How do you guys like to treat to help prevent ri's at home? (kinda long)

[Matt300zxt]

So unfortunately my Solomon Island ground boa has gotten an ri. I'm guessing it's because his humidity got off because I listened to people on a FB group rather than trusting my gut and keeping him at the humidity his actual homeland stays at (that's what I kept him at when I first got him). I don't handle my snakes a whole lot, but a friend wanted to meet him the other day so I got him out and I could hear some noise while he was breathing and he'd open his mouth from time to time for a breath. I have a vet appointment for him Thursday so hopefully the doc will be able to figure out what medicine to give him but I went to get my carpet python out today and it seems she has one too! She has always huffed and puffed to voice her displeasure at being handled, but I could hear a breath or two now and then while I was handling her, though not nearly as bad as the ground boa. When I put her back in her cage, she was still pretty excited and I could hear quite a few of her breaths, and even after she calmed down, I could hear one now and then.

It appears the ri issue is affecting my snake room because I'm certain those 2 have it. One of my ball pythons I've had out a good bit the past couple of days and I haven't heard any funny noises from her. I handled my larger ball python today as well and I didn't hear anything that concerned me. She's out right now so I slid her doors open and listened and didn't hear any wheezing noises while she was breathing, so maybe they're ok. My little corn snake is way too itty bitty so I don't know if I'll be able to tell if she does. My Amazon tree boa is in here too, and since he just got moved to his forever home, he is not going to be easy to get out and see if he's ok. He's always been handleable, but a lot of times would like to musk/crap himself as a defense, but at least he's never bitten me. However, he has lots of places to latch onto in his new home so he'll be tough to get out at nearly 6ft long, but I can at least open his cage when he's out to see if I can hear any breathing issues I guess. My Colombian rainbow boa is in my bedroom and I haven't noticed any issues with her breathing, and I just brought home a baby retic and she's on the other side of the bedroom and I haven't noticed any breathing issues from her so it seems to be that they're both ok.

I'm also beginning to doubt the accuracy of these AcuRite thermometer/hygrometers, even after I do the salt and water method to calibrate them. It can be hard to get husbandry correct when your gauges are off and you have to trust them to help keep your animals healthy.

So, after alllllllll that, what method do you guys like to use to help prevent or treat light respiratory infections? I don't want my snakes to be sick, but the 2 that are mostly definitely sick are going to cost me about $200 on checkups and medicine plus who knows how much time to give these guys their meds (I've never had to do this before) but I don't want the other ones to be sick, because then I'd have to sell a kidney if all 8 had to go to the vet and get meds. I've watched a couple of videos on YouTube today, but since I've never had to do it, it all sounds like greek to me. I'm still researching and learning about these infections.

[Bogertophis]

Just so you know, "the other side of the room" is NOT adequate for quarantine, which I highly recommend you do. Your new snakes can bring diseases & parasites to your other snakes, & vice versa. And your sick snakes (with RI's) would be better if kept away from all the others- RI's can be contagious, & if you're not washing hands thoroughly between handling them, you too can be a vector (spreading the germs), same goes for feeding tongs or anything else used in common.

The best plan is PREVENTION- keeping the correct temps. & humidity, keeping enclosures clean (& using proper disinfectants on them), not stressing snakes by excessive handling (especially when new- they need time to settle in- stress is just as bad for their immune system as it is for ours), & quarantining ALL new snakes from the others, every time. When you keep adding new snakes to a room with sick ones, it's a recipe for disaster. Also, some sources for snakes are far better than others- so do your homework, don't buy from just anyone- get references, & learn how to tell a healthy snake before you buy them.

Make sure the vet you see is experienced with snakes. https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661 Antibiotics are only effective if the right medicine is chosen for the infection, & lab work is needed to do that.

[Matt300zxt]

Unfortunately, the new baby retic can only go in the bedroom where the rainbow boa is because I have no other place to put her cage that my cats won't mess with it constantly. Having got her from what appears to be a good breeder from a show (hoping for the best here), hopefully she's clean. Anywho, I just discovered the 2 with the ri after the other snakes were already moved to their room, my spare bedroom (one of them I just discovered appears to have an ri today).

I just made a post with detailed info on what I have all my snakes set at so people can toss in their .02 on their setups. The 2 that have the ri haven't had reliable temps/humidity because I got them used so to speak from people who weren't as willing to spend money on proper setups and I've been doing the best I can with what I have, but their setups have been upgraded since I got them, and am continuing to upgrade them to proper setups. I do keep them cleaned with chlorohexidine, as it's what I've always used. I like that I can get it at Tractor Supply and the gallon lasts a long time.

I have used this vet once before, and comes highly recommended by the local reptile community and specifically a reputable breeder here in town that I trust.

Hopefully, someone will be able to help me weed through the various methods of at home treatments for ri if caught early enough. Most of what I've seen so far is increasing temps/humidity, using a humidifier with F10 in it, etc.

[Bogertophis]

...

Hopefully, someone will be able to help me weed through the various methods of at home treatments for ri if caught early enough. Most of what I've seen so far is increasing temps/humidity, using a humidifier with F10 in it, etc.

Some RI's respond to a minimal increase in warmth (no more than a few degrees)- you can try that, but it's no guarantee you still won't need medical help (vet), & the delay could work against your snake's ability to recover.

I would NOT subject snakes to inhaling F10 vapor- it's toxic (read the label)- yes, I've heard of people doing it, but that doesn't make it right. And the idea got started with someone who is a big commercial breeder of snakes (and whose media persona -let's be honest- turns me off)- and who perhaps isn't as invested in their snakes as personal pets , but as replaceable commodities on which he doesn't wish to spend money at the vet because it cuts into his bottom line. I'm not convinced that it's effective or safe treatment- but I would welcome actual veterinarians (those very experienced with snakes) to weigh in on the idea. But I think that's the point- it's intended as a means of avoiding proper medical care.

[Homebody]

Some RI's respond to a minimal increase in warmth (no more than a few degrees).

My BP got an slight RI because the UTH I was using was too small. I replaced it with a proper sized one and he recovered quickly.

[Matt300zxt]

Makes sense on whoever it was was using the F10. I was watching a video where the guy was using a little bit in a fogger and I was like wait, that doesn't sound like it'd be healthy. I'll bump up the heat on the ones with the issues until I can get them to the vet, but I will ask the vet on Thursday what he recommends I do. The internet is a double edged sword; full of great information, but also so much misinformation

[Bogertophis]

Makes sense on whoever it was was using the F10. I was watching a video where the guy was using a little bit in a fogger and I was like wait, that doesn't sound like it'd be healthy. I'll bump up the heat on the ones with the issues until I can get them to the vet, but I will ask the vet on Thursday what he recommends I do. The internet is a double edged sword; full of great information, but also so much misinformation

I was pretty sure I knew what you were getting at with this question- this F10 nebulizer "treatment" has been around a while (including online videos), encouraging people to do this to their snakes without any real objective study by veterinarians on the effects, both long & short term. Bad information travels just as fast as good does online-maybe even faster? so one needs to retain some healthy skepticism & consider the "sources". While currently using generic chlorhexidine for wiping cages, I've used both Nolvasan (similar but more effective & pricier) as well as F10 in the past, & I'm a very responsible label-reader. Nothing the F10 label said sounded healthy to put in a living body, especially a relatively small & delicate animal such as a snake.

[Wanik4]

So unfortunately my Solomon Island ground boa has gotten an ri. I'm guessing it's because his humidity got off because I listened to people on a FB group rather than trusting my gut and keeping him at the humidity his actual homeland stays at (that's what I kept him at when I first got him). I don't handle my snakes a whole lot, but a friend wanted to meet him the other day so I got him out and I could hear some noise while he was breathing and he'd open his mouth from time to time for a breath. I have a vet appointment for him Thursday so hopefully the doc will be able to figure out what medicine to give him but I went to get my carpet python out today and it seems she has one too! She has always huffed and puffed to voice her displeasure at being handled, but I could hear a breath or two now and then while I was handling her, though not nearly as bad as the ground boa. When I put her back in her cage, she was still pretty excited and I could hear quite a few of her breaths, and even after she calmed down, I could hear one now and then.

It appears the ri issue is affecting my snake room because I'm certain those 2 have it. One of my ball pythons I've had out a good bit the past couple of days and I haven't heard any funny noises from her. I handled my larger ball python today as well and I didn't hear anything that concerned me. She's out right now so I slid her doors open and listened and didn't hear any wheezing noises while she was breathing, so maybe they're ok. My little corn snake is way too itty bitty so I don't know if I'll be able to tell if she does. My Amazon tree boa is in here too, and since he just got moved to his forever home, he is not going to be easy to get out and see if he's ok. He's always been handleable, but a lot of times would like to musk/crap himself as a defense, but at least he's never bitten me. However, he has lots of places to latch onto in his new home so he'll be tough to get out at nearly 6ft long, but I can at least open his cage when he's out to see if I can hear any breathing issues I guess. My Colombian rainbow boa is in my bedroom and I haven't noticed any issues with her breathing, and I just brought home a baby retic and she's on the other side of the bedroom and I haven't noticed any breathing issues from her so it seems to be that they're both ok.

I'm also beginning to doubt the accuracy of these AcuRite thermometer/hygrometers, even after I do the salt and water method to calibrate them. It can be hard to get husbandry correct when your gauges are off and you have to trust them to help keep your animals healthy.

So, after alllllllll that, what method do you guys like to use to help prevent or treat light respiratory infections? I don't want my snakes to be sick, but the 2 that are mostly definitely sick are going to cost me about $200 on checkups and medicine plus who knows how much time to give these guys their meds (I've never had to do this before) but I don't want the other ones to be sick, because then I'd have to sell a kidney if all 8 had to go to the vet and get meds. I've watched a couple of videos on YouTube today, but since I've never had to do it, it all sounds like greek to me. I'm still researching and learning about these infections.

If you have a gut instinct, go with it, backed up by research from a trusted online source, or maybe, even a site like this. Never know, you might find better advice here than on........................Facebook.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

[Matt300zxt]

According to the vet, he said he didn't see any reason to believe he had a respiratory infection or even swab for bacteria. He opened his mouth and said all the blood vessels in the mouth looked good, no bad coloration, ulcers, anything like that and that everything looked good. He listened to his breathing when his trachea or whatever would open and close with his mouth held open, listened to his lungs with his stethoscope and everything sounded and looked good and he saw no reason to do anything to the snake. He said it could have been just some respiratory irritation if some dust from dry substrate got in his system and its worked its way out by now; which makes sense since he was displaying the issues a couple days ago but not anymore. He said it looked like there may be a very small piece of substrate in one of his nostrils (he does love to partially bury himself in the substrate), but not enough to warrant using a needle to dig it out, potentially causing a small cut and scabbing. He told me to set him in a tote with some warm water for 15-20 minutes and let the humidity from the warm water soften it and then use a soft bristle toothbrush or a dampened q-tip or something to roll it out if there's a small piece in there.

I told him the substrate does look dusty since it's just coco/peat mix but I could mist it heavily when I got home to trap any dust down so it's not flying around as much. With him being such a small guy with a small head, I'll probably switch him over to reptichip or whatever type substrate has the smaller chips so there's no real risk of him inhaling some and irritating his system. $77 and a clean bill of health is much better than $100 or more with the antibiotics or even more if he needed to do any procedures to the snake

[Bogertophis]

Good news! Sometimes we just worry too much over slight symptoms that resolve themselves- I'm very glad that's how this went. Some owners pay too little attention, but I'd rather be the kind that pays a little too much.

And it's better to be the one who asks the vet than one who just goes ahead with some nebulizer treatment that can harm the snake just because some ppl online or on FB suggested it. Great outcome.