Snake making weird noises and throat inflation?

I first noticed he was doing this a few days ago and took him to go see the reptile people who sold him to me, but he wouldn't make the noises there so the best they figured is he just had some mucus he was clearing out, but I have him out right now and he's been doing it since I got him out. It's really making me worry here.

The sounds are kind of hard to describe, but they're almost like a cross between clicking, pops, and puffs of air expulsion (honestly kind of like farts). He'll open his mouth sometimes when he makes them and I've noticed his throat expands and looks like a toad's does.

He's still moving around, exploring things, his tongue is still flickering in and out, and he just ate a couple of days ago, so he appears and is acting healthy but the sounds are really quite peculiar and the thing with his throat really worries me. He's had a lot of shedding problems due to not being able to keep his humidity up and as such he's no where near as large as he should be (he's about two years old, but is only about half the size of the other two year old male ball python I've seen), however he has a PVC enclosure now and he's eating regularly.

Have any of you experienced this? Or know what's going on? If he needs to go see a vet or if it's even harmful? Or well, anything before I worry myself to death?

Thanks in advance!

Any visual mucus coming from the mouth or nose?

No, nothing like that. The only difference I can tell from his usual appearance is he's a bit dull, but I think that might be due to being about to shed.

So I did a little more exploration and the last half of him (underneath), especially right before his vent, seems to be almost bloated? It's soft, almost like a cushion. Could that be the problem, or part of it? I'm gonna take him back to the dealers tomorrow morning ASAP because that just seems weird, but I thougt I'd mention it here too, just in case it could be helpful.

It almost sounds like he is regurgitating the meal, however it may be to late at this point. You mentioned he ate about 2 days ago right? Do you still see the bump from the meal?

No, there isn't any bump at all, except for that odd bloating in his lower portions. He might have even been making the weird noises before I fed him the last time (under the belief that it was just him clearing up mucus), although unfortunately I can't remember for sure.

The throat puffing makes me suspect an RI.

yeah, that is definitely strange. I would talk to the breeder asap and even start looking for a reptile vet in your area. Really hope your snake doesn't have RI. Usually does not end to well :(

Keep us updated!

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Originally Posted by dr del

The throat puffing makes me suspect an RI.

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What I was thinking. But didn't want to trow that out there without more details.

RI as in respiratory infection?

I just got back from taking him to the dealer's. They looked him over and the best they can come up with is it might be because he hasn't defecated in a while and then gave me contact information for a vet nearby that treats reptiles. Considering I just cleaned his enclosure last night and didn't find ANY excrement of any kind, it could potentially be that and I hope that's all it is over something a lot more serious. By the sounds of it and the puffiness of his lower section, especially when you stroke it, it feels and sounds like there's air trapped in there?

At any rate they told me to give him a warm soak, which I have. I'll be periodically giving him warm soaks through-out the day and then if there's no change by tomorrow, I'm making an appointment with the vet, although I don't believe they have anything open until Monday, but hopefully this won't be a worst case scenario.

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Originally Posted by DAL

RI as in respiratory infection?

I just got back from taking him to the dealer's. They looked him over and the best they can come up with is it might be because he hasn't defecated in a while and then gave me contact information for a vet nearby that treats reptiles. Considering I just cleaned his enclosure last night and didn't find ANY excrement of any kind, it could potentially be that and I hope that's all it is over something a lot more serious. By the sounds of it and the puffiness of his lower section, especially when you stroke it, it feels and sounds like there's air trapped in there?

At any rate they told me to give him a warm soak, which I have. I'll be periodically giving him warm soaks through-out the day and then if there's no change by tomorrow, I'm making an appointment with the vet, although I don't believe they have anything open until Monday, but hopefully this won't be a worst case scenario.

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Yes, really hoping it isn't RI. But to be safe I would make an appointment soon. And yes, we mean Respiratory infection.

Hard to say without seeing or hearing it, but if it's getting ready to shed, it could just be that the nostrils are plugged up. I've seen this numerous times in my collection. They normally don't breathe through their mouth, so when their nostrils become blocked they still try to force the air out. Also, when mine are going to shed, they usually hold their waste until they actually shed, which could be why the belly feels swollen. If this is the case, it will clear up when it sheds, just make sure it's humid enough. If you look on the shed skin you'll be able to see the skin that goes inside of the nostrils, sometimes these break off if it's been too dry. Again, it should clear up when it sheds.

If it is an RI, and there's no mucus, then at least it sounds like you caught it early. If you catch it early, a lot of times all you need to do is raise the temps a little, make sure it's humid enough (but keep the substrate dry and clean), and don't stress the animal (no handling, breeding, etc.). Keep an eye on it, and if you start to see mucus, then you might need to see a vet. Until then, make sure to keep the temps and humidity where they're supposed to be. Let us know what happens.

The dealer actually did notice there seems to be skin stuck on his nose, so that could be it as well. As well as his belly has been a little bit pink for a few days now. As for the humidity, it's is currently off the charts (my humidity gauge is at 100%, so I wager it's probably higher) since I just cleaned his enclosure and his substate is forest floor which comes moist to begin with, so hopefully that helps some (although the humidity will go back down to more optimum percentages soon - there's just nothing I can do to change it after just adding fresh bedding)

Thanks to all of you! I'll be sure to keep you updated.

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Originally Posted by DAL

The dealer actually did notice there seems to be skin stuck on his nose, so that could be it as well. As well as his belly has been a little bit pink for a few days now. As for the humidity, it's is currently off the charts (my humidity gauge is at 100%, so I wager it's probably higher) since I just cleaned his enclosure and his substate is forest floor which comes moist to begin with, so hopefully that helps some (although the humidity will go back down to more optimum percentages soon - there's just nothing I can do to change it after just adding fresh bedding)

Thanks to all of you! I'll be sure to keep you updated.

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Is the substrate moist as well? Correct me if I'm wrong, but over 100% RH is not really possible. I think at that point water just condenses out of the air.

I've heard reddish belly be an indicator of scale rot but I am a noob and this sounds a bit different.

Oh yeah, that would probably make sense, but there's no where for the humidity to go for the most part. It's a PVC enclosure with air vents in the back and that's about it. It's pretty sealed, so mostly it just condenses on the walls. But yeah, not one of my smarter moments. I was thinking of temperature scales, not humidity ones.

I believe it is, yes, but his belly is just slightly pink and pink bellies are a sign of a nearing shed.

Check his heat pad and make sure its not a burn.

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Originally Posted by DAL

I first noticed he was doing this a few days ago and took him to go see the reptile people who sold him to me, but he wouldn't make the noises there so the best they figured is he just had some mucus he was clearing out, but I have him out right now and he's been doing it since I got him out. It's really making me worry here.

The sounds are kind of hard to describe, but they're almost like a cross between clicking, pops, and puffs of air expulsion (honestly kind of like farts). He'll open his mouth sometimes when he makes them and I've noticed his throat expands and looks like a toad's does.

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How big is he? Some larger snakes huff and puff a bit as they move around. My adult male BRB does, and I worried for months that he had an RI but he's never shown any other signs other than heavy breathing after exerting himself for a bit.