His mouth is open....

[Jenstet]

My son has a corn snake and he noticed today that he is lying is his hide with his mouth open. Truthfully he could have been doing this for a few days his head is just out a bit so we can see it. We think is is in shed so we leave him be while he's doing his thing.
He's been super active lately and suddenly went into his hot hide early last week. We noticed he was getting that dull look and his eyes turned cloudy last Thursday. We did offer him food on his normal feeding day which was Friday and he didn't go for it. We haven't had him long but have had two sheds with him about 3 months apart. This shed took us a little bit by surprise because it has only been 2 months.
His eyes are now clear but he's doing the mouth open thing. He just kind of opens it for a few minutes and then closes it. I don't see any mucous or anything oozing or bubbling. He is tongue flicking a little now and then and his tongue looks normal.
I know you all like to know temperatures and enclosure info. He is in a 40 gallon with a UTH set at 81 degrees. The probe/thermometer is under the substrate. His cool side is 69 degrees. We haven't changed anything but did a thorough cage clean about 3 weeks ago. We are unsure about his age but he should be 2 years old if the breeder was correct. He's weighs almost 400 grams now.
It's Sunday so the vet is closed. Is this something that can wait until tomorrow. My son is afraid he is going to die. He doesn't look to be in distress although I'm not sure what that would look like. He is just calmly coiled with his head raised a little and opens his mouth every few minutes.
He hasn't shed yet and I've been reading this could be one of two things. An RI or a stuck shed problem. I guess the shed can cover nostrils?

[zazoo31]

I am not experienced enough to give you advice on this, but I hope he is ok.

[Nanci]

I'd crank his heat up to 88F. In a 40, he's got plenty of room to get away from it. (This is just in case he has a respiratory infection. Normally, you'd want his heat to be about 84-86.)

You can take him out and listen to him breathe. Is he making popping sounds? Do you see any slime in his mouth?

Is he actually blue? No matter- it is never normal or okay for him to have his mouth open, but I'm pretty sure he will be okay until tomorrow. If he was my snake, I would get him to a vet tomorrow, though.

[Jenstet]

I bumped his heat up.
I tried to look at him more closely and it seems that his nostrils look blocked. It is white so I guess it could be shed or some kind of discharge. It doesn't look juicy.
He doesn't look blue to me. Inside his mouth looks white. Of course I haven't ever peered into his mouth before so that could be weird. Either way I'll make an appointment tomorrow morning first thing.
thanks!

[smigon]

I bumped his heat up.

Good, the settings you had were a little low.

He doesn't look blue to me.


The snake won't turn the color blue, being "in blue" means that he is getting ready to shed. You can tell because their eyes will get milky looking, sort of a bluish coloring to them, and their body color will be very dull. A few days after this he will look fine, the colors and eyes brighten up and then, voila, a shed!

Between blue and shed the timing can be anywhere between 2-3 days and 10 days (or more, as is the case with one of mine).

If this is your first corn snake and you haven't read anything about them, I highly recommend getting some books, here are two written by forum members, and if they don't know what they are talking about we are all in trouble!!! I have them downloaded on my Kindle, and still use them as a guide once in a while.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=corn%20snake%20kathy%20love

http://www.amazon.com/Corn-Snakes-Captivity-Don-Soderberg-ebook/dp/B009NI6LK8/ref=sr_sp-atf_image_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395657654&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=don+soderbeg+corn+snakes

Also, on this site, there are lots of "stickies" on the top of each topic. Read all of them carefully, you will find out a lot right away before your books come.

Here are a couple of pics I found on Google to demonstrate what "blue" looks like.

http://cache.desktopnexus.com/thumbnails/157111-bigthumbnail.jpg

http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/images/amel_corn_snake_going_into_shed_large.jpg

[Jenstet]

I'm sorry, I thought you meant blue as in he couldn't breathe and was turning blue.

His eyes were milky last Thursday and his skin had been dull for at least a week. He is clear now so we do think he is about to shed but in addition to that he is doing the mouth open thing which is weird no matter what. I just wondered if that was related.

Also, I don't hear any popping noises or see any weird secretions.

I'm waiting for the dr to open and give him a call.

thanks
I'll let you know what happens.

[NH93]

I have heard that sometimes with an oncoming shed, loose skin can somewhat block the nostrils - which can also cause some random popping sounds as well. I know you've said you don't hear it, but just as an afterthought.
I'd of course keep the heat where it is (as in, how you've increased it as Nanci and others suggested) and do a more thorough check once s/he has shed. If the mouth remains open after the shed there is a possibility that with consistent low heat and perhaps too high of humidity for that temperature, a respiratory infection could be the concern.
Keep an eye on it, and contact a good herp vet if it continues.

Best of luck!

[Jenstet]

I made an appointment this morning.
When I went to wake my son and get him going for the day, Cornelius was out climbing around and had a perfect one-piece shed waiting for us.
I still went to the appointment because we were so scared yesterday and I didn't want to stress about him all day second guessing what was going on. The vet checked inside his mouth and listened to his lung. He doesn't have a respiratory infection. The vet agrees that it was just his shed blocking his nostrils that caused him to look like he was gasping for air. Poor thing.
He's been zipping all around his enclosure since we arrived back home and is currently working on a lovely breakfast.
All is well.
My son would be devastated if anything happened to this guy. He is the sweetest snake. We are so lucky to have chosen him.
Thank you for all your help!

[Nanci]

Great news! I was hoping it was just shed-related. I've never seen any of mine breathe with an open mouth, though, so I would have hated to say- oh, it's just the shed and then have him really be sick.

[hypnoctopus]

Mine sometimes do that yawning thing when they're in blue, but I've never had one keep its mouth open.

Glad to hear he's okay.

[Kate]

Glad to hear he is okay, & applause for taking him in to double check!

[Jenstet]

We've seen him yawn a few times but this was different. Almost like when an alligator sits with his mouth open. He would keep it open for 15 seconds or so and then close it again for about 3-5 seconds. He was clearly unable to breathe through his nose.
I could see the white covering his nostrils. It was weird. I looked closely at his shed and his nostril holes look almost like eye caps so they must have been sealed pretty well.

[smigon]

I have heard that sometimes with an oncoming shed, loose skin can somewhat block the nostrils

Best of luck!

Good call!

[zazoo31]

The same thing just happened to our corn on his last shed. Sneezing and popping noises for about three days prior. I had seen him blue and he didn't have any other symptoms so we watched and waited. I was worried if I gave you that advice and it wasn't the shed, you may have held off the vet visit. Alberto never had his mouth open when he went through that. I am glad it was just the shed.