Help! 1st poss RI

[Bobsean]

Alright here is the scoop. My 06 pastel is about half way into his shed. He is at the ghost white stage with about 2 days left before shed. I usually let my bp's chill and don't bother them when their in shed. However, today i was changing his water and I heard a faint whistling sound comming from inside his hide.

I take him out and upon further inspection, he was indeed weezing! I have never had to deal with this before, so what needs to be done?

Do i wait for him to finish his shed, as it could be consticting his breathingor take him to the vet? How long do I have to take him to a vet (ie: how fast does RI progress)?

All experience and wisdom is welcome!

[lord jackel]

First the good news...it is possible the wheezing is a result of the pending shed...sometimes they can get skin inside their pits and it sounds like wheezing or whistling. Does he have any other signs of an RI? (head up, mucus around mouth?)

What are your temps and humidity? If these are good then I would lean toward the shed being the cause - if these are off then it could be an RI.

Personally I would keep a very close eye on him till his shed is over and if he is still wheezing take him to the vet.

[Bobsean]

Thats great to hear. He has no bubbleing or mucus. As for head up I'm not exactly sure what this means. Hes not "mouth breathing" for what i can tell.

I'll def. be keeping an eye on him to see which way it goes.

[lord jackel]

Thats great to hear. He has no bubbleing or mucus. As for head up I'm not exactly sure what this means. Hes not "mouth breathing" for what i can tell. .

Since snakes cannot cough they lift their head up into the air to help move the mucus in their lungs so they can breath.

What about your temps and humidity levels?

[Bobsean]

Since snakes cannot cough they lift their head up into the air to help move the mucus in their lungs so they can breath.

What about your temps and humidity levels?

Ah, I understand now. The temps and humidity are spot on. 92.3 on the hot side and 81.6 on the cool and 50% humidity.

[ladywhipple02]

I agree with Sean... wait until after he sheds and see if the wheezing persists. If it's occuring right before a shed it usually means he's very close to that skin coming off (can you imagine shedding your skin and having little loose flakes of it stuck in your nose? And no way to sneeze or blow it out! No wonder they're grumpy when they're shedding!)

[FIREball]

I remember in 97 when I had my first ball and wasnt up to speed on proper humidity and he had a bad shed. He was violently hissing and wheezing trying to get the skin off. Defintely a horrifying sound but just got him in the tub and helped him out.