Adult ball python with a RI

[ElizabethAkin]

I have an adult male ball python that has a respiratory infection. I went to feed him about three days ago, and he refused food, which he has never done before. He began to wheeze and make clicking sounds when I picked him up. This is my first time dealing with a respiratory infection in a snake, so I Googled the symptoms to double-check; RI.

Normally, I would immediately have him seen by a vet. However, I have been out of a job for a few months now. I start my new job on Monday, but I won't see a paycheck for another two weeks.

So I scoured Google for things I can do at home to treat him until I can get him to the vet, and this is what I came up with.

1) "Steaming" him for 10 minutes twice a day with boiling water, a few drops of tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and lavender oil.

The original "recipe" called for Vick's rub and eucalyptus oil, but I wasn't comfortable using Vick's for my snake, and I didn't have any eucalyptus oil. Tea tree oil has antibacterial properties, and both peppermint oil and lavender oil have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. I figured this combination would at least help relieve some of his symptoms, since I don't know what kind of RI this is.

Source: http://bamboozoo.weebly.com/snake--r...ry-remedy.html

2) I am all too aware that he probably needs antibiotics, and not just homeopathic treatment if he is to get well. So I did some more research of "snake-safe" anti-biotics and I found this website:
http://www.cobraman.net/16801.html

I saw that Clindamycin was listed, but for the treatment of anaerobic organisms. I happened to have some Clindamycin leftover from an old prescription, and I know that in humans, Clindamycin is used to treat serious infections (I know that snakes aren't humans, please don't jump down my throat for that statement.) so I decided it was worth a shot. I broke open a capsule, and mixed a tiny amount of the powder with water and administered it to my snake orally with a syringe.

This morning, there was a significant difference in the amount of noise coming from his lungs. He is not wheezing or clicking nearly as bad as he was yesterday.

I repeated the treatment this morning, and will steam him again for ten minutes later on this evening.

Any thoughts on this treatment? Any suggestions of other things I can do to treat him?

I know it's not ideal, and trust me, if I could he would be taken to a veterinary hospital immediately. And if he isn't better by the time that first check comes in, he will be taken to a vet. But for now I'm doing all I can do.

[Slim]

Any thoughts on this treatment?

I personally would have never done that unless I was trained in proper dosage and dosing. I also would not have given an oral antibiotic to a reptile, not knowing how it could affect liver and kidney function. Baytril, with is a very common antibiotic used to treat certain forms of RI, is injected. And last but certainly not least, I would never pull something out of my medicine cabinet and given it to my snake without better guidance than something I researched on the internet.

Those are my thoughts, and remember, you asked for them.

Now, does it seem like you may have gotten very lucky? Quite probably so, but that does not mean it wasn't very risky, and we have no idea of what the long term effects of oral dosing might be.

Trust me, I understand being broke FAR better than most, but I also understand about programs like CareCredit and Veterinary Assistance Loans. Information on which, can be researched on the internet...

[Mephibosheth1]

^^x2

I would hope you got some kind of dosage for this snake from a REPUTABLE (read "not the internet") source for the dosage of this antibiotic??

Did you also look up potential side affects and contraindications to the use of this drug in reptiles, and in snakes specifically??

Dosing animals with medication is not a task to be taken lightly…I hope you lucked out and managed not to kill your snake by doing this.

And CareCredit is a wonderful thing…there are homeless people who come into my Vet Clinic that can afford CareCredit


EDIT–and Injectable dosing of antibiotics can cause damage to liver and kidney as well, so don't think they will be less likely to cause damage if administered improperly….

[ElizabethAkin]

I know. It wasn't exactly my first choice either.

Honestly the only reason I decided to try it in the first place was because I found comments on several different Youtube videos, etc. of people successfully using Amoxicillin and Cefradine to treat their snakes. Not to say that Clindamycin is the same thing, because obviously it's a different antibiotic. And I would never have used it had it not been listed on the website of a serpentologist. As for dosage, that was my major concern as well. I don't want to poison my snake with antibiotics. The Clindamycin capsules are 300mg each. The recommended dosage for snakes is 5mg. That gives about 60 doses per capsule. Obviously all I could do is eyeball it, but I erred on the side of caution and used very, very little of the powder.

I know trusting the internet is risky. But I was just at a loss as to what to do. Having absolutely no cash in hand, I figured a vet would refuse treatment without some kind of immediate payment. :/ I had a zoologist friend recommend some kind of sheep antibiotic. That seemed even more far-fetched to me...

I'm not one to get mad, everything you said is true. I know that. I'm not a vet, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't act like one.

My other question is this: I've read mixed things about RIs in ball pythons; raise the humidity or lower it? Half of the threads I read say to raise it, the other half say to lower it. His humidity has been lowered and his temperatures raised since I realized he was sick. However I also read that RIs can be caused by humidity levels that are too high or too low. So what do I do? Lower, normal or high humidity?

[bcr229]

I won't comment on the antibiotic since others already have. I wouldn't have done that.

My vet recommended increasing the humidity to keep the mucous moist so the snake could expel it easily. Think about when you're snotty and get into a steamy shower, after a few minutes you can clear out your nasal passages and breathe better.

[ElizabethAkin]

That was what I thought too. But I also read that a warm, moist environment would make it worse, especially if it's bacterial...
I did notice mucous in his mouth this morning after I steamed him though, as if he had expelled some. I used the tip of the syringe to gently "wipe" it out. So maybe an increased humidity would be better.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Honestly the only reason I decided to try it in the first place was because I found comments on several different Youtube videos, etc. of people successfully using Amoxicillin and Cefradine to treat their snakes. Not to say that Clindamycin is the same thing, because obviously it's a different antibiotic. And I would never have used it had it not been listed on the website of a serpentologist. As for dosage, that was my major concern as well. I don't want to poison my snake with antibiotics. The Clindamycin capsules are 300mg each. The recommended dosage for snakes is 5mg. That gives about 60 doses per capsule. Obviously all I could do is eyeball it, but I erred on the side of caution and used very, very little of the powder.

While you have good intention you need to go to a vet and forget about those specific home remedies.

You do not give antibiotics without having a proper diagnoses, giving any antibiotic just because you have it on hand or giving one just in case are both as bad and should be avoided.

The first thing a vet will do (if the vet is a QUALIFIED herp vet) is a culture to know which antibiotic is best suited for your snake.

In the mean time (and I can only encourage you to make an appointment as soon as possible for proper diagnoses) you can buy F10 and and a nebulizer and use this until your snake is seen by a vet.

[Slim]

EDIT–and Injectable dosing of antibiotics can cause damage to liver and kidney as well, so don't think they will be less likely to cause damage if administered improperly….

Thank you for this. Good information to have.

[ElizabethAkin]

I have a nebulizer, but if I use the F10 in it will I be able to use it for myself again, or will I need to get a new one?