a bath never hurts i bathe my snakes whenever they need it(after poopin/peein and slithering through it, just general maintenance) i did notice him breathin heavy alot of my snakes to that when they are stressed their heartbeats go up a little and they start breathin heavier, next come the hiss then the strike, lol well sometimes, but yeh as long as you dont notice and wheezing, open mouth breathing or any other IR related symtoms that heavy breathin is nothin really to worry about just a lil stressed