Respiratory Infection?

Tonight I noticed that my big male bp is squeaking...I thought that I was hearing the rats at first, but the sounds were definitely coming from him. I've had him for a while now with no problems...do these guys just sometimes get RIs in the winter? I am obviously taking him to the vet, but I've never had a snake with an RI before (assuming that's what it is--I don't believe he's in shed and the nose scales are rattling), how contagious are they? I don't see anything coming out of his nose, and he's too feisty/putting up too much of a struggle for me to check inside his mouth. I'm worried about the rest of my collection now....he has been housed with them and I'm wondering if he could have passed it on to any of them. Any input is apprecited, good or bad. Thanks, Lauren.

I had this problem when I first got Lickity and it wasn't an RI. I took her to the Vet and she was healthy, she had dunked her head in the water when I was bathing her. I don't know if its contagious but give him like four days and if hes still doing it then I would worry more. He could of just dunked to far in the water bowl when going for a drink.

What are your cage temps?

Originally Posted by Schlyne

What are your cage temps?

Good question!!! Yes, jack up your cage temps and provide plenty of privacy to ensure low stress level on your other snakes while you are checking all of this out. Keep humidity now higher than 65%. 90-95 degrees is perfect for at least 3-4 days until you can get your "sick" guy to the vet to see what is going on. This will ensure that the snakes do not have to work very hard to stay warm and it will up their ability to fight off anything passed on to them. He will need to be in his own cage probably if the diagnosis is an RI just so he can relax and get better on his own. Plus it will ensure that the other snakes do not get infected. Make sure you provide lots of water and change it daily at those high temps. Your snakes may drink more during this time, but they do not need higher humidity temps as this may contribute to secretions in the lungs. Heat is the answer in this case.

Thanks for the responses...I really hope that he is okay as he is an awesome snake. I did add another UTH to hopefully boost the temp up. He's my only snake not in the rack system, so I'm not exactly sure what the temps are. I am buying another rack specifically for him, and I'm going to go and get a thermometer/heat gun in a few minutes (stupid thing not to have, I know). I'm keeping a close eye on him, and will be calling the vet first thing Monday morning. Thanks again, Lauren.

but they do not need higher humidity temps as this may contribute to secretions in the lungs. Heat is the answer in this case.

This is how I treat any of my collection that may be coming down with something. I think it is also a good "after shipment" treatment. I call it "high and dry" High heat hot spot in the mid 90's and low humidity in the 30-40 range. Incomplete sheds are not important to me, but an RI is.