Respiratory infection..please help

hello,

i have a ball python that's about 2 years old and is showing signs on R.I. the previous owner had already treated him a while back for R.i. once. now that i have him he is showing signs of the respiratory infection again. he is not moving around like he used to.he has some bubbles coming from the side of the mouth.this all has happened within the past 2 days and the only vet that will see him that is qualified is booked until the middle of July and i can not and do not want to wait that long.i contacted the previous owner and he said he was on oral meds from the vet.i contacted him again and asked what meds and dosage he was on.i am waiting to here back from him. is there any meds i can treat him with until a vet can see him? i can get most meds but want the best one for him.and do you all recommend oral or injection. thanks

Injections work better with snakes, relating to their slow metabolism I believe. You really need to get him to a vet. Most of the better medications for treating RI are only available with a veterinary prescription.

However, I understand that in some areas reptile vets don't exist. I find it odd a vet would refuse to see a sick animal of a species they normally treat because they are booked up, though. You might try calling back and making sure the person you are speaking too understands that the animal is sick and getting worse and may die or at least have the infection so advanced it is untreatable if you have to wait more than 2 weeks. If they still won't see your snake, then ask them for referrals to other nearby vets that treat reptiles. If it is the same vet that prescribed the oral medication, you might want to look elsewhere anyway. I sometimes wonder if the vets that prescribe oral medications for snakes do so because they themselves don't feel confident enough to teach an owner how to give the injections, or perhaps don't even know enough about snake anatomy to be able to do it themselves.

If that doesn't work, you might google for information on treating RIs with F10SC and/or with Tylan. F10SC is an antiseptic solution that appears to be able to cure minor RIs when used in a nebulizer and might at least slow the progress until you get to a vet. Tylan is an antibiotic that is available OTC for use in cattle or something like that, but you can get it without a prescription. I think I may have heard of at least one other antibiotic that is available OTC that might be useful in treating RIs, but I can't remember which one right now.

Here are links to a couple of threads on this site discussing the use of these:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-from-Home-DIY
ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?214205-Ball-Python-RI-gone!-Tazicef-F10SC-fogging-amp-the-cure-TYLAN

Please note, I really recommend you get the snake to a vet ASAP, but if you just can't, some treatment is better than no treatment. Don't think that just because you are giving your snake antibiotics (if you go with the Tylan) that it will get better, because not all infections will respond to all antibiotics.

Good luck!

Good info from KC. I agree with his insight about the possible lack of confidence/knowledge of some Vets but are too proud to admit it. I found this to be not so uncommon in the medical field.

I sure hope that you get the poor little guy treated soon.

OP where are you located? Maybe someone knows of a vet in your area who treats exotics.

update,

i got the medicine a few days after i posted this from the guy i got the snake from.it was oral baytril.so i started to treat him with the medicine and i also did the f10 treatment for a week.and he is back to normal.eating like a pig and he already shed.

thanks for the help and sorry for the late update.

While the update sound great I would still take the animal to a vet http://arav.allenpress.com/arav/findavet and get a culture, chances are the RI may still be present.

The first issue is that the previous owner was prescribed an oral anti-biotics which has little to no effect.

Treating a RI not only needs to be done by a QUALIFIED herp vet but treatment needs do be done for the right length (usually several weeks) and using the right antibiotic.

Now since it is a recurring or probably a RI that never fully went away (treatment probably only alleviated the symptoms)

While I agreed that F10 should be used while waiting to be seen by a vet, a vet definitely needs to be seen based on symptoms and the fact that this is either a recurring problem or one that has been ongoing for quite some time.

I will have disagree with this advice.

Quote:

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Tylan is an antibiotic that is available OTC for use in cattle or something like that, but you can get it without a prescription. I think I may have heard of at least one other antibiotic that is available OTC that might be useful in treating RIs, but I can't remember which one right now.

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First no animal should receive an antibiotic treatment without being properly diagnosed.

Second recommending a specific antibiotic without proper diagnoses is just bad advice , the first thing a vet will do is a culture, there are different type of RI and obviously finding the right antibiotic is a must.

Tylan is not a miracle cure.

Tylan is mainly effective against gram positive bacteria and at this point it is not known if the RI is due to gram positive bacteria.

The original owner did take him to the vet and get a culture done.the only vet that would see my snake And was qualified was booked and over a week for a visit.and my snake was getting bad and had no choice but to treat him my self.so i don't regret my decision.



QUOTE=Deborah;2273694]While the update sound great I would still take the animal to a vet http://arav.allenpress.com/arav/findavet and get a culture, chances are the RI may still be present.

The first issue is that the previous owner was prescribed an oral anti-biotics which has little to no effect.

Treating a RI not only needs to be done by a QUALIFIED herp vet but treatment needs do be done for the right length (usually several weeks) and using the right antibiotic.

Now since it is a recurring or probably a RI that never fully went away (treatment probably only alleviated the symptoms)

While I agreed that F10 should be used while waiting to be seen by a vet, a vet definitely needs to be seen based on symptoms and the fact that this is either a recurring problem or one that has been ongoing for quite some time.

I will have disagree with this advice.



First no animal should receive an antibiotic treatment without being properly diagnosed.

Second recommending a specific antibiotic without proper diagnoses is just bad advice , the first thing a vet will do is a culture, there are different type of RI and obviously finding the right antibiotic is a must.

Tylan is not a miracle cure.

Tylan is mainly effective against gram positive bacteria and at this point it is not known if the RI is due to gram positive bacteria.[/QUOTE]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by laprodigy001

The original owner did take him to the vet and get a culture done.the only vet that would see my snake And was qualified was booked and over a week for a visit.and my snake was getting bad and had no choice but to treat him my self.so i don't regret my decision.

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Well the first vet was obviously not qualified if he prescribed oral antibiotics.

I never said you did the wrong thing I said that you should still go to a vet to get a clean bill of health, your BP may be cured or he may not be, there is a possibility that you only alleviated the symptoms just like the previous owner.

I might end up bringing all my snakes to the vet.just so i know everyone is ok.
Thank you all for your help and advise.