Originally Posted by Dezoruba
Are you feeding the standard rodent-girth=snake-girth meals? If so, IME (and unfortunately I've had much, with adoptees) the hiss/wheeze sound is most prominent after eating. (I no longer feed like that, and no longer adopt snakes, either.)
In 2012 I took a Blood Python (which are more susceptible to RI vs BP's) to the Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital in Mesa, AZ. I found the vet very knowledgeable. The visit was not cheap but I learned a lot and felt it was worth the cost. The vet used an analogy similar to KMG's, troubled breathing, similar to when humans have a cold, only he added that it was much more serious in reptiles, difficult to cure, and nearly impossible to completely wipe out forever. Recurrence is highly likely. Also, the injections that need to be given daily for a week will just about destroy any trust that was established.
RI is a by-product of domestication, something which evolutionarily speaking, reptiles have never had to contend with. Resistance was never required and so was never developed.
The most interesting statement he made, and though it was 4 years I still remember very clearly, was that shallow enclosures exacerbate the illness. Several display cages were on site and all afforded the snakes, even ones that were not at all arboreal, inclines where snakes could position their lungs above the abdomen.
If you do follow thru with the vet check-up and have the time I would be very interested in reading a summary of what was said. Thank you and good luck there!
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