New BP with respiratory infection? or stressed?

[reichiere]

On Friday I was given/rescued a ball python, Fred. Fred is about 10yrs old and came with a giant tank (about 4ft by 2ft and about 3ft tall). The moment I got him home, I noticed that he was wheezing and on occasion would open his mouth like he was gasping for air. He also had stuck shed on his nose.

So I made a vet appointment for the poor guy. The vet just called me and said he sees no outward signs of a respiratory infections, the proceeded to ask me, "What kind of snake is he?". I went to this vet as he is the only reptile vet in my area (at least a two hour drive), and he just also happens to be one of the most expensive vets in the area....

Anyways, he wants to charge me nearly 400 dollars for a blood and fecal samples.... Honestly that’s a little out of my price range, and even more so for a snake I've had 3 days.

The vet said he's also willing to go ahead and treat him with antibiotics without the tests. They're waiting for me to call them back.

Here's some background information. Fred was kept in a cage with temps around 80s, his substrate was a pet bedding, and looked like it hadn't been change in a long while. The tank is acrylic on the sides, and wood everywhere else, including the bottom. I changed the substrate for him, and I pulled out lots of old shed, and found 2 spiders in his bedding. He had no hide box and only one lamp on the top of the tank. He did have a container of large water to soak in. He was fed live rats, and has the scars to prove it. He did come from a home that did care somewhat about their animals and have had snakes before, and Fred had been with them about 5 years.

So over the weekend he was stressed out with a move and new people. Then I totally changed in his substrate. (I put down newspaper). I bumped the temp up to 90-95ish, and bought him an underground heater. Gave him two hides. I will be moving him into a different tank, but I wasn't exactly expecting to get a new snake so I'm not 100% set up yet. He is due for a feeding, but I didn't want to until we got back from the vet. (We’ll be trying f/t food).

My question is should I fork up the money for the tests? Should I just treat with antibiotics? Should I just take him home, pump up the heat, and give him supplements and hope for the best?

Thanks in advance and for putting up with a new snake keeper.

[mr. s]

I would make a serious complaint about this vet and hope you did not have to pay him anything because he does not know a thing about snakes.
That being said, the bp might have an RI. What did he mean by, no external signs of an RI? Like the snake had no symptoms? Too bad you won't know what else the snake has, mouth rot, parasites, etc, etc. YOu can pretty much expect that people give snakes away that are very sick and you gotta be ready for it.
Make sure you quarantine this guy from your other snakes or you will be stuck with lots of sick snakes.
Good luck.

[Kaorte]

Find a new vet. Treatment for a respiratory infection shouldn't be more then $150 at MOST.

I have seen people get antibiotic injections for cheaper.

A fecal float might be worth it to see if he has any internal parasites. A fecal float should only cost around $30.

My best suggestion is to find a new vet :/ Vets who have no clue what they are doing often do more harm then good.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Take a look inside his mouth. If you see phlegm and foamy spit, that's a sign of an RI.
If he's still wheezing, and doesn't have shed stuck inside his nostrils, I say go with the antibiotics--I would.

I would not pay 400 bucks for the work he wants to do. It's highway robbery. I could get that done here for 200, including the initial visit. I recommend searching AGAIN for a herp vet. Maybe you missed one. If your herp vet has to ask you what kind of snake a ball python is, he isn't a real herp vet, IMO, he's just someone who put up a shingle to treat them, and that can be very dangerous.
I also suggest double-checking his dosages if you get the antibiotics from him. You should be able to find that info online.

I'm sorry you're in that situation--it's less common to find vets who don't know what they are doing treating herps these days, but it still happens. (It used to be the norm!)

[reichiere]

Thanks for all your words of advice.

Luckily Fred is my first snake at my home; I'd been doing tons of research and prep work with plans to get a snake later this year. He just happened to show up a little earlier than planned.

Went ahead and got the antibiotics for him, and a vitamin boost. He was given Baytril and I'm to give oral every 48 hours. As I understand it oral will work, but isn't as effective, as injected Baytril... we'll see what happens.

Since Tuesday morning, I haven't seen him gasp at all, which before I was seeing often. So I'm hoping giving him a better environment was a key to helping him improve. (As I doubt the antibiotics would have made a difference in only 24 hours, but I could be wrong)

As for a vet, I've searched everywhere I can think of for a reptile vet in my area, and the guy I used and one other vet came up. The other vet said they no longer did reptiles and to call the guy I went to. He was also suggested to me by local pet store (an independent, not a Pet-something), and I have a friend who's an office manager for his Dad's vet business and he also said the vet I used is the only one in the area. I did find some in Spokane which is a two hour drive for me, and there are a ton in Seattle and Portland, both about 4 hour drive for me.

The guy I used everyone seems to like a lot for their cats and dogs, and their only complaint is that he's expensive. He also made a name for himself for removing a tumor from a goldfish at one point. So I guess he knows what he's doing... just unfortunately doesn't really know reptiles.

[RichsBallPythons]

sorry to say this but you need to take the meds back and get baytril injections. Oral will do nothing since snakes metabolism is soo slow they wont digest it.

Injections are a must with antibiotics. Only thing oral should be for deworming.