TC, That sucks , hope this helps...............

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: : : Hello to my fellow Indigo lovers! : : : I brought my pair of Easterns up from their cool down about 10 days ago. : : : The male was blue so I waited for him to shed....got ready to introduce the two today and noticed my male was breathing a bit loudly. : : : Now, my Indigos "puff" all the time...they are a "breathy" snake to begin with.....just seems a bit more pronounced. No wheezing or whistling, no discharge of any type. : : : Am I over cautious? If this was the onset of an RI, can I just warm him up a bit? Or do I need to get him on an anti-biotic? He has always been extremely healthy and appears to be normal (and horny) in every other way. : : : BTW - NTL's during cool down were about 64, DTH about 72-75 degrees. : : : Also, should I be concerned about introducing the male to the female? The female has never been as "puffy" as the male and does not appear to be labored in her breathing in any way......but I don't wanna have to treat two animals when only one appears to show even a minor symptom, : : : but I don't want to miss the opportunity to breed while they are being treated either! : : : So what do you guys (and gals) think? : : : Thanks in advance for your thoughts! : : : (Figures......truck broke today, Delta cancelled my flight on X-Mas day, still gotta finish shopping....ugh!) : : : TC - TC Reptile : : If he's always been puffy, and his puffing just seems a little slower, it's probably nothing. I think that if you took him out of the cage and held him, you'd be better able to tell if it's normal breathing or wheezy sounding. If it sounds wheezy, talk to your vet. : : I don't know about your individual snakes, but 65 ntl is no big deal here. 62 is normal right now at night. In a previous post I talked about my indigos who were mating during a power outage. It was 56 degrees and they have had no trouble at all. : : What you can do is turn up the daytime heat a little while leaving ntl's down. You risk messing up sperm if he gets too warm, but if they have bred already, it may not matter anyway. : : Just some thoughts. Maybe you can get a few more from others. : : T.C. : Get the snake and open his mouth with a tongue depressor. Indigos usually have a lot of mucos anyway, but ones with an R.I infection have pronounced amounts of it, gooey and webby in back of their throat. Easterns usually have distended or "puffy" neck regions pre shed . This is NORMAL. Really rasping breathing is not. As for the temps, I would not personally bring them anywhere near 60 degrees. I knew a fellow that brought his down to 55 degrees and the female rolled on him. I know because i bought the male that had been housed seperately but under same conditions as the female. Pop his mouth, listen to the breathing and if BOTh look bad, take him to a vet. The throat puffiness is normal. I would make sure that he is clear before introduceing him to the female, you can always borrow a male, but to put the female in potential jeapordy too will set you back big time. call me and we will talk about this. sorry to hear about it, i know how much care you take of those snakes.. : : Fred

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