Whistling while breathing + small insects?

AndrewM1217 · 04-19-16, 04:34 AM

So I noticed tonight that my spotted python was making a slight whistling noise when breathing during handling. I checked his nose and mouth and there were no signs of bubbles or sticky mucous that would be consistent with an RI. Should I be concernced? I have not heard these noises before.

Also, I noticed several small dead winged insects in his water dish today. They are definitely not mites, as I have dealt with mites before and these are A) Too large to be mites and B) the snake itself has no insects on him. It seems there are only in the water dish but obviously I'm sure there's more in there somewhere. I plan on changing out his substrate tomorrow to see if that helps somehow.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Anything is appreciated.

His husbandry has not changed in months and he has always been healthy and a great feeder (still is feeding regularly and voraciously) with perfect sheds.

Albert Clark · 04-19-16, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewM1217

So I noticed tonight that my spotted python was making a slight whistling noise when breathing during handling. I checked his nose and mouth and there were no signs of bubbles or sticky mucous that would be consistent with an RI. Should I be concernced? I have not heard these noises before.

Also, I noticed several small dead winged insects in his water dish today. They are definitely not mites, as I have dealt with mites before and these are A) Too large to be mites and B) the snake itself has no insects on him. It seems there are only in the water dish but obviously I'm sure there's more in there somewhere. I plan on changing out his substrate tomorrow to see if that helps somehow.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Anything is appreciated.

His husbandry has not changed in months and he has always been healthy and a great feeder (still is feeding regularly and voraciously) with perfect sheds.

Hey Andy! Sorry for the dilemma. If you are suspicious of the noises in breathing one of the first things to do is to bump up his ambient temperature and basking spot temp by a few degrees. Place him on a paper towel substrate so it's easier to see any discharges. These steps should start to give you a better idea on his condition. Once you do the thorough cleaning of the enclosure the winged pests might get alleviated as well. Start out with that and closely monitor him. Are you using a thermostat on your heating element? That will make it easier to control your increases in the temps. Keep us updated.

macandchz · 04-19-16, 09:24 AM

dear andrewm 1217-sorry to hear about your snake's breathing problems and i hope everything is ok with that. i want to tell you that i am having the same problem with the winged bugs and it's driving me crazy trying to find out what they are! i had my python checked for mites twice-he had none. these things are too big and end up in the water bowl. i keep my snake as clean as possible. he's in a 44 gal tank by himself. i have called zoo-med since i use zoo-med aspen bedding twice asking them if these bugs could be in the product. of,course, they said no. i have talked to petco about it since that's where i bought the bedding and they said their stuff doesn't get bugs-but we all know their reputation. i only see a few occaisonally. let me know if you find a cure. thanks!

Albert Clark · 04-19-16, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macandchz

dear andrewm 1217-sorry to hear about your snake's breathing problems and i hope everything is ok with that. i want to tell you that i am having the same problem with the winged bugs and it's driving me crazy trying to find out what they are! i had my python checked for mites twice-he had none. these things are too big and end up in the water bowl. i keep my snake as clean as possible. he's in a 44 gal tank by himself. i have called zoo-med since i use zoo-med aspen bedding twice asking them if these bugs could be in the product. of,course, they said no. i have talked to petco about it since that's where i bought the bedding and they said their stuff doesn't get bugs-but we all know their reputation. i only see a few occaisonally. let me know if you find a cure. thanks!

mac, i would start out with a thorough deep cleaning of the whole enclosure. They probably are gnats! Possibly drawn to the enclosure by moisture and odor.
Like fruit flies to ripe bananas or fruit that is rotting. That would be my guess and treatment. Toss the aspen for unprinted newspaper or paper towels.

macandchz · 04-20-16, 07:54 AM

hi al, thanks for the advice. the funny thing about these bugs is they appear almost always the day after i've given the enclosure a complete cleaning! they are always floating in the clean water. they don't look like a gnat- more like the kind of weevil you sometimes see in flour or pancake mix. there is never more than 3-4 0f them and they are dead. could this be something that is in the log hides i have?

Albert Clark · 04-20-16, 12:00 PM

Actually, and without derailing Andrew's thread, I will make this short. I don't use any wooden products in my enclosures. It's proven that mites have a affinity for hard, solid wooden products. Best thing, substitute anything wooden for plastic and increase the health of your animals.

AndrewM1217 · 04-20-16, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Actually, and without derailing Andrew's thread, I will make this short. I don't use any wooden products in my enclosures. It's proven that mites have a affinity for hard, solid wooden products. Best thing, substitute anything wooden for plastic and increase the health of your animals.

Not to worry about derailing! Part of my initial post was concerning a similar matter anyway, so feel free to discuss that here as you see fit since the advice benefits me as well. My snake ate yesterday so tomorrow I will take him out again and see if I can hear anymore whistling noises

Albert Clark · 04-20-16, 10:26 PM

Okay Andrew. I do use cypress mulch sparingly in my tubs. The oils naturally in the cypress repels snake mites. I am referring only to the 100% cypress mulch and not the blended cypress mulch or the dyed cypress mulch which is really unsuitable for reptiles IMO.

macandchz · 04-21-16, 08:53 AM

dear andrew, sorry for walking on your thread. i hope your snake is doing better today. are you sure the sound you are hearing is respiratory? someone on here told me a snakes scales can make a crackling type sound when they are due to shed and that's ok.

macandchz · 04-25-16, 08:24 AM

how is your snake doing? is it breathing better?

AndrewM1217 · 04-25-16, 08:30 PM

UPDATE: I handled him the other day and there were no audible sounds from his breathing. Today I noticed lots more of those stupid bugs in his water dish and changed it out. While changing his water I handled him for a few minutes. I heard the whistling noise briefly as well as some "popping" sounds. However, he is definitely starting a shed cycle and should shed in the next few days, which I've heard can cause some breathing noises due to loosened skin around the nostrils and mouth.

If he sheds and his breathing noises continue I plan on taking him a vet. Would you advise me to go to a vet sooner? He doesn't sound like he is having labored breathing and the noises do not occur frequently, I also cannot hear them while is in his enclosure even if I take the lid off and listen carefully so I think he may just be huffing and puffing from being handled during a shed cycle.

Albert Clark · 04-26-16, 12:35 AM

No, not advising you to take him sooner. Just monitor the condition and see if it resolves. Give his immune system a chance to fight it off and or just to boost up a bit. Sounds like a small improvement.

macandchz · 04-26-16, 06:14 PM

dear andrew when he's done shedding, do you intend to use the same bedding that you used before? i'm waiting for mac to shed and this time i bought my aspen bedding from a small store to see if i get any bugs. keep us posted.

AndrewM1217 · 04-27-16, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macandchz

dear andrew when he's done shedding, do you intend to use the same bedding that you used before? i'm waiting for mac to shed and this time i bought my aspen bedding from a small store to see if i get any bugs. keep us posted.

Yes I will be changing his bedding tomorrow since he shed today. I like to use coco husk because of the way it makes urine clump up, whereas cypress mulch allows urine to run to the bottom of the tank. That being said, I will most likely switch back to cypress mulch tomorrow seeing as that's what I have on hand with the exception of a bag of coco husk. But since the insect issue seems to have arisen with this particular bag of coco husk, I don't think I should use it anymore. In the past I have used the kind that comes in a compressed brick but this time it was pre-expanded.

I definitely recommend coco husk for the aesthetic appeal and the ease of spot-cleaning. Lots of people say it's too wet when you have to expand it yourself from a compressed brick, but I've found that if you start with half of the recommended water and use a garden space to rip the brick apart as it moistens you can slowly add water and very easily control exactly how wet it gets, rather than using the full amount of water and letting the brick expand on its own.

macandchz · 04-27-16, 10:36 AM

we seem to be limited around here as to what kind of bedding we can get. i never heard of coco husk before. aspen is about all i ever see. i've been satisfied with it-except for the bug thing-cleans up well, no odor. i use reptile liner paper under it before i put it down. let us know if your enclosure is bug free after the cleaning. thanks.