Ball Python RI gone! Tazicef, F10SC fogging & the cure TYLAN..

[BrianDallek]

I recently received a Ball Python that showed signs of a RI a week after arrival, bubbles out the nose and in mouth, hanging mouth open. My temps and humidity were spot on, but how or where she got the RI is not the point of this post. I made an appointment with the vet and got her in right away. The vet confirmed that it was indeed a RI and informed me to do the typical temp bump and to keep humidity up. She gave me needles preloaded with Tazicef (I believe this covers the same spectrum as Baytril) to be administered every three days. Nearing the end of the treatment I noticed no improvement in the snake so I purchased some F10SC and a reptifogger, made a fogging tub and put her in it everyday for 10 days at the "brian barczyk video" recommended 20/20min. (quick note: line the bottom of the fogging tub with paper towels. You want the snake to breath in the vaporized air not drink the pooled water that will develop in the tub. The paper towels absorb the condensed treated water). I think the fogging may have done some good for the snake, but did nothing to the RI. I took her back to the vet, did some more tests...bills were adding up... and then I stumbled onto the cure: Tylan 200. There is a lot of hear say and stories of Tylan in reptile forums. Ive read that it works on boas, but maybe not pythons. I am here to say it WORKS. It knocked out the RI, which was now worse, in 4 shots. I purchased the Tylan 200 on Amazon. Got the needles from my wife's work (she is an RN). With each shot i noticed immediate improvement. After the fourth shot all signs of RI were gone! I gave two more shots for good measure and it has been a few weeks now since. No sign of RI at all. Eating everything in sight. I ended up spending over $500 in vet bills and supplies to get this RI gone, but for the Tylan and some needles it cost just $50. And I have a Gigantic jar of the crap left over. Probably enough to treat a few hundred snakes, lol.

Anyway just wanted to say that Tylan worked amazing on my 200gram ball python with an RI. Hope this helps someone else!!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

It may have work with your animal however it is not the miracle or magic cure for all.

What were the result of YOUR culture?

Tylan, is a macrolide class antibiotic that is effective against gram positive bacteria. It has been used successfully to treat chronic RI in reptiles caused by bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma and in rare cases Streptococcus, however it will be ineffective in resolving most other types of bacterial infections in reptiles.

There is no such a thing as a one cure for all hence the IMPORTANCE of having a vet specializing in reptiles and of course having a culture done so the proper antibiotic can be administered (there is more then one cause for RI and more then one treatment)

[BrianDallek]

Thank You Deborah for giving some specifics on Tylan and I agree there is no cure all and nothing can replace a qualified vet. It is true that the culture did end up showing that Tylan would work. BUT, even with an experienced herp vet like mine she still took a shot in the dark with the Tazicef before doing the culture. She did this because I told her cost was an issue and I'm guessing is an issue for most snake owners so she went with what statistically works most. It just so happens that this was a valuable snake so I was ok with paying for the culture and the breeder graciousley made the situation right with me to cover this. However before she did the culture I asked her what she would use if I wanted to just take another shot with a different drug. She said Tylan. I'm not trying to do anything other than show that Tylan is a viable inexpensive over the counter option. If I ever run across another RI, I will try the Tylan before making a vet appointment. If it doesn't work then I will go immediately to a culture.

Maybe I should amend my first post with this: The word "Cure" in the tread title is specific to my instance and is in no way a cure for all RI's. I am not a vet and hold no medical knowledge regarding RI's. Even the worst vet knows more than I, lol. I just wanted to share an instance where Tylan was successful. Maybe someone can read this and bring up the topic of Tylan with their qualified vet. If you have the cash always ask for a culture first. It also has only been a few weeks since the RI has disappeared. I will continue to update this thread with her progress.

[bcr229]

From what I've read most people who have used that antibiotic for small snakes like BP's get the Tylan 50, not the Tylan 200, as it's easier to get the dosage correct. People treating adults retics or burmese pythons will use the Tylan 200.

[BrianDallek]

You have that backwards. The Tylan 200 is 4 times stronger than the Tylan 50. This means you need less of it to achieve the correct dosage. Using the Tylan 50 would be to much liquid in my opinion to inject into a smaller snake. Honestly as the size of the snake increases so does the correct dosage so...I would think the Tylan 200 would be the best no matter what size snake. Using a 0.5ml/cc needle works great.

[REBELLMORPH]

You have that backwards. The Tylan 200 is 4 times stronger than the Tylan 50. This means you need less of it to achieve the correct dosage. Using the Tylan 50 would be to much liquid in my opinion to inject into a smaller snake. Using a 0.5ml/cc needle works great.

^this

[bcr229]

You have that backwards. The Tylan 200 is 4 times stronger than the Tylan 50. This means you need less of it to achieve the correct dosage. Using the Tylan 50 would be to much liquid in my opinion to inject into a smaller snake. Honestly as the size of the snake increases so does the correct dosage so...I would think the Tylan 200 would be the best no matter what size snake. Using a 0.5ml/cc needle works great.

No, they were specifically saying use the 50 in small snakes since it was too easy to give too much of the 200. I don't know what the safety factor on it is. As I said I've never used it, just read about people who have - and as was also pointed out, it doesn't work on all bacteria that cause RI's, it's just one of many tools in the toolbox.

[Pythonfriend]

with the right synringe you should have perfect control over the volume of liquid you are injecting, so im sure the higher dosage would work if you can do the math and know how to correctly use a syringe. the syringe just needs to be thin enough so that the volume readings on the side are precise enough.

[BrianDallek]

No, they were specifically saying use the 50 in small snakes since it was too easy to give too much of the 200. I don't know what the safety factor on it is. As I said I've never used it, just read about people who have - and as was also pointed out, it doesn't work on all bacteria that cause RI's, it's just one of many tools in the toolbox.

Your right I shouldn't have said you specifically had it backwards. Whoever wrote to use Tylan 50 is wrong though. If I would have used Tylan 50, I would have been pushing in 4 times the amount of solution. It would have made a pretty big liquid bulge in the side of the snake. It is the same active amount just less diluted. I confirmed the dosage with my vet. The only argument that I could see to use the 50 would be if a snake would need a more diluted solution for health reasons, but my sick 200gram handled it perfect with no side affects. But you read it was easier to get the amount correct. Maybe I could see your point, the more diluted the more exact amount of active you could get....But I would rather push in less and not risk damaging the muscle.

For my 200gram Ball:

Dosage is 50mg per KG...so I need to get my snake 10mg of active solution.

Tylan 200 - active part is 200mg per mL...so since I need 10mg...I need 1/20th of that... 0.05mL of Tylan 200

Tylan 50 - active part is 50mg per mL...so since I need 10mg...I need 1/5th of that... 0.2mL of Tylan 50

Now I would rather push in 0.05mL of liquid into my snakes muscle.

[BrianDallek]

Wanted to give an Update. It has been over 5 months now and the snake is still in perfect health. Has not missed a meal and is now over 700 grams and doing great.