Whistling While Handled

[CRH3012]

So one of my ball pythons is making a weird whistling sound while I handle her. It seems to be worse at night from what I can tell. When she's in her cage she makes almost what sounds like a sneezing or pushing out air sound on the occasion. I've heard this is a sign of RI but I have a dedicated snake room so I keep everything as accurate as possible. She's housed in a rack system with humidity levels between 65-75%, hot spot of 90, and ambient of 79-80. I'm going to quarantine her just in case anything pops up because there's no signs of any mucus or bubbles and this started happening about a week or so ago. Sometimes she whistles loudly while I handle her and sometimes she doesn't do it. Last time she shed was a few weeks back so I'm not sure if it could be stuck shed or something in her nose or not. Was just wondering if anyone else has had this happen to any of their snakes? For now she'll be quarantined from the rest of my collection and I'll make sure to bump the hot spot temps up a bit just to be safe.

I would also like to add that all the other 15 snakes in my collection are feeding great, going to the bathroom fine and shedding perfect. I'm just amazed right now that something that seems like an RI has popped up when I try to keep everything so spot on and I'm using a tempgun to measure the temps and a sensor push to measure humidity.

Thanks for any input!

[Faith.luu]

While your snake is in quarantine I would also add in a stick that is angled to allow your snake to rest its head 45 degrees up and down. If it is a respiratory problem, having a stick proper at an angle will help your snake to breathe and get rid of mucus if some does develop.

I would also take your snake to a vet right away to get a proper diagnosis. It’s better to catch it earlier than later. If you find that she is consistently wheezing, and has been ‘sneezing’ then I’d definitely take your snake to a vet ASAP. Even if it ends up being stuck shed, it’s better you checked than wait till symptoms get worse.

I would also take a thorough look through your enclosure after moving your snake to quarantine. There could be something you discover as to why this could occur. Sometimes it isn’t always too high humidity. I’d typically say that 75% is okay, but maybe for your snake, a range of 60-70 would be better. And then bump it up during shed.

[CRH3012]

While your snake is in quarantine I would also add in a stick that is angled to allow your snake to rest its head 45 degrees up and down. If it is a respiratory problem, having a stick proper at an angle will help your snake to breathe and get rid of mucus if some does develop.

I would also take your snake to a vet right away to get a proper diagnosis. It’s better to catch it earlier than later. If you find that she is consistently wheezing, and has been ‘sneezing’ then I’d definitely take your snake to a vet ASAP. Even if it ends up being stuck shed, it’s better you checked than wait till symptoms get worse.

I would also take a thorough look through your enclosure after moving your snake to quarantine. There could be something you discover as to why this could occur. Sometimes it isn’t always too high humidity. I’d typically say that 75% is okay, but maybe for your snake, a range of 60-70 would be better. And then bump it up during shed.

Appreciate the tips. That's the weird thing is today I took her out to examine her and I don't hear any of the wheezing. Last night I could easily hear it while I was holding her but today nothing...I'll be taking her into the vet tomorrow to see what they say about it.

[Bogertophis]

When did your snake shed last? Have you looked closely into her nostrils? Some snakes "whistle" a little before a shed, during which they shed the outer lining of their
nostrils but sometimes it gets stuck & can cause noisy breathing until it's removed. If you didn't raise her humidity during the last shed, that could have caused some of
the shed to get stuck (like in her nostrils).

What substrate are you using? They can also get some substrate stuck in their nostrils, so before I'd run to the vet, I'd be checking her nose, especially since you aren't
seeing bubbling or mucus.

If you'll feel better by having her checked by the vet, by all means keep your appointment, but I think an RI is unlikely since she is symptomatic sporadically; if
this was an RI, she'd likely be symptomatic (whistling) all the time.

[CRH3012]

I appreciate the response! If I remember correctly she shed maybe a month ago? Her going into shed could be a possibility but no signs yet of grey eyes or anything like that. I'm using reptichip bedding now but I did have my collection on reptile prime bedding which is a lot more fine compared to the reptichip bedding. I've tried checking her nose but can't see anything and like I said today she isn't making any noises. Now that I think about it this did start when I did a deep clean on my whole collection. Maybe the bedding switch could've done something and got caught in her nose? I'll hold off on the vet for now and give it a few more days. She's quarantined with temps bumped up to a 92 degree hot spot instead of 90 just in case. It was very noticeable last night when I was handling her but then I woke up today and don't hear a thing while handling her. So odd

[Bogertophis]

Besides looking into her nostrils with a mini-flashlight for debris & carefully removing it with fine-tipped tweezers (if you have them AND a steady hand, their nose is very
delicate) you might also try one of those soft rubber bulb syringes (like they sell with ear cleaning kits) to gently suck out each nostril? I think that would be quite safe,
not that she'll appreciate your efforts, lol. I'd also mist her or raise her humidity some.

If my guess is correct, she has either a little flap of old skin or debris that moves as she breathes, so sometimes she whistles & sometimes not. There are also some people who have said their snakes just always have a slight whistle, thought to be due to the snake equivalent of a deviated septum, but in yours this is a "new" symptom, so you have to play detective.

[CRH3012]

Besides looking into her nostrils with a mini-flashlight for debris & carefully removing it with fine-tipped tweezers (if you have them AND a steady hand, their nose is very
delicate) you might also try one of those soft rubber bulb syringes (like they sell with ear cleaning kits) to gently suck out each nostril? I think that would be quite safe,
not that she'll appreciate your efforts, lol. I'd also mist her or raise her humidity some.

If my guess is correct, she has either a little flap of old skin or debris that moves as she breathes, so sometimes she whistles & sometimes not. There are also some people who have said their snakes just always have a slight whistle, thought to be due to the snake equivalent of a deviated septum, but in yours this is a "new" symptom, so you have to play detective.

I'll make sure to just keep an eye on her and if the whistle persists I'll take her into the vet for them to investigate. I'm worried I'll end up hurting her if I try experimenting too hard lol. Appreciate all the info and I'm glad that it's unlikely to be an RI. I would be extremely surprised if it was considering how much attention I give my collection. I'm always on top of making sure each cage is spot cleaned daily along with ensuring humidity and heat is at the right levels. I'll keep this thread updated in case anyone else experiences this issue

[Bogertophis]

It's been a long time since I used some fine-tip tweezers to remove a bit of shed from a snake nostril, but it was sticking out just a bit, so it was just a matter of holding
the snake still. (and I remember misting her first, so the skin would soften & release easily) If you can't see anything & nothing is sticking out, I'd personally try a bulb
syringe...if you don't expel all the air, the suction will be minimal & very controllable, so I don't think you could possibly do any harm. This may just resolve on it's own
though...I hope so. You sound like a very attentive owner.