Stargazing

This morning my Bp had his head and about 6 inches of his neck is an S shape vertically looking straight up against the glass of his tank. He did this for maybe 20 mins before I got him out to see if anything was wrong. This was the first time he did that, and he has been eating and shedding normally. He also has been possibly wheezing. I am honestly not sure if it is a wheeze or a hiss. He hasn't been breething with an open mouth or excreting any mucus. What does a wheeze sound like in BP's?

I doubt it has anything to do with IBD unless he was intermingling with other snakes recently.

You probably just startled him as he was exploring and he stopped moving because he saw you.

Wheezing alone isn't really enough to say if he is sick or not. They can "wheeze" for a few different reasons. If you startle them they sometimes exhale quickly and make a whistling or wheezing noise. Hissing is pretty distinctive though. "TSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" with an angry looking snake. I have a snake that does this every time you open the tub but it is all show!

Keep an eye on him, if you notice symptoms of an RI or something else off then go see a vet.

This could be early signs of an RI. They will prop themselves up on the glass to help with mucus drainage. The weezeing could be an early sign also. Don't panic, watch him, and if these or any new symptoms are still around in a day or so I would consider a vet trip. In the meantime I would probally bump up the heat a little, this will help his immune system if it is an RI but will not hurt him if it's not.

The slight possible wheezing has been going on for like 2 weeks. He has definetely not had contact with any other snake for at least 11 months.
Talking in hypotheticals here, but if I do take him to the vet and they say he has an RI and put him on Baytril, how much will it all cost?

He definetely doesnt make noise every breath

I guess that can vary...here a standard visit is around $55. No idea how much the baytril shots would run, we give our own injections when needed and I don't remember what the injections run but it's cheaper than taking them back for each shot if you can give them yourself.

If you can use the side of a pen (as if it was a speculum) to gently open the snakes mouth, look inside at the back of the throat. If it's full of flem, it's early stages of RI and should be treated immediately. If it's not full of flem, it could be some retained shed inside it's nostril and will come off/out in time.

If the temps in the enclosure are not warm enough, too damp, too dry, etc. the snake could get an RI without exposure to other snakes. You could also carry RI (like spreading the flu on your hand) from someone elses snake to yours.

Based on your description and the time of year, I would check for flem buildup and nip this in the bud before it gets worse if you find flem.

Rick

Well, I did what you suggested. I don't know what flem would look like, but I don't think he has any. Would it be at the beginning of the "throat hole?" because that looked completely clear.
Before I did this, I noticed his belly was pink and he is due for a shed. Now, the more I think about it, I don't think this was going on before he last shed.


They have really weird mouths! I dont understand where they keep their tongues. Like a third of the bottom part of his mouth is a like orange-red flesh thing. There is no pus, but it other pics online its more red-pink. Is this a cause for concern?

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

He definetely doesnt make noise every breath

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That is a good sign. But when you say breath do you open mouth breath or just 'lying and minding his own buisiness' breath?

He doesn't open mouth breath at all