R.I. and shed?!

[Shadow]

I few days ago I noticed Karma's color was getting slightly dull and his belly a little pink. It was feeding day and he was a little hesitant to eat but took a small hopper. Later that day I found him in his humid hide so I figured I was right about his going into shed. I left him alone and misted the tank lightly (humidity to 60%)and he spent most of his time in the humid hide. I thought I noticed him breathing through his mouth, but i couldn't see him well so I just left him alone. After about three days now his eyes don't seem to be going blue, so I took him out and I hear a popping sound and he is breathing through his mouth here and there. Obviously R.I., the problem is I don't know if the his vet will be open so close to X-mas.
Also what am I supposed to do about humidity. I still do think he is in shed. He ahs a pinkish belly and his eyes seem slightly hazy and his skin is still dull. So should I leave the humid hide in or take it out?
I think he got this from abput a week ago when my cats unplugged the surge protector that his heating devices were plugged into and it was that way for up to a couple hours.

[lillyorchid]

He probably is still in shed, so I'd leave his humid hide in there with him. Also do give your vet a call tomorrow and tell them what is up. I don't see why they would not be open, Sunday & Monday I can see them being closed. It's better to be safe then sorry in the long run.

[Shadow]

Thanks.
I swear I just have the worst of luck. I've only had him a couple weeks and already I'm dealing with R.I.

[recycling goddess]

also remember that snakes can make those noises when they are in shed. personally i would wait for your snake to shed and see how things are after that. it takes 7 days from the start of shed until they are done... so you are 'almost' done.

of course, if you feel the need to see your vet, please do so.

[Shadow]

I'm confused now. I took him out this morning and he sounded alot better. I still heard a popping sound now and then but not much, but he was also still doing a little open mouth breathing. I noticed one nostril seems clear and the other looks like it has a hard crusty (part of his shed maybe?) in it that he won't let me touch. So now I'm wondering if it is just his shed. Though now he hasn't been in his humid hide since I noticed the popping sound last night and his eyes still haven't actually turn blue. When he opens his mouth to breath through it I cann't see it too well, but it looks pink and not mucusy. I called the vet office to ask them if I should put him through the stress of traveling in the cold while in shed to the vet if I'm not so sure if it is R.I. anymore. SHe just said it was up to me and that if I want to bring him I'm have to call back and make an appointment for 3:30 or wait until Wednesday. I'm tempted to wait, but if it is R.I. and it gets worse I'll have to go to the Emergencyvets who know squat about exotics and charge like $300 just to make an appointment and 12X the mormal amount for everything else. Also if I take him now, I live in MI so it is cold and he is already stressed from his shed and if he does not have R.I. I worry the stress or all that will make him sick as the vet isn't that close either. There aren't really any other vets that have a great understanding of snakes like his vet does so I'm not sure what to do. Advice please!

[West Coast Jungle]

What you need to do is look inside his mouth to see if there is any fliud(congestion). He is not going to just open up and say AHHH, so you will have to hold him and GENTLY open his mouth. I just found out my snake had an RI yesterday and immediately took her to the vet. This same snake had one last spring. I have 17 snakes and this is the only one that ever got an RI. What I did to keep her warm was put her in a snake bag and then put the bag under my sweatshirt I was wearing and a jacket over. My body temp kept her nice and warm. Even the vet was suprised how warm she was. Luckily for me I got her there right away and the vet said it is much smaller infection than last time. We still did a culture because last time she had 2 different bacterias which required 2 different medications. You need to turn his temps higher 94 degress or so. The longer you wait the worse it may get. Watch her closely when the mouth is open if you see ANY fluid (even clear) or bubbling or even what may look like saliva stringing from top to bottom it's an RI. You also need to keep her ambient room temps in the 80's. I happened to take my snake out to show a freind yesterday and immediately noticed clear fluid stringing in her mouth and immediately made an appointment. Sometimes they can beat it on their own but that is not advisable. Snakes only have one lung and if that get too congested they will suffocate and die! I know some one who lost a 15 ft burmese to an RI. Also look to see if he picks his head straight up in the air and gasps or breaths, this is a sign he is struggling to breath through the congestion. Without a culture the vet won't know what bacteria he has and may treat him with meds that won't kill that specific infection. We started mine on a med that kills most infections but won't know if that is going to work until the culture comes back from the lab. They actually grow the bacteria in the lab and then test what antibiotic kills it. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Shadow]

Maybe it is just his shed. He is small so it is hard to get his mouth open. I used a sideways toothpick and was able to get a couple quick looks. It all looked pink and I didn't see any kind of fluid. The popping sound is still somewhat (maybe even more) infrequent but he is also still mouth breathing.
I think will probably wait. I hope I'm not making a mistake though. SO frustrating!

Thanks for the advice all.

[West Coast Jungle]

When he opens his mouth to breath is he making any sounds breathing? can you see inside his mouth then? I would study closly what you are calling mouth breathing and see what's going on when he does it.

[Shadow]

When he opens his mouth to breath is he making any sounds breathing? can you see inside his mouth then? I would study closly what you are calling mouth breathing and see what's going on when he does it.

When he "mouth breaths" he opens his mouth slightly to the point I can see his fang coverings and not enough that I can really see in. The popping sound somtimes comes just before he opens his mouth. I don't believe there was any sound while his mouth was open. He is currently in his humid hide again so I moved the H.H. to the warmest part of the tank that is at 94*F.

[Schlyne]

I would definitely wait until he sheds and then see if he continues to make the noise and have problems. If he still has problems after he sheds, then run him into the vet. Right now it may just be plugged skin in his nares.