Retic Wheezing.

[Stealth]

Good Morning,

So to keep this as short as possible - I've had my retic for about 6 weeks now and he has just had his first shed. When he first went into shed he started wheezing (which after some research seems normal for retics around this time).... Where my concern starts is that it has been 2 days since he shed out, and he still has a very very very slight wheeze (It is only possible to hear this wheeze if you put your ear directly to his face, whereas before the shed it was audible the moment he was out of his tub).

Should I be concerned that the wheeze has not gone away? He has not been pushing or showing any signs that he is uncomfortable - I have him on unprinted paper, the hot spot is at 32.5 degrees, the cool side is around 28 degrees and the ambient room temp is at 24 degrees. He has a water bowl big enough to soak and a hide over his hot spot that doubles as a perch.

I know the most obvious answer will be to check for excess saliva to identify an RI - HOWEVER, He came in as a rather stressed animal, after 6 weeks he is finally stress free and trusts me and I feel like shoving a card into his mouth might bring back some stress that I would prefer to avoid.

Do you have any advice for a first time retic owner? Should I wait a few more days and then check for saliva, should I soak him? Any experience you have would be greatly appreciated!

Again, the wheeze is barely barely audible and has improved GREATLY since his shed - There were no signs of wheezing before the shed began.

TIA!

[bcr229]

I would wait a few days, he may have some shed stuck in his nostrils.

Also when you hold him you can gently cradle his neck - assuming he'll stay still - and see if you can feel any congestion in it. Sometimes with a URI it will feel like air bubbles flowing through a water hose.

Also bear in mind that the larger snakes are naturally huffy-puffy loud breathers.

[Stealth]

Thanks you for your response!

He seems to be wheezing a lot less now but I'll give his neck a feel when I get home - luckily I've been working with him a ton and he is completely fine with me interacting with his head (I made sure to get him used to this before he becomes a big noodle).

From the calculations I've done he's about 6 months old now but it seems like he was maybe fed less often than recommended to keep his size in check while on sale. In the 6 weeks I've had him he has absolutely sky rocketed in length (but then again I have him on the same feed schedule as my female breeder ball pythons - meaning he is a very happy chappy.)

I'll post a response here if anything else develops from this.