Seriously??

[Ash]

I think I have ANOTHER snake coming down with an RI.

This makes no sense at all to me. I have never had one of my snakes come down with an RI, but TWO of my friend's first snakes have, and they take the same care if not better care of their animals than I do of mine (at least they're more attentive since it's their only animal).

Our new (less than a month in our care) het pied male is making a whistling noise. He's coming out of blue so I at first thought it was just because he's in shed. We opened up his mouth with a q-tip and I'm not sure what to make of what it looks like, there were bubbles in the way back of the throat but not really at all near the trachea. Since the last time I dealt with an RI the snake died, it's really scary to think it might be happening again.

I'll film what it looks like and post it up here for you guys to see for yourselves.

I still have 4 doses of antibiotics left over from the last RI. My bf thinks we should just dose the het pied with that and avoid another bloody 400 dollar vet bill, I'm not too sure considering how quickly after receiving treatment the other one went downhill. WHAT are we doing wrong? This is ridiculous.


Edit: The two snakes never came in contact with each other. The two owners hardly even did.

[redstormlax12]

I would just be careful giving the new snake the anti-biotic for this snake. The dosage for this snake may be much different then the last. Giving the wrong dosage of the anti-biotic and causing an overdose could do alot of harm to your bp, including kidney failure. Id reccomend seeing a vet before you administer any meds.

[Ash]

I would just be careful giving the new snake the anti-biotic for this snake. The dosage for this snake may be much different then the last. Giving the wrong dosage of the anti-biotic and causing an overdose could do alot of harm to your bp, including kidney failure. Id reccomend seeing a vet before you administer any meds.

yeah, exactly what I was thinking.

[dr del]

Hi

This is going to sound daft but bear with me.

Can you held the snake near your ear and move down its body listening to find out where the sounds are coming from?

If you hear clicks, pops etc from the lungs then it is pretty definately an RI. Whereas if you only hear noises at his nose it could simply be the shed.

How much would the vet charge to get a culture done? If it is something that moves quickly it might not hurt to be one step ahead - and you can't get a reliable culture after you have given anti-biotics I think ( someone correct me if I'm wrong about that though ).

I'm sure I have read somewhere that most RI's and from bacteria that exist in the snakes system normally and cause no problems but flare up if the snakes immune system gets compromised by stress or low temps and such. So moving to a new environment could trigger it on its own if the snake reacts badly to the change. Anyone else remember reading this?

So the snakes wouldn't necessarily need to have come into contact and could have a different root cause for the RI - that's why the culture is the best way to go if you can as it should make sure you are giving the most effective treatment you can.

Also, since it is important to finish the full course of treatment, your BF would still have to go to the vets to get the rest of the course wouldn't he?


dr del

[rabernet]

Oh no! Please keep us updated on him. It could be the stress from the flight across country (he came from me, for those who don't know) that triggered it. Knock wood, I've never had an RI in my collection, and he never whistled or clicked when he was here.

Sounds like if he does have an RI, you're being attentive enough that you will have caught it early.

[mpkeelee]

Hi

This is going to sound daft but bear with me.

Can you held the snake near your ear and move down its body listening to find out where the sounds are coming from?

If you hear clicks, pops etc from the lungs then it is pretty definately an RI. Whereas if you only hear noises at his nose it could simply be the shed.

How much would the vet charge to get a culture done? If it is something that moves quickly it might not hurt to be one step ahead - and you can't get a reliable culture after you have given anti-biotics I think ( someone correct me if I'm wrong about that though ).

I'm sure I have read somewhere that most RI's and from bacteria that exist in the snakes system normally and cause no problems but flare up if the snakes immune system gets compromised by stress or low temps and such. So moving to a new environment could trigger it on its own if the snake reacts badly to the change. Anyone else remember reading this?

So the snakes wouldn't necessarily need to have come into contact and could have a different root cause for the RI - that's why the culture is the best way to go if you can as it should make sure you are giving the most effective treatment you can.

Also, since it is important to finish the full course of treatment, your BF would still have to go to the vets to get the rest of the course wouldn't he?


dr del

do not give ur snake meds if u plan to get a culture done, it will not allow the bacteria to grow which will just be a big waste of ur money.

snakes do have bacteria inside of them that is usually kept under control by their immune system, but when their immune system is compromised the bacteria grows and takes over.

if u give ur snake a few shots that do not cure the RI and u stop treating it, the bacteria causing the RI can become immune to the treatment and the bacteria may only be susceptible to that antibiotic.

[Ash]

One of the first things I did was put my ear against his body to see if I could hear any cracking/popping and I didn't. Earlier on during that day my bf had shown the snake to his friend and at that point apparently it wasn't making any noise. It appears to just be whistling, not popping. Having thought about it for a while I'm starting to doubt whether he's sick, especially since he's going into shed. Also he's supposed to be a picky eater and he's eating like a beast for us, if he were uncomfortable I figure the first thing he'd do is stop eating.

I figure the factors that differ my collection from theirs are: 1) their snakes came in the mail, mine came from expos. 2) Mine eat rodents I breed myself, theirs eat rodents from a pet shop which frequently have lung problems. 3) They misted their enclosures quite regularly, I never mist except during sheds.

We're gonna try to rule out all those factors from now on so this never happens again. Also I'm gonna take him to the vet regardless, it's not worth risking it.

[Nate]

Hey Ash,

What is your humidity like where you are right now?

[rabernet]

One of the first things I did was put my ear against his body to see if I could hear any cracking/popping and I didn't. Earlier on during that day my bf had shown the snake to his friend and at that point apparently it wasn't making any noise. It appears to just be whistling, not popping. Having thought about it for a while I'm starting to doubt whether he's sick, especially since he's going into shed. Also he's supposed to be a picky eater and he's eating like a beast for us, if he were uncomfortable I figure the first thing he'd do is stop eating.

I figure the factors that differ my collection from theirs are: 1) their snakes came in the mail, mine came from expos. 2) Mine eat rodents I breed myself, theirs eat rodents from a pet shop which frequently have lung problems. 3) They misted their enclosures quite regularly, I never mist except during sheds.

We're gonna try to rule out all those factors from now on so this never happens again. Also I'm gonna take him to the vet regardless, it's not worth risking it.

That's AWESOME that he's eating like a beast for you guys! Was hoping a change of scenery might turn him back on! Will be waiting to hear the update from the vet!

[CoolioTiffany]

Those bubbles just could have been saliva bubbles from the throat. Sometimes when you open up the mouth, bubbles from the throat will come up. I think the whistling noise could've been from the shedding, but keep a close eye on the snake.

Don't give the snake antibiotics unless it really does have an RI. And since you don't know how much dosage to give the snake, I don't recommend giving the medication.