Advice needed. Concerned about R.I.

Really need an advice. Although during a vet visit the vet said" airpipe and nostrils are free, no mucus or slime visible. Colour inside his mouth is great." And that there is no need to use antibiotics , because thete might just be a few little symptoms of RI because due the resettling stress and because his imun system might have gone down a little bit and in a few days all will be good - So after a few days when I left him alone just fed him one time I took him out today and I still can hear this crackling sound when I have him out. Not all the time and steady but I can hear it often enough. Still he has no slime or bubbles on his mouth or nostrils, he eats great and in his tube I can't hear this noise. What should I do ? I am concerned and fear that it will get worse when I do nothing against it. Would a beginning little RI caused of stress go away on it's own - through a rising imun system of the snake or will it untreated get worse ? I raised his temps to 88 and humidity to 86.

What advice could you give me ???

Hi Marckitt,
So far, I have been lucky to not ever have any snakes with respiratory infections and I have never treated one. So, take what I say with a grain of salt. But, from everything I have read and seen in videos it sounds to me like he has a respiratory infection. Have you noticed any bubbles coming out of his nostrils when he breaths? The vet may have said antibiotics aren't necessary, but it might not be a bad idea to give him a few of the steam treatments I posted videos for in your other thread about this. I'm curious, are the sides of his tub ever steamed up with condensed water sitting on the sides? If so, you don't have enough ventilation/airflow, which can definitely cause respiratory infections. If you are using newspaper for substrate, I would recommend not keeping it soak and wet 24/7. Personally, I switched from generous daily misting with luke warm water to misting only moderately daily and sometimes only every other day. I try not to soak the whole bottom of the tub when I mist, either. I have other wadded up pieces of newspaper, as well as one single sheet of newspaper, which is laid over top of everything, so I try to just mist those down. The actual humidity is more important than the dampness. I also increased my ventilation significantly in the tubs and I also leave the ceiling fan running on medium in my snake room. So, basically, all of the newspaper dries within a few hours. That's how I gauge whether or not there is enough ventilation. Could you please post some photos of his tub that show the air holes?

As far as your temperatures, 88 degrees is much too warm for Bloods/Short Tails in my opinion. They definitely seem to prefer it cooler. I recommend 82 - 85 (at most) on the hot side and 75 - 78 on the cool side. The base temperature on the hot side for my Bloods/Short Tails is 82 degrees, but inside of their hides it's usually around 83 - 85 degrees.

Hi. Thank you. The temperature increase is just to help him fight the infection. Like an artificial fever. There are still no bubbles, slime, mucus etc. Nothing. And I can hear this noise only when I have him on my hand - even when he is 20 inches away from my ear. When he is in his tube -even when my ear is just 3 inches away I hear nothing.

And the tube has 8 holes on the front, 8 holes on the rear end and 8 holes on the left side. On the opening is gape of about 3 or 4 mm...

I do mist just every other day. The wet paper will dry out in one or 1 and a half days. Then I wait a whole day before I mist again.

i drilled more airholes. The wet paper is now drying out during half a day.

STPs are vocal snakes. They hiss, huff, and puff often. Even at rest while being held they make much more noise than any other snake I've held.

Could it just be it breathing heavy?

Might be. But is definitely not hissing or huffing. Could be puffing. It is a clicking, crackling sound. Like you press a dry paper to a ball. But it is not with every breath he takes. It is just from time to time in my hands. But even when he is relaxed. Could be old shed in his nostrils too. There are no bubbles or other fluids visible . Are pumping up the temps ok for him for a few days like I did ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by marckitt

Might be. But is definitely not hissing or huffing. Could be puffing. It is a clicking, crackling sound. Like you press a dry paper to a ball. But it is not with every breath he takes. It is just from time to time in my hands. But even when he is relaxed. Could be old shed in his nostrils too. There are no bubbles or other fluids visible . Are pumping up the temps ok for him for a few days like I did ?

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Bumping the temp should be fine.

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