prescribe in case but after a diagnostic is made, the vet should have started with a culture not a prescription.

There are reasons why snakes can make that sound, stuck shed, but also the snake itself, I had a female years ago (Black Pastel) that was making a whistling sound and she did so since I hatched her, some people who had held her though she had a RI because it did resemble the sound of a RI.

So find a new vet one that is specialized in reptiles and make an appointment to confirm or eliminate any doubt if you think there is something wrong,

While what you say is 100% accurate, iv also had a vet give me Amakacin* while culture was being sent off, for a broad spectrum drug while waiting, Once culture came back Amakacin was the correct AB and i was proscribed another 7 shots (every 3 days) But yes a vet that just throws AB is never a good one to go to. They are just after a quick dollar since exotics rarely go to the vet.