Whistling.....

[zooguy]

I was handling my snake last night and noticed a light whistling sound. I referred to a few of my corn snake books and also did a search on this site, but some direct advice would help a lot. There is no mucus coming from the nose or mouth, no open-mouthed breathing, no gurgling, etc. It sounds like a "dry" whistle. I am leaning towards two possibilities: 1) possible unshed skin in nose/getting ready to shed or 2) maybe some dust from the substrate was inhaled. I have him in a 40 gallon breeder with a screen top, a large water bowl, two hides, a climbing structure, silk plants, and "soft-sorbent" bedding. I don't think the humidity is too high because of the screen top. It is about time to do another cage clean, so I am thinking that I will go back to aspen shavings. This may possibly remove the cause of the whistling. Your thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[mbdorfer]

As a former user of Kaytee's Soft Sorbent, I would say there's a good chance that is the culprit. That stuff is dusty as heck and didn't do a good job of holding humidity. JMO

[zooguy]

So if I simply change the substrate, will the problem go away on its own or will I have to somehow help him clear the dust out of his nose? Thanks for your help!

[mbdorfer]

Based on what you said about no open mouth breathing, gurgling etc. I don't think it's anything too serious. I would change to aspen, newspaper or whatever you want and monitor it. If the whistling persists I would seek professional advice IE: the vet. I started noticing how dusty that stuff is whenever I was sifting through it looking for feces. Man it was like a fine mist settling back down to the bottom of the viv. Since switching BACK to aspen, I have had zero health, shed issues in the past year. Hope this helps :cheers:

[zooguy]

Thank you so much for the advice. I'll get him changed back to aspen and hope for the best! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of that expensive soft-sorbent! I've tried a few different substrates, but none seem to do the job like the good old aspen!

[mbdorfer]

Glad you found it helpful. Over the last 20 yrs I've used them all. A note on aspen, there are many brands and you may have to experiment to see what works best for you and your snake. I personally do not care for the Katee brand as it tends to be a little dustier than some of the others. Currently, I am using a product by Sunseed that seems to work rather well. :cheers:

[zooguy]

The stuff I have is Kaytee. When I finish it, I may have to experiment around with some other brands. I just don't know if they sell anything else at my local pet shop! Thanks again!

[CAV]

If you can find it, I use a brand called LM and is far and away the best aspen bedding I've ever found. It is more shredded than shaved and has very little dust.

[zooguy]

Can you find the LM aspen anywhere other than at a pet store? Do you know if they have a website? Thanks for your reply!

[MegF.]

You might also wait until after his shed to take him in to a vet. I've heard some pretty weird sounds from my corns such as clicking and such when they're about to shed. If after your change in substrate, and a shed and still whistling, then try the vet.....by the way, what's he whistling....Dixie?

[Mitch]

I have caught both mine whistling...but only when they are board and think no one is watching ;)

Mitch

[zooguy]

:rofl: I'm definitely not too worried yet. I am going to change the substrate and just wait and see. I am hoping that that simple change will do the trick! Thanks for your reply!

[zooguy]

Oops, I only saw meg's reply! Thanks Meg and Mitch!

[zooguy]

After changing back to aspen and giving him a week to clear everything out, my snake has no sign of whistling! :dancer: Thank you everyone for your help! This is a great example of what good a forum like this can do. If I would have left this problem unfixed, it could have developed into a much bigger deal. Thanks again! :)