Respiratory Infections! :o

[JohnnyBoyy128]

Alright so check it out, I bought my Ball Python, (Donut) lol, a while ago and when I bought him I wasnt really 100% sure on what to look for, meaning as in health wise to see if he was healthy, I brought him home and first day I noticed he was rubbing his nose on the glass and one thing lead to another and it was clear he had a respiratory infection I took him to the vet he tested positive for Pneumonia and he was on antibiotics for about 2 weeks, He has had a full recovered, I mean he went from OPen mouth breathing and bubbling and litterally mucous running out of his mouth to a full recovery , Now he seems to be doing 100% better but I was jsut wondering is he going to be more likely to get it again? and what is the full recovery time from something like that? thanks in advance,

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Nah. As long as you keep everything right in his enclosure you should not have that problem. I mean sure, some snakes are prone to sickness but some just have a bout of bad luck.

I have a 7 year old female that had an RI as a hatchling. She was treated and she has never been sick since. I have a male pastel that got a freak RI last fall after I had owned him for 2 years already.

Just keep him warm, well fed and hydrated and he should be ok now.

[kjay]

hope your still treating it 2 weeks is no where near long enough, what med, weight of snake

[maria1232]

When mine got the RI after being lost for 8 months I only got 2 weeks of treatment too, and it's been 3 months since he went off treatment and no sign of it coming back... So I think two weeks is enough if it wasn't that bad, the vet(if he has expletience with them)) should know how much to give you, but if he starts weezing again, take him in immediately

[JohnnyBoyy128]

well at 30 bucks every 2 days for a visit lol im glad he got better in 2 weeks haha but yea i just keep up the temp and lowered the humidity and hes completely better

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

IN 7 years I have only needed to treat an RI twice. Both snakes recieved a two week treatment and both ar enow fine. I think it really depends on the treatment used and the conditions of its enclosure. When a pastel was being treated and for a couple months after, I kept his enclosure a few degrees higher on both hot and cool sides. Also raised the humidity.

A boost in temp and humidity really helps. If the snake shows no signs of sickness now it should be ok.

[BallsUnlimited]

you have to remember they are very good a hiding there sickness till it gets bad. Any time i do treatment for a snake with R.I it is done for 30 days. No less but more if needed.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

you have to remember they are very good a hiding there sickness till it gets bad. Any time i do treatment for a snake with R.I it is done for 30 days. No less but more if needed.

This is very true but I personally have never had an RI get to the point of wheezing or fluid coming out. It can be hard to observe snakes in a rack all the time and if you cant see what they are doing 24/7 then its very hard to spot. I knew there was something not right with my pastel because he was star gazing and yawning many times in one day. There was never any noise or fluid at all but this was something he had never done before. I caught it extremely early.

I know alot of reptiles dont show signs until its far advanced. I consider myself lucky in that aspect.

To the OP- If you are worried about it then just take the snake back to the vet for one more culture to be sure.

[kjay]

you have to remember they are very good a hiding there sickness till it gets bad. Any time i do treatment for a snake with R.I it is done for 30 days. No less but more if needed.

dead on


there is a post on the forum the number 1 reptile vet in usa and says clearly 30 days. although it appears and sounds clear it may not be and is it really worth the chance. dont know why your vet would teach you how to inject at home with ceftazidime or appropirate med .

[Mrgbb]

I knew there was something not right with my pastel because he was star gazing and yawning many times in one day.

what do you mean by star gazing?