Boa Puffing Out His Throat?

[bunny]

Okay so first I want to say hi I just joined this forum because I have a quick question.
I have a male red tail boa whom I've owned for 6 years with zero health problems aside from mites when I first got him but those were dealt with immediately.
He's in a 3 feet x 3 feet x 2 feet enclosure. Temp on warm side is maintained around 85F and cool side around 80F he has a basking spot which is warmer around 90F. The humidity varies slightly depending on how recently I've misted but I usually maintain around 53% sometimes a bit higher sometimes a bit lower.
He has a large water dish which he can fit in fully if he wants but he never does. He has a hide on the warm side and a hide on the cool side. He has some fake plants and java wood. He has a UV light on 12 hours on 12 hours off on an automatic timer- I've read uv isn't super necessary but use it mainly for the day/night cycle as in my country the daylight changes drastically with seasons.
I spot clean when necessary and fully clean everything every 8-14 days when I feed him. I use this recipe for my cleaner: 2c water 1.5c vinegar 1c 70% alcohol and a few drops of organic dish soap.
I take him out and feed him frozen/thawed rats in a large/dark tote in a separate/quiet room while I clean his enclosure. I take everything out and soak the decor, spray down the enclosure and let it sit before rinsing and drying everything then reassemble.
Today was a feeding day and prior to feeding him I usually handle for a bit first since I don't handle him for a day or two after feeding. He seemed 100% fine while I was playing with him today. Then I put him in the feeding tote for 15 mins before feeding, then I fed him and cleaned all the stuff and when I put him back in. Maybe 5-10 minutes later I was in the room again (usually I leave him fully alone after eating but I needed something from the closet in there so I checked on him while I was there) and he did this weird thing I have never seen him do before.
He was on the cold side near the water and the temp at the time was ~75F since I had just reassembled it and hadn't had time to warm up fully but he chose to go on that side over the warm side which was 90F.
Anyway, his throat puffed out like a bull frog. It isn't swollen or anything. It like seemed to fill with air and then go down again. He did this twice. The second time I was watching closely as I was concerned. His mouth/nose seemed totally fine no bubbles or saliva or anything looking like mouth rot or a RI. I have NEVER seen him do this in my 6 years owning him (he was a juvenile when I got him - maybe a few months old).
Like I said I was handling him earlier today and he seemed totally healthy as well. Then I fed him a frozen/thawed rat from my usual source and put him in his cleaned enclosure and that happened.
SO, is it something I should be really concerned about?
I will obviously keep my eye on him for the next little while. But I have never seen this behaviour before in him so I'm a bit worried.
Thank you in advance for your help!
I tried to be thorough but let me know if I left something out!

 

[pythoninfinite]

You've been VERY thorough ! If all other behaviour parameters are normal - feeding, tongue-flicking, general alertness, coiling normally, it's unlikely to be a problem. It's something I've seen occasionally (but rarely) in my pythons over the years, and may just be a one-off event, or something that happens occasionally. Snakes salivate heavily while they are swallowing food, and it may be a result of the feeding event. Signs of a respiratory infection can include throat puffing, but there are usually other signs such as lack of appetite, reduced tongue flicking (occasionally with the tips stuck together), a wheezing sound when breathing, and lying in "uncomfortable looking" or unusual coils. Snakes with RI often rest with the head elevated, probably to keep the airway clear.

As I said, in the absence of these other signs, I wouldn't be too concerned, perhaps just keep an eye out for any changes in behaviour. Respiratory infections are rarely cause for urgent attention, unless they are well advanced.

Jamie

 

[bunny]

Okay thank you so much for your reply, Jamie!
I've seen snakes with infections before and he wasn't showing any (other) signs at all. And I was handling him for around 20 minutes prior to putting him in the tote for feeding. His mouth is closed fully (like regular) and I heard no noises from him. His tongue was flicking normally. Also, he ate the rat I fed him today with no problems as usual. I should have mentioned that.

When the throat thing happened his head was kind of in his water dish/coming out of it. There's a small chance maybe he had water blocking his nose/mouth. I didn't notice any but he was right over the dish so he could have been in it before that. Would that sound like it could have been the cause?

Or do you think there may be a chance there is an infection? Should I maybe increase the temperature as precaution in case it is the beginning of one?
Also, how would he catch one? I have no other reptiles and haven't added anything to his enclosure.

 

[Buggster]

My Woma puffs his throats out all the time- when I'm handling him he'll puff his throat out and hang out with me.
Not stressed- when he sees me outside his tank he'll come right up to the door, puff his throat out and wait for me to open the doors.



When researching Woma's, I came across this video. Briefly goes into how one of the persons Woma's puffs her throat out, and despite numerous tests has proved to be nothing wrong at all.

 

[pythoninfinite]

Ah, the water dish thing!!! Sometimes if a snake has just had a drink, and it is lifted or handled so that the head is lower than the body just after, the water can run back out of the mouth. This could very well be why the snake's throat puffed up if its nostrils were filled with water, which can be a bit mucusy (?) because it has saliva in it. I wouldn't be concerned about further problems at this point in time. RI can develop without any contact with other snakes - the bug probably exists in low, controlled numbers in the respiratory tract of healthy snakes anyway, but good husbandry keeps the immune system strong, so any disease is kept at bay. It's when husbandry practices are poor - hygiene, incorrect temps etc, that the immune system crashes and the germs take control. From your first post, I'd say you have nothing to worry about in regard to your husbandry - it sounds first class.

Jamie

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Possibly a blocked saliva gland.
Normally they clear themselves but occasionally if this were to persist it might be worth getting a vet to check it out.

 

[bunny]

Okay thank you so much guys!
I'm hoping it was just the water thing. I wasn't handling him at the time he did this though so if his head were in a weird position and water went to the back of his throat it would have been his doing- I just happened to be watching at that time.
I just woke up and checked in on him for his morning mist and to see how he was doing and he really seems fine. He's basking which he usually does after eating and he still wasn't making noises and his tongue was flicking normally. I also haven't seen the throat puffing thing happen since the original incident so hopefully it was just a one off and maybe it was water or something.
I really appreciate the help! I kind of panicked because I had never seen that behaviour before in his 6 years nor had I even heard of it.
I'll keep this updated in case anything changes