Wheezing and then stopped. Should I be worried?

I fed and cleaned eissa tank on the 18th and then went to my boyfriends for a day. Came back tonight and just picked up my boy and he was wheezing. It only lasted until I picked him up and he wheezed like twice more and stopped. I tried listening closer and heard nothing. I don't know how to check his mouth and I don't even know what to do. Having a pet sick has honestly been one of my worst fears and I've tried everything to my best to avoid this because now I'm sitting here balling my eyes out hopeless and worried about eissa if anyone can help me calm down and give me advice if appreciate it. Sorry I'm such a spaz right now I've never had an animal sick


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All you can do is monitor him and see if it continues. Maybe before you picked him up he was drinking water. Relax and monitor him is all you can do right now

If he is about to shed or just shed, sometimes they get a bit of shed stuck in their nostrils and that can cause whistles and other odd sounds. Sometimes a hiss can sound like a wheeze. So it might be nothing at all to be concerned about.

What I recommend is that you hold him near your ear and listen closely to his breathing for a few minutes. If it is an RI you'll likely hear an assortment of pops and whistly/wheezy sounds, although if it is a mild/just starting one, they may be faint and far between. If you don't hear that, then just keep a really close eye/ear on him to be sure, but you are probably fine.

One other thing to do is to get a look in his mouth. You can gently open it using a qtip. If you see an obvious puddle of mucus, that's a bad sign. They do have saliva (or at least something wet in their mouths, dunno if it is technically saliva) though, so a very small amount is ok.

Thanks you guys. I did hold him close to my ear and hear nothing. When I first took him out he seemed tense and remembered he got like that the last time I took him out after I got done showering. (Maybe my body temperature throws him off since I'm warmer) so I put him back. Then I went to get him again so I could fix his hides and that's when the noise began. I watched him as he watched me. He did seem tense so maybe and hopefully just a hiss. Either way in going to monitor him even more closely and call our vet in tone tomorrow to see what they can help with


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I want to check his mouth but he obviously doesn't like that idea one bit. >.< too scared to hurt him


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I also with moving to my apartment my temps have been bouncing around from mid 70s (74 lowest) to 86 on cold side. And I've had to move his tank once and am adjusting the heat and bulb wattage to try to get this right. I thought 75 and up was alright. When my heat kicks on it jumps big time


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Try 80-84 cold 80-84-92562 hot and that should dry up any moisture issues

Unless he is showing outward signs of an infection, leave him alone. Don't try to open his mouth, don't rearrange his hides, don't pick him up, don't bathe him, just don't.

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 and they can sound like a wheeze.

Occasional situational whistling/crackling/static from the glottis is normal, and is a by-product of the shape of the glottis X the rush of air forced through it. It is completely normal and is nothing to worry about - especially if he is doing it when you are screwing with him.

Contrary to popular opinion, ball pythons can take an occasional dip in temperatures. What they can't take is owners who are always screwing with them. Stress is definitely more hazardous to that animals health than a dip or two below "optimum" temperature.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

Unless he is showing outward signs of an infection, leave him alone. Don't try to open his mouth, don't rearrange his hides, don't pick him up, don't bathe him, just don't.

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 and they can sound like a wheeze.

Occasional situational whistling/crackling/static from the glottis is normal, and is a by-product of the shape of the glottis X the rush of air forced through it. It is completely normal and is nothing to worry about - especially if he is doing it when you are screwing with him.

Contrary to popular opinion, ball pythons can take an occasional dip in temperatures. What they can't take is owners who are always screwing with them. Stress is definitely more hazardous to that animals health than a dip or two below "optimum" temperature.

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Thank you for this information. There are no other signs of infection and it sounds like to may just be a noise he was Making. I've had him for a while now and never heard it so it was alarming.


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