Neck puffing, RI and scale rot!

[obsesssedsnakemom]

So I purchased what listed as an 3.1kg adult female leopard and today I when I picked her up from the hub and got her home, she weighs 2.6kg, has some mild scale rot and she had bubbles coming out of her mouth so she’s obviously got an RI!!

Pretty upset about the whole thing in general but mostly the fact that she’s sick! Now I’m debating sending her back and getting a refund but before I do, about how much would it be to fix the RI and what type of treatment does it consist of? Scale rot I can deal with but I’ve never had to deal with anything like an RI.

I also have 12 other BP’s. She’s in quarantine like normal for a while but if we keep her it will be even longer now.

She also does this odd “bullfrog” thing with her throat. It gets all puffed out and then deflated kind of. Anyone know what might cause that? Is it because of the RI?

I’ve spoken to the breeder and he’s agreed to do a refund when he receives her back. He said she was fine when she was there with him so is it possible she got the RI overnight during shipping? She got delayed and was stuck somewhere for an extra night. He told me he can’t receive her until Wednesday so is she even going to be ok until then?

Any advice is appreciated.

[Bogertophis]

Throat puffing is because of the RI. RI's can kill a snake, because they literally choke- they cannot cough out excessive secretions. No way to predict how easy or difficult it will be to treat, because some pathogens may be resistant to antibiotics. For best results, you should have lab work done to make SURE that the antibiotic given will actually be effective against the pathogen that your snake has. Some vets just take a wild guess (to "save you money on lab work") but then there's a good chance it won't work & that effective treatment will be (1) delayed (so your snake might be even sicker) & (2) need additional treatment (meaning more cost for you & more painful injections likely for your snake).

Snakes don't get RI's overnight, but they can worsen when they were previously unnoticed (perhaps slight?), & the shipping delay can certainly make it worse (presumably she was chilled enroute?). Just ask member "dakski" about Yafe's long & expensive journey to wellness! Unless you have plenty of money "to burn" on vet expenses, I'd return this snake now, before you're attached to her, UNLESS they're going to cover your vet expenses??? (-unlikely!)....so sorry!

The fact that this snake also has scale rot makes me doubt that the seller "didn't notice her RI" prior to shipping- they perhaps just hoped you wouldn't notice for a while & blame yourself. Personally I'd not accept a replacement, only a full refund, also for return shipping.

Make SURE if you return her to have tracking & proof of her delivery to the seller. Better luck next time.

[obsesssedsnakemom]

Throat puffing is because of the RI. RI's can kill a snake, because they literally choke- they cannot cough out excessive secretions. No way to predict how easy or difficult it will be to treat, because some pathogens may be resistant to antibiotics. For best results, you should have lab work done to make SURE that the antibiotic given will actually be effective against the pathogen that your snake has. Some vets just take a wild guess (to "save you money on lab work") but then there's a good chance it won't work & that effective treatment will be (1) delayed (so your snake might be even sicker) & (2) need additional treatment (meaning more cost for you & more painful injections likely for your snake).

Snakes don't get RI's overnight, but they can worsen when they were previously unnoticed (perhaps slight?), & the shipping delay can certainly make it worse (presumably she was chilled enroute?). Just ask member "dakski" about Yafe's long & expensive journey to wellness! Unless you have plenty of money "to burn" on vet expenses, I'd return this snake now, before you're attached to her, UNLESS they're going to cover your vet expenses??? (-unlikely!)....so sorry!

The fact that this snake also has scale rot makes me doubt that the seller "didn't notice her RI" prior to shipping- they perhaps just hoped you wouldn't notice for a while & blame yourself. Personally I'd not accept a replacement, only a full refund, also for return shipping.

Make SURE if you return her to have tracking & proof of her delivery to the seller. Better luck next time.

I really appreciate the advice. She will be returned ASAP. I’m so upset. She’s gorgeous and very sweet but I don’t have the extra funds for this right now and I highly doubt that the breeder would pay the vet bills. I’ve never had an issue buying a snake through MM so I hope it’s not continuous with this guy.

[Bogertophis]

I really appreciate the advice. She will be returned ASAP. I’m so upset. She’s gorgeous and very sweet but I don’t have the extra funds for this right now and I highly doubt that the breeder would pay the vet bills. I’ve never had an issue buying a snake through MM so I hope it’s not continuous with this guy.

Sad, I know. It's not the snake's fault, but this could be quite expensive to treat & even then be ineffective. The breeder most likely will try dosing her themselves. I would not buy from this seller again, ever- personally.

And it goes without saying, be careful to quarantine her from your other snakes! A few degrees of added warmth might help the RI while she's under your care.

[obsesssedsnakemom]

Sad, I know. It's not the snake's fault, but this could be quite expensive to treat & even then be ineffective. The breeder most likely will try dosing her themselves. I would not buy from this seller again, ever- personally.

Oh definitely not…he hasn’t even marked the listing as sold yet so I don’t think I’m able to leave a review

[KMG]

The GTP I have now came to me with a RI. The seller, private seller, ghosted me. Not that I wanted to return him.....I just wanted some money back. I knew he was better off being with me and I got him the care he needed. He's probably alive today because of me.

I say all that to say I was told by the vet to increase humidity and heat during the RI. So I agree with doing that while you have it.

Cost me a couple hundred bucks for injections and I did them every other day.... If I remember correctly. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and we got through it well. Luckily he's a good boy and not one of those nasty GTP your hear about.

[obsesssedsnakemom]

The GTP I have now came to me with a RI. The seller, private seller, ghosted me. Not that I wanted to return him.....I just wanted some money back. I knew he was better off being with me and I got him the care he needed. He's probably alive today because of me.

I say all that to say I was told by the vet to increase humidity and heat during the RI. So I agree with doing that while you have it.

Cost me a couple hundred bucks for injections and I did them every other day.... If I remember correctly. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and we got through it well. Luckily he's a good boy and not one of those nasty GTP your hear about.

I’m so happy to hear you were able to help him! My husband is really on the fence about keeping her but he’s also worried about our other snakes. We are very careful not to expose them to any indirect contact but we have her until next week before we can ship so I guess we will see if change our minds about handling it ourselves.