"Depressurizing" Sound?

Alright, so my granite just locked for give or take 20 hours from yesterday into today. During that lock, she was in the process of shedding. This evening was the first time I could actually take her out of the cage and give her a soak.

Before I had done anything at all, I noticed she was making some interesting sounds... She makes a "pffft" sound when she breathes... Almost as though an air leaking out of a compressed cylinder sound.

Am I being overly paranoid or is this something I should worry about? I have never had a snake with an RI before, and I'd hope that she's not getting one now.

Her tank has been immaculate and perfectly clean. No mites, no infections, no diseases, etc. Her humidity was raised to 60% from the time of first signs of an upcoming shed til yesterday, when shed was pretty much complete. It's now back to 53% where I constantly leave it...

Thanks for any information you provide guys.

I've been messin' with her cause I'm worried about her, and you know how you stick your hand under the belly just behind the head and they'll "slide up" over your finger? Well I was doing that repeated times, and I noticed something new... She has what feels to be air bubbles between her head and say, a fifth of her body? As my hand passes under them, you can feel the gaseous pressure moving around, and she makes even more noises...

What's going on?

Sadly sounds like an RI thing to me from what I've read :( have you opened her mouth to check for mucus? (Or just anything out of the usual for a healthy snake, I don't have any experience with RI's, sorry!)

Not necessarily an RI, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion yet. If you don't see any bubbles or music, it could be exactly that. Gas. I've heard and seen BP's fart and have "snake gas" before, its not that uncommon. Also, could be a blockage of sorts? Or a fluid blister? I've seen pictures but don't have the time to look it up at the moment, perhaps someone else will enlighten you.

Check on bubbles around the mouth and mucus first and report to us what you find :).

Cheers!
fatal

Dry around the mouth... Just as though she was a normal snake... But she keeps her head tilted against the corners where glass meets another side of glass... That or on her wood structure... Never flat. Isn't that an indication as well?

Could be a sign of mucus in her mouth... :(. If you can, try gently peeking inside her mouth for excess mucus and irritation. If you don't see anything but still have strange activity, I'm afraid to say you should probably hit up a vet. It sucks, but so does losing a snake.

Good luck with her man, hope all goes well.

-Fatal

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zmd0827

she was in the process of shedding.

I noticed she was making some interesting sounds... She makes a "pffft" sound when she breathes... Almost as though an air leaking out of a compressed cylinder sound.

Am I being overly paranoid or is this something I should worry about? I have never had a snake with an RI before, and I'd hope that she's not getting one now.

Her tank has been immaculate and perfectly clean. No mites, no infections, no diseases, etc. Her humidity was raised to 60% from the time of first signs of an upcoming shed til yesterday, when shed was pretty much complete. It's now back to 53% where I constantly leave it...

Thanks for any information you provide guys.

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**SIGH** ok my first thought isn't RI here are some things to look for before jumping on the "Sounds like and RI" kick.

Two things first she's isn shed.. so they can be irritable making them breath harder so it's possible she was hissing at you she is a snake after all. Second she's in shed sometimes the skin around their nose get all weird and makes noise when they breath it can even whistle somtimes..

As for the gas bubbles its sounds like air in her air way or gas in her digestive trac..

Keep an eye on her and if after she sheds and if it still happens take her to a vet ..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

**SIGH** ok my first thought isn't RI here are some things to look for before jumping on the "Sounds like and RI" kick.

Two things first she's isn shed.. so they can be irritable making them breath harder so it's possible she was hissing at you she is a snake after all. Second she's in shed sometimes the skin around their nose get all weird and makes noise when they breath it can even whistle somtimes..

As for the gas bubbles its sounds like air in her air way or gas in her digestive trac..

Keep an eye on her and if after she sheds and if it still happens take her to a vet ..

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This is after her shed. This would be her second full day after shed.

I have taken her out, soaked her for thirty minutes to help pass off the signs of an RI... I was told by a very experienced breeder in my area that this would help alleviate her symptoms, and could possible stop the problem in its tracks before it got real bad. He advised me to soak for thirty minutes, once a day. He said even if it isn't RI, it wouldn't hurt. But if it is the beginning stages of it, it could help it pass before it became a big issue.

So that's the game plan on the slate right now.

My piebald girl has been getting a bit grumpy and hissy as she builds. Is your girl making the sound every time she inhales/exhales? Or just once in a while, or when you move or pick her up?

I don't know if a soak is necessarily going to help a developing RI.

Chances are she is just fine. Either she is hissing at you or she has a little bit of stuck shed in her nostril. If you notice any other symptoms of an RI (open mouth breathing, mucous, bubbles) then it would be a good idea to make a vet appointment.

Don't preoccupy yourself with looking for problems with your snake. More often then not, people over analyze "problems" they think their snake has. Just relax. You will notice if an RI develops. There isn't much you can do to get rid of it without antibiotics.

Soaking like that does not sound like a good idea to me.
And if she IS getting an RI, you run the risk of her getting water into her nose or throat and making things much worse.

I am currently treating a girl for RI, and while bumping the heat a little and the humidity slightly has helped, I am positive since she already has trouble breathing that soaking her would do more harm than good, especially if she got water in her nose or lung. Not to mention the added stress.

I've never heard of soaking for an RI in my time here, not once. I would hesitate before I followed that advice. Of course, that's just me, but I want more than one opinion when it comes to something that serious.

I am however successfully treating her with antibiotic injections. Even though I knew she was developing an RI, I waited until she presented with symptoms of bubbling and mucous before I took her to the vet to avoid the possibility of a misdiagnoses. But, I put her in quarantine and raised her temps and humidity as soon as I suspected what was going on. I am convinced that I slowed the progression, but once she showed visible symptoms she went straight to the vet.

I wish you the best with your snake, and I hope it's nothing serious.

Gale

Generally if you have an RI in the beginning stages you'll hear a little raspyness or pop and whistles as they breath. When and if they are developing and RI bumping the heat and humidity could stop it. But if its already progressed to mucus or even heavy wheeze you need antibiotics. I had a rescue with an RI last year we were doing injected antibiotics, heat bumped up and 88.f soaks 1x daily. It cleared it up quite Quickly. But with a developing RI you should bump the heat and humidity up and maybe that will help things. I've never heard of the bubbles and I'm not saying she has a developing RI I've just had experience taking care I a couple of them and thought I'd throw that in. This could go either way tho. If more things develop or don't go away vet her asap. I'd have an appt just to check anyways.

Keep us updated.