Hissing sound but mouth is closed.....

[L.West]

Help. My six year old male normal has this hissing noise (not a whilstle) coming out when he breathes but his mouth is not open. I see no other signs of illness, no mucos, no bubbles, no open mouth breathing - what could this mean??

I just noticed it for the first time this morning - should I rush him off to the vet?? Should I isolate him from the others??

Please, if someone could help out.

Thank you.

[shelliebear]

Did he just shed recently?

[L.West]

No, he didn't. That is exactly what I thought about stuck shed in his pits.

[ballpythonluvr]

Your snake sounds like it is just hissing. My male normal does this quite a bit. They don't hiss with their mouths open ususally. I don't think you have anything to worry about at this point.

[ryan427]

i have a female pied that every time i open her tub she begins to hiss.ALL SHOW

[L.West]

He did seem pissed off when I opened his tub - I may have startled him. He was really stiff in posture when I was hearing the hissing sound - then I picked him up - he never struck at me though. I didn't know they could hiss with their mouths closed.

He was recently moved to a new rack and for the first time without hides - maybe he was just startled/scared.

I guess I will have to keep a close eye on him for a while. His temps are 90 hot side 80 cool side with at least 50% humidity.

[Homegrownscales]

Did it sound like air being let out of a tire? They dont hiss with their mouths open and all it is is them quickly expelling air from their nostrils to make a big noise. I have a few boys that do this.

[cdavidson9]

He's just huffing at ya. It's a big bad "don't mess with me" noise that doesn't mean much. You just startled him. No biggy. I bet he stopped once you picked him up?

I have one big normal girl that does this almost every time I touch her at first. Then once her body leaves the ground it stops. No worries! No need for vet!

[Dante's_Girl]

Dante just did this to me the other day actually. He's in shed and super pmsing, he actually tagged at me when I went to take his water dish out to change it, then when I went to put it back in he curled up in the corner and hissed at me lol it's cute when they go all macho on you.

[L.West]

That is exactly what it sounded like - like air being let out of a tire. He's been fine ever since so I do believe it was hissing because I startled him.

Thanks to all for your help.