This has been driving me crazy for weeks.
I own a female ball python (generic, about 1 1/2 years old.) She has just recently been to the vet for an annual checkup, and received a clean bill of health. She resides in a 30 gallon tank, ecoearth + sphagnum moss mix substrate, normal ranges for humidity and temp. Behavior-wise she’s a super sweetheart.
My grandparents have been constructing a she’d on our property for a few weeks now. My grandma loves my snakes, and often handles them. However, almost every time she handles this Ball Python (Cheeseburger), the snake does something weird.
She makes a sort of purring noise. It’s quiet, but audible. I tried to get a recording of the sound, but it didn’t get captured. But we’ve verified its a real sound, because four people have heard it. The snake is very calm and seemingly content whenever my grandmother is handling her, I noticed no signs of stress or similar in the multiple times I’ve observed her doing it. Her sides do seem to be flexing more heavily as if she’s breathing more deeply or often than she usually does, but again she doesn’t seem distressed. She has the opportunity to move, leave, or stop, but she doesn’t. She just sits there, like a little scaley poop, and makes this noise. Her eyes shift sometimes, but her tongue doesn’t flick.
I’ve tried ever since I was informed of this to identify the cause. Respiratory issues have been ruled out, as I specifically asked her vet to check and double check for any kind of issue. She came up in good health - there’s nothing wrong with her. Searching on forums and the internet has gotten me nothing. The only sounds people have talked about for BPs are RI related ones, or due to stress. I’ve found nothing like what I’ve observed or heard.
The sound is quiet, like a little huff sound, or air moving. It happens once, then there’s a slight pause, and it repeats. Sometimes it’s short, sometimes it lasts a few seconds. It’s not a hiss, not a cough, not a fart, not a sneeze. This is a noise I’ve legit never heard from any other snake ever before.
I just want to know what it is and why she might be doing it (especially if its stress or health related), mostly because it’s the weirdest darn thing I’ve ever encountered with a snake.