What a relief, I was a bit worried there. I'll keep an eye out for any other signs, and will definitely keep note to raise the humidity during his next shed. Thanks so much for the quick + informative response!



Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
Confusing, isn't it? When you touch him, & he makes this sound, that's probably just his stress response. Not exactly a hostile "hiss", but just "sucking in air" as you described. I wouldn't worry about that as long as you're not seeing bubbles around his mouth, or him open-mouth breathing, & as long as you're not hearing this all the time, when not provoked.

An RI can cause wheezing sounds, but also crackling or whistling sounds with each (or with most) breaths, & that doesn't sound like it's the case here.

Another possibility, besides hissing or an RI: he may also have some old shed skin stuck in his outer nostrils from he last shed cycle. Make sure you raise his humidity to about 75% during his next shed- the nostrils are easily plugged up when the humidity is too low, as those flimsy little bits of skin are easily left behind- and then, they make some noise when the snake takes a deeper breath. So that could also be what you're hearing, & snakes don't know how to "blow their nose" to fix it. Sometimes you'll even see a tiny tag of skin in their nostril- & if you're really careful, you might be able to catch & remove it with small tweezers, but humidify more first, so it lets go.

Right now, I'd say this is just a "wait & see"- & probably not an RI. Good question & for asking.