sneezing snake

Question
I have a ball python that is about 36 months old and he has started sneezing and sounding as if he has a head cold the past month or so. I have had to buy an additional subtrate to keep moisture for him to shed and the humidity level is still quite low, but he has been sneezing and making noises like hes sick. Can you provide me some words of wisdom?

Answer
Snakes actually cannot sneeze, because they lack a diaphragm muscle.  The most they can accomplish is a heavy exhalation/wheeze.  This is unfortunate, because it means they aren't efficient at expelling mucous when they get sick...and your snake is sick.  Take him to a veterinarian before it's too late.  A course of simple antibiotics will clear up most respiratory infections in snakes, but leaving them untreated usually leads to death.  The sooner treatment is begun, the better the prognosis.

Do not use damp substrate to keep humidity high--ball pythons need dry substrate, and are prone to skin infections if kept in damp or wet conditions.  His immune system is already working overtime.

Instead, cover most of the screen top (all but an inch) with plastic wrap to help trap humidity, and move the water bowl over the heat pad.  (Make sure that undertank heat pads are used with a controlling device such as a rheostat or thermostat--they aren't meant to simply be plugged in and left to run full-out.  Use a thermometer with a remote probe to ensure that the surface of the cage floor above the heat pad is 90F.  The ambient temperature of the air on the cool side should be 80F, and you should try to maintain these temperatures as closely as possible at all times).

If the plastic wrap doesn't produce the needed 60% humidity, then you should either switch to a plastic bin type cage, or get a Repti-Fogger.  The dry conditions most likely were a contributing factor in his catching the respiratory infection (it's the equivalent of snake pneumonia).  

Ball pythons are a species that is sensitive to improper temperatures and humidity, but quite hardy if provided with the conditions they need.  Giving your snake a soak in warm shallow water in a closed plastic bin for 15 or 20 minutes will help rehydrate him, and help thin the mucous and make him feel a bit better.