RI advice please

[swannyuk]

Hey guys

I've been reading a few other posts on the topic and I know its recurring but I kind of want a bit of reassurance.

I've worked with snakes before but not dealt with a sick one. My royal python has got RI we've been to the vets and got the injections we are also putting him in a nebuliser with f10 twice a day like we were told to by the vet.

I have noticed the symptoms getting slightly worse and have nearly finished the course of antibiotics. He has mucus in the top of his mouth we have done some research on it and came across a video on youtube where they remove the mucus from the roof of his mouth with a cotton bud. Is this a good idea or not? We are unsure if we should do this because it will cause him more stress and we don't want the cotton to get caught on his teeth. If there is another way of removing the mucus-if we need to what is it?

We are going to call the vets tomorrow to see what they say but just wanted some info from other snake owners.


Thanks in advance

[JoshSloane]

It is important to keep in mind that snakes have very 'slow' immune responses. The symptoms might not be directly related to the actual course of the infection. It can take a while for the drugs to take effect and for the snakes immune system to mount a response and kill the pathogen. I would not recommend trying to remove the mucus from the snakes mouth. Usually the animal can eliminate the mucus on their own. Stick to the advice from the vet.

[tbowman]

Here is a pretty good interview with a very experienced herp vet. He goes into detail about respiratory infection in Ball Pythons.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reptile...ile-veterinary

In which he states you will typically notice improvements after the first three to four injections. You have not mentioned how long of an antibiotic regimen your vet has given the snake. Even with the right antibiotic, if you don't give it for long enough, it would still be ineffective.

I would think the next step would be to do a culture and sensitivity test on a sample of mucus taken from a tracheal swab. From there your vet will give you whichever antibiotic works best against that particular pathogen.

[BCS]

Don't forget that snakes also produce saliva. If the mucus is inside his mouth, do you know how to tell the difference?

Do not go sticking anything in his mouth regardless. RIs are pretty simple to get rid of if you brought the snake in to the vet on time. Injections, in my personal experience, has worked very well. Give it time and try not to stress him out.

[DVirginiana]

What symptoms are getting worse? In addition to the things everyone else has said, I'd personally worry if actual wheezing/gaping mouth/labored breathing were getting worse, but not over just an increase in mucous. Sometimes when an RI has more or less run its course you'll see an increase in mucous production/expulsion while you see a decrease in the more dangerous symptoms like labored breathing.

I'd stay away from doing anything inside the snake's mouth for now. Also, if you do decide to do something like that, use a Q-tip with relatively compact un-fluffy cotton at the tip (usually the cheaper kinds). That's what I use whenever I've had to treat mouth infections. It's a lot less likely to get stuck on saliva or hung on teeth than a cotton ball.

[swannyuk]

Thank you for all you responses,

He's on a course of Ceftizidime antibiotics which consists of 7 injections every 3 days, he had his 5th yesterday. The snake (Patches) is only 3 months old.

To be honest no I don't know the difference I would presume the mucus is thicker but I am trying to do a bit of research on this.

I spoke to my vet today he didn't seem overly concerned and has given me some more antibiotics and talked about a few other options like testing for other viruses and x-rays etc. He did say if we wanted to try and remove to the mucus to do so but I don't really feel comfortable poking around in his mouth as it would stress him out more.

The symptoms are:
Constant dribbling but this has got better
Head raising
Yawning/sitting with his mouth open
Wheezing/sneezing-I know they don't actually sneeze but best way of describing the sound
Off food he hasn't eaten since 18th June (we keep a book)

We have noticed that Patches doesn't really seem all that bothered about it (he's staring at us now) although of course he has been a lot quieter and when he does come out of his hide it is not for long. We have down sized his food to help him swallow easier but been trying to feed twice a week so he still gets what he usually would.

[tbowman]

Did you have a culture and sensitivity done? You need to be sure you're using the appropriate antibiotic. It doesn't matter how much you give him, if you're not giving him the right medicine or if the environmental issue that caused the RI is not fixed, he will not get better. I believe RI is the number one killer of captive ball pythons so I would definitely be concerned.