Sneezing BP

[jaleely]

So we have had Jasper since about July 2011. He has never shown any signs of an RI...except he sneezes. Drives me crazy. He won't do it for a week, then one day he'll pick he sneezes all day long. No mucus, bubbles, popping or wheezing...he's always doing just fine, eating, etc. But for no reason i can fathom he lets out these LOUD honking sneezes. I have gone from coconut husk, to aspin peices, to sani chips, and now just on paper towels, thinking that he was getting dust from each or any of these, and he still lets out these horrendous sneezes.

I think he's actually older than what they told us, of 10 years, when we got him. I don't know if that makes a difference at all. He is HUGE for a male. 4 and a quarter feet long with a huge huge head. So, anyway since snakes never stop growing, just slow, it seems like he's older than ten just because he's so big. (It is most definitely a he, btw someone once told me it was "impossible" that it could be a male and be that big and I've probed him myself, not to mention he was adopted to me as a male who'd bred before. That was just a stupid statement. ANyway...)
He's doing it again tonight. Big honking elephant sounding sneezes. All i can think is that he's got a shed stuck in there.

[alessia55]

Weird... I can't imagine what that would sound like. :hmm: I don't think I have any suggestions for you. Is he your only BP?

[Gungirl]

What kind of sub-straight do you have him on? is it dusty at all... other wise maybe it is shed.. idk

[Lankyrob]

Does it always happen at the same point of his shed cycle?? Could be that he previously had stuck shed that set up an irritation and now each time he gets to the same point it reoccurs???

[mykee]

Snakes sneeze. Don't worry about it unless you see signs of an RI.

[jaleely]

Okay mykee...I'm never truly worried-worried, because i've never seen any issue of sickness or anything. He's just LOUD it sounds like one of those fake elephant noises people make when doing a fake sneeze or something *lol*
I took him out last night and looked at him for a long time. He's such a big guy. His body is covered in scars, and there is one right behind his head...and one of his nostrils IS a tiny bit smaller than the other. I just figure he either has scar tissue in there, or it's shed. I have a cool video of him shedding that i've been meaning to post. He seems to do it very well...he's done it enough times! If he's dry, he'll go sit in his water dish. I guess i mean you're right. but he's just always doing it. I get concerned, and also sometimes annoyed because i can't make him stop *lol*

And lankyrob, I have thought of that, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern. He is in blue right now, i noticed last night his pinky belly and his eyes just starting to cloud.

KKgal, right now it's just plain old paper towels. I've gone through them all with him.

And Alessia it sounds ridiculous *lol* and no i have 4 others. Our female never makes a noise, or little pastel male has gotten worked up one time and huffed noisily, but never did it again. Both my other two can wheeze when upset, but will settle down and be quite. The one (Ribs) has only one nostril, so he is always a loud breather. Scar tissue covers his other. WHen he gets worked up and upset he will actually start to drool because he starts huffing so much. I have fretted and checked and it's not an RI it's not snot, and he has only done it twice when he was very upset (which he gets upset easily since he's a rescue). When he's calm, there is no pops, no drool, no real wheezes, just heavy breathing which is understandable with only one nostril. lol

Anyway, if you were asking if i had more to see if any of the others sneeze....they don't! He's the only snake out of 14 that sneezes.

Anyway, i do figure it's shed or scar tissue, but it's just so loud and dramatic. I can't find a pattern as to the weather, or shed cycle, feeding or substrate. he just does it. lol

[Rogue628]

All of mine have sneezed at one point or another. When they do I double check their husbandry just to make sure something hasn't changed that could cause it. After that, I just chalk it up to it being maybe a bit of shed around the nose or some dust.

A quick sneeze funny....

My old burm, was prone to sneezing when he'd been outside. One day a friend and her boyfriend and I had taken him out with us to a park. On the ride back, he sneezed, scaring the bejeezus out of my friend's boyfriend, who happened to be sitting in the back seat beside him...and was scared of him. Her boyfriend screamed like a girl (to put it politely :p). In return, in my mind, he had seen something on the road maybe that I had missed and my reaction was to stop the car (ok, so I slammed on the brakes :o ) in the middle of a deserted road. lol Little did I know that a cop had seen it. So he pulls in behind us and flashes his lights for me to pull over. So I pull over and he comes up to the window and asks me what the problem was. I explained to him I had a snake in the back seat who sneezed and scared my friend's boyfriend when he did...blah blah blah. The cop looked in the back, saw the snake (Carrick was only a little over 5 ft at the time), backed up and told me to be careful and have a nice day. He didn't ask for my license, insurance, registration...nothing. Just let me go without even asking me my name! :laugh:

[Conner90]

My BP does the same thing but its quiet. She will do it for a day or so and then won't for a month. I have noticed it seems to happen at like the mid point between sheds.