Possible RI

[Hock3ymonk3y]

hey
whenever i take my ball python out, i hear him breathing. i heard this was a sign of an ri. so i checked his lower lip for bubbles, there were none. i checked his nose for mucus, nothing. i have not noticed any open mouth breathing. can anyone help?
thanks,

[dr del]

Hi,

When excited and breathing hard (say during handling or climbing ) it is not uncommon to hear the odd sound of them breathing.

Also the shed cycle can make them produce sounds on occasion.

It's more of a worry when you can here them making pops, clicks, whistles etc while at rest - also look for signs of saliva/ mucus in their waterbowls or rubbed on cage furniture as well as watching for the elevated breathing and open mouth breathing.

It can also be benmeficial if you can find out where the sounds are coming from on the snake - shed noises for example will come from the head where as a serious RI would likely have went down to the lungs and you would hear noises there.

But the best advice is that if you are seeing something that truly worries you then a vet is the only one who can really tell you what is going on or set your mind at rest.


dr del

[Hock3ymonk3y]

its coming from his nostrils i can feel it and it hasnt happened before like a week ago

[Skiploder]

its coming from his nostrils i can feel it and it hasnt happened before like a week ago

How close to a shed is he?

If you're worried - take him to a Vet.

[Hock3ymonk3y]

its been about 3 weeks since his last shed, and there should be one coming up soon, but as of right now, his eyes are clear

i probably will take him to the vet within the next 2 weeks if the symptoms start to get worse and it turns out not to be shed

[Crazy4Herps]

When in doubt, consult a vet.

I just had my girl in for RI treatment. There is some new type of injection they have that lasts 2 weeks. I paid $100 total, $50 for the appointment, $50 for the shot. This way I don't have to give her shots or oral medicine every day. I'm going to bring her back in in a few weeks for another.

It could be a shed problem. It's up to you; you could bring him in just to be sure, or you could wait until he's out of shed. But if you notice any mucous at all, bring him in immediately. RIs are easy to treat, but can get out of hand very quickly, and can ultimately result in death.