Boa health Concerns

[JasonRoll]

Hello, I am new to this forum/website and I was wondering if anyone could help me.
I have a yearling redtailBoa, He seems healthy in all regards but one. When he is climbing around and exerting himself, I can sometimes hear a faint wistling coming from his breathing.
I realize that most reptiles are suseptable to lung infections if heat and humidity levels are not maintained properly. To regulate his temp and humidity levels I have a heat pad and a 150watt heat lamp on one side of his 50gal aquarium. His water dish is on the heat side to increase humidity levels. I have measured the temp on both sides of the enclosure and it reads as follows 35deg at the warm end, 24deg at the cool end. The substrate I keep him on is called reti-bark.
So I'm stumped, there is no mucass discharge around his mouth or nosrtrills either.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Thank you

[Linds]

First, welcome to sSnakeSs.com! :bounce:

Are you measuring the surface temperature of the ambient temperature? Those temps should be fine for surface temps, although it wouldn't hurt to bump the cool end up a few degrees. What is the humidity at? Even if you put a dish over it could be too low, especially in tanks...they are crap for properly maintainging humidity. Is it possible he is close to a shed? Sometimes snakes have an excess of skin accumulate around the nostrils at this time causing them to whistle. Does your snake only do this while he is out or does he do it in his tank? Sometimes snake will emit a sort of "stress whistle" if they are being handled. I would switch subtrates if you can to something other than a softwood. Softwoods contain phenols, all ranging in toxicity between wood types. Fir bark (repti-bark) is one of the mildest ones, however it has been associated with liver dysfunction and respiratory problems. It wouldn't hurt to have a quick once over done by a *qualified* herp vet if the problem does not clear up, just to be on the safe side ;)

[JasonRoll]

Lindsay,
Thankyou for the advice,
I've kept the humidity 55%-65% with occasional mistings. The snake is not close to a shed and I keep one half of tank covered with a towel.
It kinda sounds like it could be the stress whistle, he seems to do it when i'm unwinding him off my shoulder or arm or something.
What enclosure would you recommend to maitain the humidity and ambient air temps?.
What substrate would you recommend?
Thanks for your time
Jason

[ohh_kristina]

welcome to the site!

[Linds]

Substrate all depends on what your looking for asthetically. I feed on mine and personally don't care what it looks like so newspaper, paper towels, or bath towels work fine for me, but aren't all that appealing if its a display setup. Although bath towels do look much nicer since they come in all sorts of colours :)

A more naturalistic substrate that works well is cypress mulch. I'm not a huge fan of shredded aspen because it doesn't do well with any moisture, but some people like it. Carefresh can also be a good choice. I personally don;t like artifical turf for snakes. Its rough and IMHO too difficult to properly clean. Keep in mind, no loose substrates should be fed on directly. You can put a container in the enclosure that the snake can eat in, or put something down to cover the susbtrate such as cardboard or newspaper ;)