Respiratory infection? (long)

I've never dealt with a RI before, so I'm not sure that this is what's going on.

My one male has been on a rampage trying to get out of his cage in order to get to females and as a result, he keeps tipping his water bowl.

Because of this I took his bowl away about a week and a half ago and have offered water every other day, but in the past couple of days he has started to make strange sounds, similar to the sound you make when you say "shush" to quiet someone. He's also sneezed a few times. I don't see any mucous or bubbles from the mouth or nose, no gaping of the mouth. I don't hear any clicking or popping.

Other than that he is acting as normal as can be. Eating, pooping, roaming his cage for females, etc.

Should I go ahead and give him his water back in case not having enough water is what's doing this? I don't want him to keep waterlogging his cage. Or at least offer water more often?

He's not due to shed. He just shed April 17, and he usually only sheds 3-4 times a year.

Should I just try to bump up the temp for a week or so and hope it goes away or should I go ahead and take him to a vet?

Thanks.

I can't offer advice about an RI as (luckily) none of mine have ever suffered.

However, I'd definitely get a permanent water supply back in his viv as soon as possible. I use ceramic dog bowls for my adults - they're so heavy that the most lively male can't even cause a spill.

I can't diagnose a resp infection for you... But taking him to the vet can't hurt.

I have a friend that used to have a corn snake and he is always telling me... "If they get sick, take um to the vet" His died from a res.p infection. He said that it was weezing and sneezing.... Said it was always kind of out of breath. He didn't say anything about snot bubbles or anything like that.

You would really be upset if you could have saved his life but didn't act soon enough.


Good Luck,
Aaron

Personally I would bump the temp up and watch him for a while. If the sounds get worse or if he doesn't start improving, then definitely take him to the vet.

Many mild URI's will go away just by bumping the temp up.

Also, if you have a moist hide in there, I would take it out until he gets better. And definitely get a water bowl that he can't tip over. Increased humidity can make a RI worse.

Well I know it hasn't been long since I first posted, but I bumped up the temp and haven't heard any noises from him since. Hopefully if it was a RI, it went away, or is on it's way out.

I definitely agree that I need to get a water bowl that can't be tipped over. He was fine with what he had until he hit about 300 grams, but now the water gets dumped easily whenever he falls onto it.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Well, I guess I spoke too soon. I just saw him sneeze again yesterday and when I took him out to look at him I heard a few faint pops.

For those who say 'if he doesn't get better soon', when you say soon, what does that mean, a few days, a week, 2 weeks? It's been about a week since I first heard sounds from him and about 3-4 days with increased temps.

I'd like to think that this will clear up on it's own if I keep it hot, but I don't want to wait too long and have it escalate.

If it has been a week, then I would schedule an appointment with a vet as soon as possible.

Oh yeah...is he due to shed? Sometimes they will stop doing that right after a shed. I do not know why...

I wasn't able to get a vet appointment for my snake until this Friday, but he is going to go.

A new question...this vet is an exotics vet, but did misdiagnose a dying tail tip (due to shed not coming off) as a genetic malformation. Due to this, I'm a little hesitant to just accept whatever his course of action might be, so I would like to know what a vet might try to have me do to take care of this, if anyone has encountered this problem before.

An oral swab/bacterial culture and oral antibiotics for a few weeks is what I'm guessing they will suggest. Sound about right?

Amanda,

The vet I work for would do a complete exam. If there is no discharge from the nose or mouth and if the mouth looks normal, then we might not do a culture. If the mouth looks abnormal, however, then a culture and sensitivity is probably needed. If the lungs sound harsh, then the vet may suggest an x-ray to look for pneumonia.

I know that some of our clients choose to treat symptomatically before getting into a bunch of expense due to diagnostic testing, though.

If the vet recommends putting your snake on antibiotics, then (s)he may either send home oral antibiotics or injectable antibiotics. Typically, oral antibiotics are easier for most people to give, though.

Thanks for the info Terri. I appreciate it.

I used to work for a vet too, at an emergency hospital as an assistant, though the only reptile I ever saw there was an iguana with an abscess. I always hoped to see more exotics, just for the experience, but nothing else ever came in besides the occasional ferret.

There was one vet though (he used the hospital's facilities, but had his own clinic) that worked with large cats. Every once in a while we'd have a tiger/lion/cougar cub come in for de-clawing (always the same owners). While I don't agree with keeping these types of animals as pets, they sure were sure fun to play with as babies.