Help, possible respiratory infection.

[toveysnake]

My snake is about 3 years old and I haven't had any serious problems with him for the two years I've had him. I just heard a sort of noise coming from him a few hours ago. He appeared to be sneezing or coughing. After a quick look in the book "The Ball Python Manual" I feared he had a respiratory infection. The temperature in his tank has dropped a bit in the past couple of days because the ambient temperature has dropped in the room he is in. After this, I closed the windows in the room and put another lamp over his tank(I use a ceramic heater) and after 20 minutes the temperature went up to 90(it was at 80) and he stopped making that sneezing/coughing noise. He seems to be breathing fine now. He couldn't have been coughing long because I have been in and out of the room most of the day. I will keep watching for any changes, but any suggestions would be appreciated. The nearest herpetological vet is an hour away so if going to the vet isn't necessary that would be great.

[West Coast Jungle]

It is very important that you keep his humidity at around 50-60% and get his warm spot to 93.

Does he have an undertank heater? That with a thermostat is the best way to regulate temps. Increasing temps and humidity are very important to help imune system. How low did temps go?

Check for mucos or fluid in his mouth. If he has an RI you need to get him to the vet. If allowed to get worse he could very possibly drown on his own mucos. Coughing is not a good sign.

[toveysnake]

Yes, he has an under tank heater. The temperature was 80 on the warm side and 75 on the hot side for about 2 days. I never did hear any wheezing or bubbling, just a sneezing/coughing, but now that the heat is back up he seems to be fine. by the way, this has all happened in the last few hours.

[starmom]

Those temps are too cool for a ball python.
Try to get the temps at around 92-93 on the warm side and 83-84 on the cool side.
Good luck!