Weird noise and then hissing?

About a half hour ago Stan came out of his hide and I suddenly heard a sound that kind of sounded like when a cat is hacking up hairballs and I ran over there I heard it a time or two more and then Stan hissed (which I've never seen him do before) and "yawned" and then went on as business as usual.

I checked his tank for anything strange and everything was as usual. I picked him up to take a look at him and he was acting fine. I even checked for the symptoms of RI (even though he wasn't whistling) and there was no mucus or anything and he isn't stargazing.

What do you think was happening?

Can snakes cough?

i was thinking maybe he inhaled some water?

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Originally Posted by crystal

i was thinking maybe he inhaled some water?

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I guess he could of, though from his angle I'm not sure he could have been at his water bowl.

I don't know... do they cough?

I guess as long as this doesn't strike anyone as something that is an Ah-Ha! moment of something wrong its just Stan being Stan.

I think i heard some where that ball pythons can cough and sneeze ? By the way what is "stargazing"?

Unlike us, snakes do not have a diaphragm so they can't cough like we do. This is one of the reasons that an RI is so deadly to them as they can literally drown in their own secretions far easier than we can. To move air in and out of their lung they have to actually use their muscles and the physical movement of their ribs. They have a vestigial second lung that as far as I know basically doesn't do much if anything for them.

I'd be very concerned about that sound/yawning and likely would be watching that snake closely. Depending on your own experience and how confident you are about diagnosing a brewing RI will help you decide if an experienced herp vet should be consulted at this point.

LIke the post above me says, I'd continue to watch it and keep an eye out for a RI. My boy het. albino has had one ever since I got him (about 2 months ago) and it's been a long battle because he was already in pretty deep when I got him, now I gotta get some antibiotics for him to assist in the battle. It's not too difficult to overcome when it's fresh but really it's best to avoid it all together.

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Originally Posted by Chuck1289

I think i heard some where that ball pythons can cough and sneeze ? By the way what is "stargazing"?

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It's something that snakes do every once in a while. They'll lift up part of their body and stare up in a trance like state.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

I'd be very concerned about that sound/yawning and likely would be watching that snake closely. Depending on your own experience and how confident you are about diagnosing a brewing RI will help you decide if an experienced herp vet should be consulted at this point.

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What symptoms would I be looking for? I thought signs would be a whistiling sound and mucus. I picked him up and looked at his mouth and there wasn't any mucus/ no bubbles and there was no whistling sound.

my female does it alot, but she also puts her head in the water bowl blows out bubbles then pulls her head out and gasps for air, so i figured thats why she makes that cough hissing noise.

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Originally Posted by SecurityStacey

About a half hour ago Stan came out of his hide and I suddenly heard a sound that kind of sounded like when a cat is hacking up hairballs and I ran over there I heard it a time or two more and then Stan hissed (which I've never seen him do before) and "yawned" and then went on as business as usual.

I checked his tank for anything strange and everything was as usual. I picked him up to take a look at him and he was acting fine. I even checked for the symptoms of RI (even though he wasn't whistling) and there was no mucus or anything and he isn't stargazing.

What do you think was happening?

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The first time we heard our snakes fart reminded me of something hacking up a fur ball. Turns out it was explosive farting with a little juice after a big poo. (can we say splash marks?)

The next time I heard it, it sounded like a horse blowing and chuffing (? no idea what thats called, right after they neigh).

Both times it was loud enough to wake me up in the middle of the night.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

The first time we heard our snakes fart reminded me of something hacking up a fur ball. Turns out it was explosive farting with a little juice after a big poo. (can we say splash marks?)

The next time I heard it, it sounded like a horse blowing and chuffing (? no idea what thats called, right after they neigh).

Both times it was loud enough to wake me up in the middle of the night.

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I think this might have been what happened because upon further inspection he did poop, so he was probably just... farting? And scared himself... oh, yes, my Stan is special.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

The first time we heard our snakes fart reminded me of something hacking up a fur ball. Turns out it was explosive farting with a little juice after a big poo. (can we say splash marks?)

The next time I heard it, it sounded like a horse blowing and chuffing (? no idea what thats called, right after they neigh).

Both times it was loud enough to wake me up in the middle of the night.

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Originally Posted by SecurityStacey

I think this might have been what happened because upon further inspection he did poop, so he was probably just... farting? And scared himself... oh, yes, my Stan is special.

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:rofl:

that is so funny. oh my. one time our male kenyan sand boa farted. i saw him stretch his little body out and lift his tail. i heard the pfft noise and it smelled. my boyfriend turned around and looked at me and said crystal! i blamed it on the snake cause he did it and he just gave me that yeah right look. i still think to this day he thinks it was me. :rofl:

You haven't heard anything (or smelled it) until a 6 foot plus boa lets loose with a large and loud fart. My husband was at work, it was night time out on a very lonely lake road, the kids were asleep and I was on the computer. Suddenly this gawd awful loud sound behind me. I thought for a moment I had the world's first and only farting mad serial killer in my house!

It was only the big boa we were fostering at the time. She sortly leftafter had a massive dump and I'm sure felt very good about her world.

Yea it scared the crap outta me too when I was first awaken by a farting snake. I heard it and, in my mind, pictured the snake exploding in the tank. That's about what it sounds like. It blows my mind how so much sound can come out of such a tiny hole...

Thanks everyone, I'm sure that is what it was but I scheduled an appointment for him with a herp vet anyways, better safe than sorry.

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

You haven't heard anything (or smelled it) until a 6 foot plus boa lets loose with a large and loud fart. My husband was at work, it was night time out on a very lonely lake road, the kids were asleep and I was on the computer. Suddenly this gawd awful loud sound behind me. I thought for a moment I had the world's first and only farting mad serial killer in my house!

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LOL!! :rofl: "the world's first and only farting mad serial killer in my house!"

I can only imagine

Oh if only there was a way to make a snake fart! LMAO! Our BP is in my son's room and oh what pay-back that would be for him to have to deal with an explosive farting snake!! Boy that that kid let out some deadly ones and it's about time he gets a dose of his own medicine!