I have a paraguayan rainbow boa, he is about 18 months old. From time to time we see him yawning - openeing his mouth really wide - then he closes it again. Sometimes he has his mouth just a little bit open. Also we sometimes see his throat puffing out, while his mouth is closed, a bulge appears and then disappears. Is this normal?
Yawning is normal... boas do that to set the jaw back in place and/or stretch the skin. If the snake is leaving it's mouth open for extended periods of time, there is bubbling around it's nose, or there is a crackling sound present then chances are you have a respiratory infection.
OK thanks. He does sometimes sit with his mouth a little bit open for a while, but not all the time. He's not due to shed for another couple of weeks (he normally sheds about once a month), so I don't think it would be his skin? I've had him for about a year, he's my favourite snake and I'm not taking any chances, so I've made an appointment with the vet to have him checked out.
I've read that the bulging or puffing at the throat combined with open mouth breathing are some signs of respiratory disease. But there is also the bubbling or cracking sound that stormy mentioned combined with it. I'm not saying that he's sick, but if he's doing this fairly regularly I'd have him checked out. Another reason for mouth breathing could be temperature. What are the temps in the cage? Does he have a hide and/or a cool side?
temp is set on a thermostat around 85f on the warm side, 78 on the cool side, humidity about 70%. he has a hide on both sides of the viv, though he is outgrowing them and tends to sleep behind his water bowl. I'll try reducing the temps a bit, see how he goes, but will still take him to the vet. He usually feeds really well but refused his last feed
Update: we tried dropping the night time temp a few more degrees than usual, and earlier than usual in the evening, and this morning he looks better, his mouth is closed, and he looks ok, so maybe he's been getting overheated. But we are still going to let the vet see him tomorrow, to have him checked out.
Good idea on the vet. I wouldn't think those temps would be too high, but it's possible. What type of thermometer do you have?
just the sort that stick on the glass, not sure how accurate they are, but the thermostat is a good quality pulsing one.
The stick on ones are pretty bad. Best is to use a digital thermometer even better is if it has a remote probe so you can get hot side and cold side at the same time. Ususaly about $15. at walmart or target.
Ed's right. A cheap digital is better than one of the stick ons (and those can cost more than digital sometimes). I'm sure any type of supermarket or hardware store/general store would have them. They're usually in the home improvement section with the outdoor/garden thermometers.
Ok the next instalment of the story: We took Samba to see the vet this morning. We noticed that after being out of his tank for a few minutes, we could hear a crackle in his breathing, but this stopped after a few minutes and by the time we reached the vets he was breathing normally, and looked like a completely normal and very healthy snake. I explained to the vet what the problem was. After asking us about the tank and feeding routines etc, he examined Samba and said his breathing sounded clear, but he said he would prescribe anitibiotics as a precaution. During the conversation I began to have misgivings about this vet's expertise.. he mentioned metabolic bone disease and said we should be using uv lighting, he asked if we supplement the diet, etc, I wanted to shout "he's a snake, not a lizard.." ......this vet we had found after hunting through the phone book and had been assured he knew about reptiles. He gave us a bottle of antibiotic liquid and a small syringe, he administered a dose of the medicine there and then. Samba had regurgitated it by the time we got home. Sorry this will make a long post, please bear with me. Later this afternoon we had a pre-arranged appointment with a top reptile breeder, with a view to adding to our collection in the near future. We told him about the snake problem. he advised us not to give the antibiotics via the syringe as it was easy to hurt the snake. He also suggested that it might be dust from the substrate causing the trouble, as the snake seems better when he is taken out of the tank. He keeps his snakes on a kind of astro turf stuff. (Has anyone on here ever used this?) Currently we are using bark chippings, the guy also said this could cause impaction in the snake and we shouldn't use it. Any opinions on this? Tonight we are going to remove all the substrate and put paper in instead, and keep a close eye on Samba to see how he goes. The breathing problem seems to be intermittent and definitely improves when he comes out of the viv.
I agree that it sounds like your vet was confused and maybe just generalizing the situation. What antibiotic did he give you? It could be the bedding causing the problem, but respiratory problems from dust inhalation can cause infections also so medication may still be necessary in some form, but I can't really say. Newspaper, reptile carpet (astro turf), and aspen wood chips are best. Other woods like cedar, pine, and cypress are aromatic and the oils will irritate the repiratory tract. Shavings can be dusty and the particles can irritate the tract as well. Using oral syringes means you have to pry the mouth open to administer the dose and that can cause damage in a snake's mouth (ie broken teeth, ruptured tissue). It's a good idea to try changing the bedding for a while and see if that helps. Of course, this vet may not have even been listening to his lungs and wouldn't know if they were clear or not, so you may want to try another vet, especially if his breathing worsens. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply, very good advice, as always - what a great site this is. It's very, very frustrating and I agree with you that the vet might not have been listening in the right place on Samba's body - I think I know more about snakes than he does! I am very, very scared to use the syringe. We have 3 other vivs in the same room with forest bark chippings, I'm going to change them all. What often happens here in the UK is that pet shops encourage you to buy the bark chippings because they get a commission from the manufacturer, so they tell you its the best thing for your pet. Can the bark chippings be irriatating to people, too? I've been suffering with eye irritation for a week or two.
I'm sure the dust from any type of wood chip or shaving can irritate your eyes. It could be the reason he's yawning a lot too. The irritation may cause a kind of scratchy throat and it may feel like there is something in his throat that he's trying to get out. Is this bedding something new that you recently switched to?
we've always used the bark chippings. The only thing we have changed on the tank recently is to switch from a heat mat under the tank to a ceramic heater above the tank ( we didn't think the tank would be warm enough through the winter with the heat mat) - don't know if that would make the dust particles rise up more? We've also switched one of the other vivs from a mat to an overhead heater.
I doubt that a ceramic heater would have anything to do with it directly, but a warmer, drier cage would allow the chips release more dust into the air. I dunno! Guess we'll have to wait and see how he reacts.
Cypress mulch is actually a good choice for a substrate. It doesnt have the strong oils and smell that pine and cedar have. It also is pretty low on the dust and holds humidity well. I would hold off on the antibiotics until you try changing out the substrate and see if that's the issue.
yes, I really don't want to give the antibiotic, not sure its worth doing anyway since he regurgitated what the vet gave him. We cleared all the substrate out last night and it was very, very dusty. Cleaned it all out and put paper in instead, he's been peacefully asleep ever since in his cool hide, probably getting over the stress of yesterday. He did look more settled last night. I'll let you know how he does.
I used indoor-outdoor carpeting for years, I use newspaper now, not as pretty but easier to take care of, and you don't have to worry about impaction problems that might occur from the bark substrates. It sounds like a respiratory problem. Are you using any type of substrate heater, ( heat tape, heating pad, etc.) You should definitely invest in a digital thermometer with a probe like Ed and Biochic suggested.
