This week’s segment features Copper the 3 year old ball python!! 🐍Copper came to us when his owner noticed that he was open mouth breathing and began making a hissing sound. When copper presented we noticed that he had an increased effort while breathing and had an overgrowth of bad bacteria in his upper airways indicating an infection. Unfortunately in many of our reptile species, infections of any kind can go unnoticed for extended periods of time because of their ability to hide when they are sick. This can make it so that when owners do finally notice they are not feeling well they’ve been sick for an extended period of time and the sickness can become fatal. Upper respiratory infections in reptiles are common and can be caused by a number of factors, including: parasites, unfavorable temperatures, unsanitary conditions, other diseases, malnutrition, and vitamin deficiency. Thankfully for Copper, here at Emerson Animal Hospital, we are equipped with several modalities of treatment for a variety of infections. For Copper this included breathing (nebulization) treatments and injectable antibiotics. Copper was also experiencing retained spectacles from an incomplete shed that may have been related to the illness, but we were able to remove them safely in the office. After just a few weeks, Copper was feeling back to his normal self!!