Sneezing, but no mucous.

Question
Hey Jenna,
You've given me two good answers so far, and I appreciate them. I have another for you, in regards to the snake mentioned in my last query (4ft corn rescued from craigslist.com); something I haven't ran into with my other corns...

I woke up last Thursday the 19th and heard what sounded like little sneezes, they came from his terrarium. It alarmed me and I looked up reasons why, I read that it could be a respiratory infection or pneumonia. I got pretty worried and started searching for vets.

I calmed down a little and called my friend who has 8 corns of his own. I explained that he was sneezing, didn't have any mucous on his nose or mouth, and wasn't wheezing. There was no cracking or popping noises like I read about. He told me to turn the heat up and keep it that way.

I took his advice, it's been just over a week now. The sneezing was much much less frequent now, but last night he had a little sneeze fit. I took him in to a local reptile shop (that my friend mentioned before works at), and had the owner look at it. He said it looked healthy and asked about my setup.

I have Bed-A-Beast for substrate, and since it's dried out, it's dusty. Would this be a cause for his sneezing? I bought ground corn cob because the owner (Pek) said it is dustless.

I have yet to transfer it out, as I haven't even left work yet. I wanted to know you opinion on the situation. Should I worry? Is there anything else I should do?

Answer
Hey Chris

Your friend was completely correct on turning up the heat. The sneezing fit does sound like the Bed-A-Beast was to blame, and the corn cob should sort that out. Millet and walnut bedding are also both good alternatives as they are dust free.

The key to avoiding respiratory infections is keeping it dry, and never keep wet places where they can stay on it for any extended period of time. Keep an eye on your bedding. If it's soiled, change it asap. The Bed-A-Beast isn't bad stuff, just make sure it doesn't get really dry. Anyone would sneeze because of that. :)