whisltilng noise

[bbailey1392]

My red tail started making a whistling noise when he breathes hard. He doesn't make it when he's still and resting, but when he's climbing and being active I can hear it from several feet away. Is this something to worry about?

[CDN-Cresties]

I dont know to much but from what i gathered in the boa forums it could be a sign of RI. Im sure someone else good give you better info than me. Hope its nothing serious.

-Steve-

[cpt_retic]

I've had my retic do this when she is dry . My old boa would do it once and awhile too. But check for infection

[T.O-SK8TER]

respretory infection, unless he is in shed and a piece of scale is covering a nostrile!

[Scotty Allen]

I remember this same noise really freaking me out all those years ago when I heard it in my first ball python. Turned out to be a bit of dried skin remaining from a recent shed, stuck in a nostril. Check and see before you panic over RI's.

[brig]

First off, I'm not an expert, very, very far from it, but I do have a wheezy, whistling boa!

She was a rescue, last christmas, she'd been out in a cold store room (lost, apparently!:mad: ) for two weeks, AND had an injury on her nose. She couldn't breath very well at all.

We thought RI instantly, and took her to the vet for a full check-up, and a course of antibiotics.

To cut a long story short, she didn't seem to really develop any RI (thank goodness), her nose injury has healed, but she's the noisiest breather I ever heard! Not so much when resting, but as soon as she moves, or we move her, it's like bellows!

Does your BCI breath badly mostly on the in breath, the out breath or both? I don't know if it's significant, but ours makes the noise when breathing out only.

I thought maybe someone else on the forum might be able to shed some light on how this might relate to RI...

My advice, both for the snake and for your peace of mind is to go for a vet check, if you can manage it. Better safe than sorry.

Good luck,
Brig.

[AnniesMom]

Honey Bun is a really noisy snake, mostly on the exhalation she whistles and sometimes groans. The vet thought that it might be from an old RI that left scaring in the lungs. She eats well, looks good, normal BM's, and all around a great snake. Just noisy! Still a good idea to get ours looked at.

[Linds]

Snakes can whistle for many reasons. Some which include an oncoming shed (clogged nostrils), stress whistles (usually they emit it only when handled), and RI. Keep an eye on it. Use your judgement, and it never hurts to have something looked at if you aren't completely sure :)