Strange snake breathing? Or not?

[Sethu]

My pacific gopher snake seems to breathe by inhaling a large amount, holding it for about 10 seconds and then exhaling quickly, only to inhale fast as well. He is eating normally, has no other symptoms of an RI, he still roams around the enclosure and I don't know if it just happens when I'm around because I only purchased this snake about one month ago and he's been like this since then. Is this anything to be concerned with? It doesn't seem *very* heavy, it's just that I can easily see his body moving quite a bit as he breathes. I'm just really paranoid, so please help. And he's only about 5 months old, it seems normal but I just wanted to make sure.

 

[pitbulllady]

My pacific gopher snake seems to breathe by inhaling a large amount, holding it for about 10 seconds and then exhaling quickly, only to inhale fast as well. He is eating normally, has no other symptoms of an RI, he still roams around the enclosure and I don't know if it just happens when I'm around because I only purchased this snake about one month ago and he's been like this since then. Is this anything to be concerned with? It doesn't seem *very* heavy, it's just that I can easily see his body moving quite a bit as he breathes. I'm just really paranoid, so please help. And he's only about 5 months old, it seems normal but I just wanted to make sure.

A lot of snakes breathe like this while being handled. If he's breathing through his nostrils and not opening his mouth to take in air, and you don't hear any gurgling or see bubbles from his mouth or nose, I wouldn't worry about it. Keep in mind that snakes in this genus tend to breathe rather heavily anyway, and can be notorious hissers, even the docile ones. Make sure you aren't holding him in such a way as to stress him.

pitbulllady

 

[Sethu]

Perfect, thanks. That's what I assumed, because he never opens his mouth, I see no mucous, and I can't hear the breathing, I'm a bit paranoid about these things. Thanks for the help