Respiratory Infection

Hello everyone,
It seems that my male corn snake Sam is having issues with a respiratory infection. A few weeks ago when he was shedding, I noticed that he was making a weird sort of noise, like I could hear him exhaling. I decided to wait for him to shed to see if the noise would disappear to see if that was the cause, and it seemed like the issue was solved after he shed. Anyways, today I noticed that he was showing signs of what I saw when he had a RI a few years ago (which was treated with antibiotics). There's no gaping/mucous, but his throat sort of 'puffs' out at times, if that makes sense. He makes a noise when this happens, sort of like the same exhaling noise. He is also in blue right now, but I don't think that's the cause. Is it at all possible to treat RI's without antibiotics? I have actually been treating one of my rats for a respiratory infection since January, and unfortunately she passed away on Monday night. My bank account is near empty, and I was just wondering if there was anything else I could do.
He is normally on aspen, but today I switched him to eco earth to see if he liked that. I noticed his symptoms after I changed the bedding. His cool side is in the 70's. He has a heating pad on his warm side, and I pointed a temperature laser gun at it, and it read about 100, which I realize is too high. However, on the surface of the substrate it's about 84. I never see Sam burrow for some reason, so I don't think he ever gets that warm. He is in a 40 gallon breeder aquarium, and he is my only snake. I think the RI was caused by the horribly low humidity in our house in the winter. I put a humid hide in his cage the first time I suspected a RI, but I guess that didn't do the trick. Should I add in a heat lamp as well, or would that be way too hot? Just looking for some options, as I am in college, and my snake is actually at home 2 hours away. I come home every weekend to feed him & such, but my mom would be the one who would have to administer medications if it came to that, probably with an injection, which I know she wouldn't be comfortable with. =/

OK - step back and check the facts.

He last had the symptoms when he shed. They cleared up afterwards.

He's in blue now, about to shed, and the symptoms are back.

I think you'll find that the "RI" is just something that he does when he's shedding. It's not common but I've read enough posts here asking about it that I wouldn't be too concerned in your place. I'd sit tight and wait until after the shed completes. My guess is that the symptoms will disappear again afterwards.

In your shoes, I wouldn't be thinking about a vet unless the symptoms continue after this next shed. It's probably not a good idea to be moving him around when he's blue anyway as that's likely to stress him, RI or not.

The temps are fine and definitely don't need to go up any more. Put a humid hide in with him when he's shedding anyway - some like it as it eases the shed.

Sit tight - I think you'll find your stress levels lowering in the next week or so.

I sure hope you're right...I was mostly concerned about the throat movement, which was what he did when he was sick previously. I wish I was home for a longer period of time so that I could monitor his health more closely. I guess really the only thing I can do right now anyway is to wait to see how he's doing next weekend, after he sheds, like you said.

Swelling of the throat area is another thing that's occasionally observed in the lead-up to shedding. I'm not sure I've ever yet seen a post where it's been linked to an RI (hopefully someone else will chip in if I'm wrong though).

Was the original RI diagnosis confirmed with tests or based on observation? Did that event have any other symptoms such as mucous or gaping?

I agree with Betsy.
Leave him alone until after he sheds, then see if he still has symptoms.
Without mucous or gaping, I wouldn't go to the vet until after he sheds.

That's so strange that throat swelling can occur with shedding. It isn't a constant swelling...it's like he 'pushes' out his throat sometimes...sorry, kind of hard to explain. The original RI was diagnosed based on observation, as far as I remember. I just remember the vet looking inside of his mouth and listening to his lungs (lung?). There were no signs such as gaping or mucous. I hope that it's just shedding, but I still feel doubtful. I will let you all know what I see when I get home this weekend.

To me, that absolutely sounds like he's never had an RI in his life and he's just one of those drama queens that likes to make a meal out of shedding!

Please keep us posted - I hope I'm right.

Here are some discussions about the throat swelling that you might find comforting:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109734&highlight=throat
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54818&highlight=throat

So strange! I do hope you're right. If he's still doing it this weekend, I will try to take a video of it to post, because his neck isn't constantly swollen; it's only swollen when he kind of puffs it out. I am really crossing my fingers it has to do with the shed, I really have no money right now unfortunately. Thanks again for your help!

So, good news! So far I haven't seen any signs of a respiratory infection, which is awesome! For some reason though, Sam hasn't been wanting to eat, which is weird, because he hasn't ever refused a meal before (except for a few weekends back when he was in blue). Maybe he is just becoming more stingy? I don't know...it's been maybe 3 weeks, maybe even 4 since his last meal. I'm not too worried as he has started to look a little pudgy after being fed once a week, and he still looks like he could lose a small amount of weight. He's about 5-6 years old. I guess I will just have to keep trying. =P

Well that's excellent news - thanks for the update.

Refusals are quite common amongst adult males at this time of year. They only have luuurve on their minds! Just keep offering his usual food at his usual intervals. He'll decide to eat eventually. As long as he has no other issues (e.g. sudden weight loss), he should be fine.

Haha yes I do believe that is the case! He has been crawling around his cage almost nonstop, I feel kind of bad for him. That is the case today as well; he is very active, but not interested in eating. Poor thing wants a girlfriend hehe.

That's just how our 3 year old has been acting. Refusing to eat, pacing the tank constantly. We never had him sexed but I am thinking his behavior is pointing to a "he".

Hey, I gave one of my guys a girlfriend and he is STILL not settling down. He has rearranged his tank completely every day. He falls so much that I worry about him. Crazy snakes. At least I get to see him out and about, though!!