whew!

[drache]

yesterday morning I took out Sammy for some hanging out time, and heard this weird sound coming from her
at first I thought there was a cat sleeping next to us, but I was certain I'd put them all in the kitchen, so the sound had to be coming from Sammy
it was just like the sound cats make when they're dreaming, like a low mewing on the exhale
I'd never heard a sound like that coming from a snake, and it freaked me out, coming from my favourite girl in particular, and on a Saturday morning, and knowing there are no rides to PA on the horizon, and yeah, the local vet is okay, but this is Sammy!
on the good side, she was acting completely normal, curious and active while mewing on the exhale, and well - there was an occasional gurgle too
Soooo . . . . I scrubbed down the enclosure and cranked the heat - into the mid-90ies
this morning - no more mewing, just an occasional slight tick sound - so, much better
I wonder how she got this

[ConcinusMan]

Vet and antibiotics ASAP! Respiratory infection. Causes are variable.

[gregmonsta]

I'm glad the increase in temps helped to lesson the symptoms. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

[Tyrel26]

I had a red sided once that had a strange noise coming from her when she exhaled as well, it turned out to be a piece of shed skin that got stuck in her nose. It was easy enough to get rid of and as soon as i did the noise stopped; But there is still a possibility that yours has an infection. May wanna get a check up

[MoJo]

I have heard these sounds when snakes are ready to shed. It does not always mean a respiratory infection.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I have heard these sounds when snakes are ready to shed. It does not always mean a respiratory infection.


YES!!! I cannot tell you how many times I've had a snake going into shed that had what I thought was a respiratory problem.... and the moment they shed it miraculously dissapears! If you see symptoms like this and you crank up the heat, they will often go away very quickly. It's not always an infection. If it is, shedding, or cranking up the heat is NOT going to do anything, and you'll find it out very quickly.

[ConcinusMan]

Huh, I've never heard noises like that because of a shed. It's always been someone elses snake and always a fatal respiratory infection. I guess that's why it's important for us all to share our experiences here!

I suppose it is possible that the tight skin, or the expanded blood vessels near the nose right before a shed could cause that sound.

[Tyrel26]

Well in the case of my snakes noise, it was a loose piece of skin in the nose. A persons nose can whistle too when something gets in there, so why not a snake? lol

As I said before, I would take it seriously until I knew exactly what it was.

[ConcinusMan]

Whistle perhaps, but gurgle? I don't know what's going on with that snake but if it is a respiratory infection, to delay medical attention would seal it's fate. Often times before you hear that sound, it's already too late.

[Tyrel26]

I have to agree with Conman (even though one should never listen to a conman lol) a gurgle may be more serious, but its hard to say without actually hearing the snake. If it sounds like fluid rattling i would be concerned.

[drache]

she sounds way better this morning, and it's not likely to be a shed, since that just happened recently
I do think she's having "a cold"
what I mean to say is that she has an upper respiratory infection, but not necessarily fatal
Sean (rescue guy) looked at her (listened to and palpated), and we agreed on it being a uri
given that she seemed otherwise fine, we also agreed that antibiotics might be overkill, and so far that seems to be borne out

[Tyrel26]

Good to hear; but I think we need a pic to be sure....or maybe just to see her lol

[ConcinusMan]

It's good to hear it may not be all gloom and doom. Error on the side of caution and keep him warm and dry. If he's eating feed him food that has high water content such as fish or worms to help keep him hydrated.

It's very easy for a cold (upper respiratory virus) to open the door for bacterial pneumonia. I nearly lost my own life that way, I thought I just had a cold. Turns out I did, but it quickly turned into a life threatening situation when bacteria took advantage of the taxed immune system.

I tend to think that anything above 90 degrees is a bit excessive though. Anyone else?

These things can be caused by excessive heat or lack of a gradient too. Snakes need to thermoregulate you know. Ideal temperature is not ideal if it's uniform throughout the enclosure. I know that when I was keeping/breeding sceloporous (spiny) lizards, they would develop nasal "colds" if they didn't have sharp gradients, and/or a drop in temperature at night. Uniform heat, even in the ideal range wasn't good for them. they needed a cooler area, a hotter area, and drop at night. The colds (runny, bubbling noses) stopped when I started doing that.

[RicMartin]

I got a new snake some months back that hissed something serious, it sounded like my baby was possessed or something, and I thought it was some respiratory problem, only to find out later that the hissing was coming from the heat pad (!), not the snake. I trashed that pad real fast, what a silly scare!

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, that is scary. I try to avoid using heat pads anyway. I mean, some reptiles need warm surfaces. IMHO garters do not. Too many problems associated with heat pads or rocks. Garters are perfectly content with overhead heat such ceramic heat emitters and it not only heats the snakes and surfaces but also raises air temperature. Very easy to create zones of heat with those, without the troubles associated with heat pads or undertank heaters.

I mean, if I can create an envirionment in something as small as a 10 gallon screen top tank, which is 70-72 on one end, 80-85 on the other,(air temperature) that's a winner. Can't do that with heat pads. All you end up with is a surface that is often too hot and air that is too cool.

Very important when you have a cold: Simply wrapping yourself in a heat blanket so you feel warm will NOT SUFFICE. The air you breath must be warm also.

[Stefan-A]

The ground stores and conducts heat much more efficiently than the back of the animal can capture from the sun or the air and according to a study I read a few weeks ago, it's the ground temperature, not the air temperature, that determines when snakes retreat to, or emerge from the dens. While basking in the sun might give a little extra boost, let's not exaggerate its importance.

How high do you think the air temperature is one inch off the ground, if the ground is heated to 40 degrees Celsius from above and below respectively? If we were talking about a vacuum, the temperature should be the same.

[Mommy2many]

I cleaned my squiggles house the other day and as a precaution, I decided to "bake" my wood in the microwave for 4 minutes. (It is the kind you can get at Petco). When I placed it back in the house, it was a very comfy, toasty "warm". (I checked for hot spots) Can you guess where all of my babies wanted to congregate? Happiness is a warm snake:D

[ConcinusMan]

Would that be mopani wood? I just bought a piece of that for my upcoming water feature project. Great stuff!

[drache]

well - Sammy just wolfed down a rat pup and an adult mouse
true, it's Sammy, and she'll eat a shoe if it smells of protein, but I do think if she was seriously ill it might affect her appetite
I'd say she's fine

[ConcinusMan]

That's good.

[Mommy2many]

It's either the Mopani wood or that driftwood stuff. Whatever they sell by th epiece or the bag that costs, ya know $10-$15 dollars. They seemed to like the warmth the radiated from it!

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, I bought a piece of mopani wood I couldn't pass up. ($9.99) It had knot holes in it that were just the right size for the tubing to fit in, for my waterfall. It's the heaviest, densest hardwood(african hardwood, the hardest wood on the planet!) I've ever seen. This stuff weighs as much as a rock of the same volume would! It sinks too, and is very rot resistant. As dense as it is, I'll bet if you heated it up, it would hold and radiate heat for quite some time.

Here's the piece I bought:

Good side:

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/8140/gedc1282.jpg

Back side:
http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/8990/gedc1281.jpg

Sorry, I just realized we are getting way off topic. :o

The driftwood pieces, and the fir round hides, I do not have to buy. They occur naturally in my area!

[Mommy2many]

That's the stuff!

[ConcinusMan]

BTW, that stuff leaches tannins when kept wet, and lowers the Ph of the water or moisture, which is perfect for the moss I'll be sending you. Perfect for licorice ferns too. It should take hold and grow on that wood if you want it to.

[Mommy2many]

Great, thanks for the info. I have always liked moss in vivariums and such. It has a calming quality to it.