RI: Please help

After my spider shed today I was handling her and was noticing a lot of popping and wheezing. I tried locating an exotics vet around here, but none exist. The ones on the herp sites around here are old and outdated. I ended up calling around and finding a vet to take the snake.

I took her to the vet and the guy wasn't very familiar with ball pythons and was very hesitant around her. I told him I thought she had a possible RI. We opened her mouth and didn't see any excess mucus, but she is still popping and wheezing. The vet really didn't know much more or what to do, so I opted for baytril.

I am supposed to inject her every 5 days for 25 days. It looks to be about .2 cc of solution in the syringes. They gave me 4 prefilled and they did one at the vet. I asked if they dilute it, but he said they didn't need to.

Any words of advice for the RI or how to treat it?

Bump up the temps just little and the humidity. Make sure you follow proper QT procedures .

Best of luck

I think the vet needs to run a culture on the secretions (throat swab) to see what type bacteria so that they know which antibiotic to use.
Also, people usually run the temps a little hotter than normal.
That's about all I know. I think there must be a sticky for RI's or do a search~ I'm sure you'll find useful information!
Good luck :)

EDIT> Ed beat me to it! ;)

I know Becky will be able to further help you. (satanicintention) I do believe you have to dilute baytril in saline to prevent burning at the injection site.

If ther was no mucos in her mouth it is very possible she has retained shed in her nostrils and/or heat pits. If they are popping or wheezing from infection fluid is usually visible, but that also depends how knowledgeable the person looking is at seeing something. Their breathing tube is usually real red and swollen/irritated. Treating for RI is a good precaution but like already mentioned if a culture is not done.

1- You dont even know if an infection even exisits and
2 - You dont know what antibiotic cures that infection/bacteria.

Baytril is a good antibiotic for many types of RI but not all and if your vet gave you some it should be already at the right concentration unless he told you different. There are alot of snake people in FL, if you call a breeder near you I'll bet they know a good vet.

Best of luck, I hope its only some stuck shed.

We had a girl come in with an RI. She was a 1500+ gram girl and the injections of baytril are based on the snakes weight. before we went to the baytril we tried an oral medication, but she just kept blowing it out. After 2 days of the oral treatment our vet had us switch to the injections. The Vet gave the first as a demonstration and we followed it up every day for 7 more days. Total of 8 days on the Baytril and she is now a nice girl and well over 2100 grams.

According to our Vet who specializes in reptiles Baytril is the mildest of injection treatments for an RI to the snake. It can cause some inflammation at the location of the injection if injections are repeatedly put at the same spot. So you need to switch sides between injections.

In the end if you do not feel the vet you went to was as knowledgeable about your animal as they should be, you should get a second opinion from hopefully a vet that you can have some confidence in.

Baytril needs to be injected every 48h to be effective. Every 5 days will just prolong the disease process and make the bacteria more resistant.

If the Baytril is the lower concentration, it isn't as likely to cause burning/scarring. Are you sure it's 0.2ml? How much does the snake weigh?

If you can get some sterile saline and draw up 0.1-0.2ml in each syringe with the Baytril right before you give the injection, that will help prevent scarring and stinging.

I assume the syringe is in ml and it is drawn up to .2 with baytril. The snake is 800 grams. Where can I find saline to dilute it with? Just regular grocery store stuff should be fine?

Thanks for the help guys.

No, sterile saline is found at your vet.

You can also call a vet that isn't local for an over the phone consult. I know Dr Greek, my vet, does it...