Shedding or Respiratory Infection?

As I was feeding my '03's tonight, I noticed that instead of eating like usual, my pewter was rubbing her head all over the deli-cup.

She would occasionally open her mouth and breathe, and swallow quite a bit (like a human would when their nose was stuffed up or draining).

I've had her for exactly a month now, and in that time she hasn't shed for me yet. Her eyes are cloudy at the moment and her colours do look darker than when I first got her though.

When I took the lid off of the deli-cup to listen to her breathe, she clicked when she inhaled or exhaled, right at the beginning of the breath.

I've never seen any of my snakes do this sort of behavior to the extent that she's doing it. I let her soak in a tepid bath while everyone else ate, and then placed her back in her container. I'll give it until Monday to see if it was infact a shed or possibly a respiratory infection. The herp vet isn't open on Sunday anyway.

I was just looking for advice on what others may think it is.

kind of sounds like a RI to me
but if she has shed and that she is still doing it
it could be because that 1) she has a RI 2) a peice of unshed skin is still left on her nose and it's blocking air flow and she couldn't breath properly...so check her nose

But if her eyes are still cloudy, then she isn't quite ready to shed yet. I have never heard any of mine making a clicking noise when they were in the shedding process.

I have heard the clicking when one was getting a URI, however. I would suggest raising the temps a little bit, but do NOT soak her again. If she is getting a URI, then too much moisture can be harmful. I would keep the tank completely dry except for a moist hide for the snake. It is also important to make sure the tank is very clean so that bacteria can't grow in it.

I also would not disturb her any more than absolutely necessary. Of course, you'll need to check on how her symptoms are progressing, but try to mainly do that by listening. Sometimes mild URI's will go away on their own after the increase in temps. If it doesn't go away or starts getting worse, then definitely take her to the vet.

Keep us posted!

Re:

The eyes aren't completely opaque, they look "filmy". Not as clear as they usually would be. It looks like the latter stages of a snake in the process of shedding to me. I'll try and get a good picture of her head today to demonstrate what I'm seeing.

As of this morning, she has not shed. But is still in her toilet paper tube. She was too busy rubbing her nose around last night to eat for me.

I don't think I could get it any drier in the room than it already is. All of my snakes that have shed recently have had problematic sheds. I've had to use wet paper towel to get the remainders off.

Any idea where an URI would have come from? I've never had any of my snakes get sick before, and their cages are super clean.

If it is in fact a respiratory infection, what are the courses of treatment? And ultimately, is it contagious?

That room happens to be the only warmest one. Should I move her to the other side of the room, closer towards the heat duct? The temp on that side of the room reads around 85 normally.

The temps are normally at 83 in the middle of the room, and on the back of the shelf that she's on away from the heat, it reads 77.

I worry about her because she's not a large snake...she's a long, skinny baby. She's healthy, just carries her weight differently from most hatchlings I've seen. She gets longer instead of bulking up.

both my snakes are about 1.5 years of age and have not bulked up at all tehre BOTH Super long like 2.5 feet and skinny there still eating fuzzies

OK...do your snakes have moist hides? If not, then they need them. I mostly was talking about not having a bunch of condensation or any wet substrate in the cages.

I am not 100% sure where a snake would get a URI from except for bacterial infections. If the snake was stressed, not warm enough, etc., then it's immune system could be suppressed. That could make it easier for an infection to take over. And you know...bacteria live EVERYWHERE regardless of how clean we try to be.

If it is a URI and it doesn't clear up on its own, then antibiotics would be the course of action. Most vets give Baytril injectable...with her being so young, I am not sure what they would use. I have seen baytril given orally before and that seemed to work pretty well. As for being contagious, it would depend on the type of infection it is. I think it is best to assume that all infections are contagious just to be on the safe side.

As for moving her...I would definitely move her closer to the heat source or give her an undertank heater. You would need a thermostat as well if you give her an UTH.

How's her breathing this morning, by the way?

Re:

CornCrazy, her breathing was normal this morning until I picked her up and made her uncomfortable. Then she started the clicking thing. I looked over her head, and her nostrils are a bit clogged up. But it looks like it could be aspen dust. This bag of aspen was quite a bit dustier than the last bag. I tried to get most of it out, but you can never really do that.

Anyway, here's the picture as promised. And no making fun of my pj's.

Her eyes are a lot cloudier than normal, and they were a lot cloudier today than they were yesterday. I've moved her so she'll be warmer, and I'm making her a moist hide tomorrow to see if that'll help. We'll see if when she sheds the symptoms go away (hopes so anyway).

Headshot from tonight:


Pictures of her from before:

Oct 7th:


Oct 28th:


So you can see she's darkened considerably between those two shots. Or at least I think so.

I hope it is just because of the aspen and that she stops after she sheds. Just be aware that dust can also cause an URI if it gets into her nares and she can't get it out. It becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and also her immune system will kick in to try to remove the foreign body (causing the formation of pus).

If her eyes are getting cloudier, then she is probably just going into blue phase. Unfortunately, that means all you can do is watch and wait. If she starts getting worse, then take her on to the vet.

Thanks for posting the pics! Cute PJ's, by the way

Update!

She shed early this morning (skin was still moist when I found it) and her nostrils are clean and clear, and no sign of the clicking when breathing.

I listened before opening the container, and listened after picking her up and handling her, no clicks or other signs of illness.

I'll attempt to feed this afternoon, since she was in the beginnings of blue when the last feeding time was.

Great news!!! Just keep an eye on her to make certain the clicking doesn't come back.