Whistling but Not an R.I.

One of my female rescued BP's is approximately 8-9 months old. Since I've had her, she's had an occasional whistle. It doesn't happen every time she breathes, but it happens fairly often. It's not a wheeze or a coughing sound, it's really just a whistle. At first I thought it was an R.I., but there was never any mucus or bubbles. I took her to the vet anyway, and he ran a series of tests. She was negative for an R.I., and he couldn't find anything wrong with her. He prescribed her antibiotics to kind of experiment and see if the whistling would go away. She's a really healthy girl, just still whistling. Is there any reason anyone knows of that a BP would be whistling, but not an R.I.?

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Originally Posted by AaronAshley

One of my female rescued BP's is approximately 8-9 months old. Since I've had her, she's had an occasional whistle. It doesn't happen every time she breathes, but it happens fairly often. It's not a wheeze or a coughing sound, it's really just a whistle. At first I thought it was an R.I., but there was never any mucus or bubbles. I took her to the vet anyway, and he ran a series of tests. She was negative for an R.I., and he couldn't find anything wrong with her. He prescribed her antibiotics to kind of experiment and see if the whistling would go away. She's a really healthy girl, just still whistling. Is there any reason anyone knows of that a BP would be whistling, but not an R.I.?

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Yes.

Snakes often make noises - especially when they are being held or messed with - that emanate from the glottis and the nares. These are usually the expulsion of breath due to stress.

Whistling from the glottis is normal and is a by-product of the shape of the glottis X the rush of air forced through it.

Yup quite normal. Even if you breath hard though your nostrils you will get a sound. Large air volume through a small opening often will whistle. The vet should know better.


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Okay, I actually read this somewhere before but was checking what others thought. I agree, the vet should have probably known..

She's not a black pastel is she? I hear the odd whistle from some of my other snakes, but my black pastels do it more or less non-stop. I assume it's the single-gene version of the double-gene duckbilling you get in the supers.

My adult normal does it from time to time. No RI either. :)
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Could be some shed stuck around the nostrils. Sometimes it can be hard to see, but a lot of times there can be a small piece stuck in there to make them have a whistling sound.