Ok, so I now there are tons of threads about URI already, but here is another one. I know that some reptiles open their mouth when they are basking, but do snakes? Lately, Jasmine, one of my colombian boas, has been keeping her mouth open, and last night she started opening her mouth to breath. I could hear her breathing. I know that this could be a sign of an URI. I haven't seen any bubbles. I know some about URIs, but not everything, so could someone please tell me the usual symptons?

Also, I saw that she has mites last night as well. I have no idea how she got them, but I will take care of them. My question about mites is can semi-aquatic turtles get mites? My turtle's tank is under Jasmine's tank, and I'm worried about them.

I really hope that she doesn't have an URI, because if she does, then most likely 6 of my other snakes will get one too.

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<3 Tessa

0.0.2 painted turtles (Mo and Squirt)
1.0.0 yellow bellied slider (Jebidiah)
0.1.0 Amelanistic corn snake (Rose)
1.0.0 Hog Island/Colombian Boa (Kah)
0.2.0 Colombian Boa (Jasmine) and her baby(no name yet)
1.0.0 Suriname Boa (Kayne)
0.2.0 Cats (Lilly and Reese)

From the sound of it I would seriously suspect a URI! Snakes do not open their mouths to breath. Since you are hearing the breathing, I would almost bet that it is a URI. The bubbling is in advanced stages. Looks like a trip to the vet.
And just because one snake has it doesn't meant the others will catch it. Often URIs develop as a result of some environmental stress such as the snake getting too cold.

Not sure about aquatic turtles and mites. I would think that the time submerged would kill the mites.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Your turtle cannot get mites. There are aquatic "pests" they can get, but not the type that they can transfer to your snake.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

What other stresses could have caused her to get sick? She hasn't gotten too cold, but she has we have changed her bedding. She also had a rather rough shed after the birth. I was informed that there is not money to take her to the vet at the moment, so I have no clue what to do. How quickly can a URI progress? I am by no means saying that I am not going to take her to the vet, I just have to wait a bit. Also, what all would the vet do for her? Would she be able to recover fully, and how long does it take them to get better??

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<3 Tessa

0.0.2 painted turtles (Mo and Squirt)
1.0.0 yellow bellied slider (Jebidiah)
0.1.0 Amelanistic corn snake (Rose)
1.0.0 Hog Island/Colombian Boa (Kah)
0.2.0 Colombian Boa (Jasmine) and her baby(no name yet)
1.0.0 Suriname Boa (Kayne)
0.2.0 Cats (Lilly and Reese)

There's many variables involved. Temps, light cycle, humidity, are there enough hides, temp gradients. The bottom line is your snake shows signs of URI and needs to be looked at. If URI is the case then antibiotic treatment is needed. I highly recommend that you take it to the vet now. I don't want to seem judgemental but to be a pet owner you need to prepare for these situations. When they need a vet now,,,,they need a vet now. Not when it is convenient for you.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Depending on the agent involved URI can move slowly or quickly. But the reason to get it taken care of soon is that damage such as scarring is taking place. Even a little scarring and remodeling of tissue will then pave the way for further URI's and further damage in the future.

If pneumonia (which can follow URI) sets in it is potentially fatal and can be very very expensive to treat. For your snakes health and your pocket books health the sooner this is taken care of the better.

Dan Gray, DVM