Respiratory Infection Help

[Qtrhorse89]

Hi all,

Three and half weeks ago I had my Halmahera up on my shoulder asleep. I noticed every time he breathed I heard a distinct clicking noise. I was worried about a possible RI so we went to a specialized exotic vet. The vet thought she maybe heard a slight crackle and prescribed an antibiotic to be on the safe side. His treatment was every other day for two weeks. He also made a nice large poop while we were there and a fecal showed a heavy pin worm load so he's being treated for that too (.2cc panacur once every two weeks for two months and a deep clean/disinfect of his tank with every treatment as well as daily spot cleaning).

I thought the antibiotics took care of any possible RI issues, but I had him back up on my shoulder tonight after he ate and he sounds snuffy again. I hear the occasional click when he exhales and kind of a whooshing sound when he breathes. It sounds worse to me this time. He has no other symptoms, eats like a pig, bright clear eyes, nostrils, ears. He's had two beautiful clean sheds since I got him in November. I am going to call the vet again and they will probably want him to come back in, I hate taking him in, it's a long drive and I'm sure it stresses him out going in the pet carrier.

Is it possible I am just being paranoid and mistaking normal huffy skink breathing with RI breathing? I don't want him to get sick. He's in his new 4X2 PVC enclosure being heated with heat tape and a RHP with most of the vents taped off to trap in humidity, reptichip substrate, a low of 81 on his cool side and mid 90s on the warm side with a basking spot of 100-101. He rarely lays in his basking spot tending to prefer his log hide right next to the basking spot. He heads over to his cool hide at night. He has three hides, one on each side and one in the middle. His humidity is controlled by an automatic mister that kicks in if a sensor on the cool side registers the humidity drop below 80% and turns back off at 90%. He was previously in a 40B tank, the only differences were a CHE was being used instead of a RHB and I had his mister set to kick in at 70% and turn off at 85%. Before his mister went off 3-4 times a day to keep his humidity up (glass tanks are awful!), now it goes off once a day with the PVC enclosure so humidity is much more stable and doesn't fluctuate as much, but I've always kept it above the 70-80% threshold for Halmaheras so I don't think there is a glaring issue in the husbandry unless the humidity swings in the glass tank were bothering him?

[alichamp]

His temps and humidity sound good to me and if he's eating well and his eyes are clear and scales are shedding well that sounds good.

There doesn't seem to be any reason for him to be sick as long as you are keeping an eye on internal parasites. But I'll have to leave it to someone else to advise about normal/abnormal breathing noises.

[Scincus]

Are you able to tell if the clicking sound is coming from his nasal passage vs his chest area? Some of my skinks have always had a kind of whistling sound that is normal when they breathe. Does the breathing sound wet at all? And what antibiotics were prescribed and in what form?

[Qtrhorse89]

Thank you for the replies. It sounds more like it's coming from his head than his chest. No wheezing or wet sounds at all. I can't remember the name of the antibiotic and I threw the bottle away once we were finished with it. It was an oral suspension and I know it wasn't baytril because I specifically checked about that. I think it was just along the lines of a generic amoxicillin. I'll try to see if I can find where I set the office visit paperwork and get an exact answer for you on that. He's still eating fine and behaving fine. He's shy so he spends a lot of his time hiding in his hides. Maybe I am just being over cautious and just not used to the sounds they make when they breathe. It's so hard to hear what he sounds like normally if I pick him up because then he huffs and breathes hard in general.

[Scincus]

From what you've described, it doesn't sound like any of the respirator infections I've dealt with, however I haven't dealt with many, so someone with a lot more experience should give their opinion as well.

[Susann]

There can be a certain amount of clicking --or even almost a "crinkling"-- sound that is totally normal. Good of you to be observant and vigilant about it, but if all other sounds and behaviors are normal and/or unchanged, I would assume all is well.

[sekizan]

I believe some skinks have a certain shape to their nostrils/nasal passages that sometimes make them give funny noises when they breathe out - my skink makes very soft whistling noises with his nose sometimes. If it's not wet sounding and everything else is okay, then I think it may not have a cause for concern?

[Scotts1au]

If you look in the mouth of a bluey you will see a big open nasal cavity, air coming in is regulated by the tongue like a flap, hence the click. Crinkling sounds happen with infections due to mucus build up. Some minor noises are normal.