So I have a dwarf retic named Diablo, he’s almost 4 years old. The first year I got him I noticed he had a respiratory infection. It went away after we took him to the vet and it didn’t come back until a year later. When it came back I was confused. His setup was fine, but it literally just popped up out of nowhere. Since he had the 2nd one, we’ve taken him to 3 different vets and spent thousands of dollars to save this snake. I absolutely adore this snake and would do anything for him. We currently have another appointment this Wednesday. But the 3rd vet I went to said to not add humidity so I stopped and gave him a large water bowl he can completely submerge in. He said he was a reptile experts but I don’t know. The vet said there was no mucus in the mouth nor bubbles and that he looked completely healthy. But he still “coughs” (I know snakes can’t cough). He breathes with his mouth open and he wheezes. I’ve done almost everything to get this snake better, this is the last vet we’re going to before we go to a university and get a small camera put down his trachea to see what the problem is. He said he could be nidovirus, a tumor in his trachea, or something else. We’ve tried multiple antibiotics and it had no effect on him. We’re running out of options, it makes me feel so hopeless and guilty because I feel I could’ve prevented it. He’s the first pet I’ve ever owned full responsibility over and it just pains me that he has something not even vets can figure out. I just feel unworthy to keep him and to make my whole life around these animals. It just tears me to pieces.

Any guidance would be appreciated.