My BP whistles

[Denial]

Well I had my vet appointment today.
I was surprised that he was hesitant to pick the snake up from its container. he asked me to do it since the snake wasn't used to him. Is this unusual? Again it was my first reptilian vet appointment.
He said the whistle was actually a hiss. I think if its a hiss its a rhythmic hiss that mimics a breathing pattern, but he's the doc, right?
He did check out his mouth (wow, pretty nasty-sharp set of teeth in there) and said no RI.
There are some retained eye caps but he said give it two weeks to come off on their own, otherwise he will remove them.
So I've bumped the humidity up to 75-80%

sounds like you need to find a new herp vet. Also whistling sounds came be a number of things. Doesent automatically mean its a r.i.

[Jamie-n-Heith]

one of my BP's had that whistling noise when it was breathing and I did find a little bit of retained shed, I got it off and the whistling stopped.

[loonunit]

Yeah, new reptile vet. A herp vet who's scared of ball pythons? ...that's like working on dogs and being scared of golden retrievers.

My black pastel whistles like this. Always has. I've pried his mouth open with a q-tip and taken him to the vet, and he seems perfectly fine. I have a friend who speculates that the black pastel is annoyed at being handled, but he's one of the snakes that actually seems to genuinely enjoy it. So I don't know!

[SNIKTTIME]

I have a Normal Male that was given to me 13 years ago. Crazy guy whistles like a maniac if he doesn't want to be handled for 13 years now. Loud as hell!! Eats,drinks, sheds, poos and breeds normal except for every August- January won't eat a dam thing. I wouldn't worry too much yet. Also look for a vet that specializes in exotics, it will make a huge difference.

[chapskis1]

I definitely wouldn't take the snake to that vet again -- that is too funny that he didn't want to pick up your BP (not really funny, but I think you know what I mean).

I had a simiiar experience once when I took my first bp about 10 years ago to the vet. The vet was actually okay, but I could tell the assistant was afraid of the snake. She kept on holding him by the neck (right behind the head) like he was a vicous rattler that was going to strike at any moment. I mentioned to her a few times that she didn't have to worry, and by the end of the check-up she finally seemed to relax a bit.

Later,

George

[CRAZY]

I once had a whistling snake. I took him to the vet, spent $150, went through many hassles. The whistling stopped after a couple weeks of medication, but to this day I still wonder if it was really worth it. I tried 2 medications. I had to change from the first one because whenever I gave him it he would produce TONNES of mucus and his nose would bubble. Anyway, just keep an eye open for mucus, or tilting his head and neck upwards, and other things like that.

[vjb]

Based on his hesitance to pick up the BP initially I wondered about his diagnosis. Once I handed hm the snake he did the exam without too much problem.
I'll keep an eye on the whistling.
The vet did say the snake wasn't "tame" and that he shouldn't have been squirming much as he was during the exam. He suggested I handle the BP daily for a few minutes to help with this.

[Kaorte]

Based on his hesitance to pick up the BP initially I wondered about his diagnosis. Once I handed hm the snake he did the exam without too much problem.
I'll keep an eye on the whistling.
The vet did say the snake wasn't "tame" and that he shouldn't have been squirming much as he was during the exam. He suggested I handle the BP daily for a few minutes to help with this.

From the sounds of it, this guy really has no idea what he is talking about.

If the snake has stuck eye caps, it is pretty likely that he has stuck shed in his nose that is causing the whistling.

There is no such thing as a "rhythmic hiss".

That guy is obviously not comfortable with snakes and is not qualified to diagnose problems.

I would find a new vet :/ Maybe quiz them with a few very easy ball python facts to see if they actually know what they are talking about. Like, ask the vet questions that you already know the answers too and see if he or she answers them right.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Please call every vet you can drive to in a reasonable distance and find one that is an exotics vet with experience with snakes..

I agree w everyone else. If he was nervous at all about handling the snake I would not trust his diagnosis. It could be he is a nervous whistler, or an RI or stuck shed etc..

But I would still get a different vet for future visits. Not tame? Even my tamest snake will move nervously after a drive in the car to a place he has never seen or smelled before, being held by someone he is not familier with..

As for the retained eyecap. I would never let someone else remove it. I dont care how long it has been there. It will come off on its own with just a little help from you.

Raising the humidity to 75% or more when he goes into blue. Placing a humid hide in his tank stuffed with moist moss during his entire shed process. Rubbing some bacitracin on the eyes once day or so during the shed process.

If you do this it will come off. Just dont saok him during the shed process. This can actually make for a bad shed.

I have delt with retained eyecaps on new arrivals and I have always gotten them to come off on their own with only the assistance I mentioned. Forceably removing them can cause more harm than not.

[otiswest]

New vet, definitely. REAL herp vets have probably been bitten hundreds of times and most likely by species far more aggressive and dangerous than Ball Pythons. Or they at least know how to approach a snake in the best way. That guy may be a wonderful vet for many other kinds of animals, but he is clearly not good with snakes.