I need help with my BP

I'm been giving antibiotic to my 7 month old female because of a respiratory infection. It's beed 3 weeks with the antibiotic and, so far, she did not improve very much. I'm now going to switch to a mouth desinfectant because the tests done on her saliva detected some bacteria that is not supposed to be in her mouth.

She stoped eating 5 weeks ago and she already lost 20 grams. She is 460 grams at this moment. I don't know if she stoped eating because of the RI or because BP's sometimes naturaly stop eating. So far I've only tried to feed her frozen/tawed mice because that was what she was eating before. I'm going to try feeding her a live mouse next.

If she does not eat the live mouse, what do i do? How long do i wait before her not eating becomes critical?

Also, is it normal that after 3 weeks of antibiotic she is not cured? She still has some mucus in her mouth and she does some popping sounds. How long does it take to cure the RI?

Did your herp vet do a culture to see which bacteria your snake is battling? Getting a culture done is very important. I would not use any type of mouth antiseptic on your snake.

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Originally Posted by ballpythonluvr

Did your herp vet do a culture to see which bacteria your snake is battling? Getting a culture done is very important. I would not use any type of mouth antiseptic on your snake.

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The vet did not identify the bacteria. She just did a Gram coloration and the result was Gram+ and Gram- bacteria. She said snakes are only supposed to have Gram- bacteria so the Gram+ was the problem. I think i'm going to take my snake to another vet for more testing.

How long is it normal for a BP to refuse eating? How much weight can she safely loose before she will be too week?

You need to find a vet that is better with herps and get a culture done. If you dont know what type of bacteria it is you cant really properly treat it.
Itd be like taking pepto bismol for a headache...

Yeah you need a new vet and to get a culture done. There are different causes of RI and they require a different treatment. Oviously the treatment that you have been prescribed isn't working.

Yes, i will see a different vet and ask for a culture. I'll do that tomorrow or the day after.

So i talked to another vet. It is going to cost me a fortune to do all the tests she wants to do but i dont have another option. The vet says I have to wait 10 more days to allow the previous antibiotic to clear from the snake's system. After that she can make a culture and accuratlly test the bacteria for sensibility to different atibiotics. The vet also wants to take a X ray of the snake. I just hope the RI does not get worse before i can find the right antibiotic.

I guess the lesson here is always ask for a culture before giving a antibiotic.

I'm glad you found a better vet. As far as food, they can miss a few meals and be fine. One thing you can try to entice her, is get a rat pup, one that still has its eyes closed (that way it can't harm your snake). Then put it live into her tank, and leave them be. Lights off, out of room, whatever you need to do for her to have privacy. You will probably find the little sucker disappear. However, if she isn't feeling well, she may not eat. I have found that little trick to be irresistible to my snakes, but have never dealt with RI before.

When one of my BPs had an RI, she actually still ate until I started the antibiotic regimen, then didn't eat for a couple months. She was about the size and age of yours. I have a male right now that has refused food more times than he's taken it, but the vet says he's healthy aside from being a little on the skinny side. As long as she doesn't lose too much weight, I wouldn't fret too much. The antibiotic shots are very stressful and she may not want to eat as a result. If she loses a bunch of weight though, make sure to check with your vet.