[Respiratory] Sounds like air leaking from a hose.

[qwerty9179]

Whenever my 5.5 ft, pretty girthy boa is just hamging, her breathing is really audible and is like a hissing noise, like air leaking from a hose. Just louder. Is this normal or does she have an RI? thanks.

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[Noelle7206]

Re: Sounds like air leaking from a hose.

If she is just lying in her cage & her breathing is this noisy, she may have a respiratory infection (R.I.) but no way we can tell you for sure...a vet check-up might be in order. I will say that when you are holding a
large, heavy-bodied snake, what IS normal is for you to hear their exhale much more than at other times. Think about it this way, their lung(s)* is quite long, & when they are climbing on things, they are essentially
folding their lung(s)* & forcing the exhale that you may be hearing. That sound, as I say, is quite normal...the large BCI I used to keep did that too...and some non-snake-loving people get a little alarmed, thinking the
snake is hissing. I used to laugh & say believe me, you'll KNOW it if she ever "hisses"! (which she never did when being handled, she was/is a total sweetheart)

As for your snake: are you seeing any bubbling in or around her mouth? If you open her mouth or check when she yawns...are you seeing anything unusual? (redness? unusual paleness? sores?)

*lung(s): Last I read, many snakes have only one larger lung & one smaller, less functional one...anyone knowing any more about this, please feel free to enlighten us all. I'm not sure if the same applies to all snakes?

BTW: what are the temps in her cage (hi, low & ambient) and what is the humidity? Sometimes humidity that's too low can dry out their nasal membranes, or when they shed, some old dead skin may be plugging their
nose just a bit (they normally shed the outer lining in their nostrils, in case you never noticed?)...just trying to think of other possible issues here. And many ppl crank up their A/C in the summer, not realizing that
suddenly their snake is now too chilly, so it pays to double-check.