Spider bp sick again?

I would definetly take him back to the vet.

Update:
A friend is most likely helping me get the snake to the vet tomorrow due to the ridiculous amount of working I've been doing these past 4 weeks and not being able to take off. My bp started bubbling from the mouth,i hear popping noises from his mouth,and excessive saliva is leaking out of his mouth. This HAS to be an RI. Most likely going to bring him to another vet due to the other vet missing out on the RI before, although he did have something else going on, I definitely overpaid for his services which did not get the job done. I just hope it's not too late to help the little guy out.

Hi,

Do you think it would be worth spending a little extra to get the culture done?


dr del

I was aiming for $100 or under on this vet visit to get him better, but I'm guessing it might cost a little more? What test(s) should be taken for an RI?

Hi,

Well it depends on the vets opinion really.

But the general idea was to do a culture from the snakes mouth so that you can be sure the course of treatment will actually be as effective as possible.

Since it has had it for a while I just thought it might be a good idea if the first course of treatment managed to knock it on the head.


dr del

well, i guess i don't have too many herp vets in my area. i might have to go back to the guy i already went to. just to look at him is going to cost $50 and then he said bloodwork will probably be needed. won't bloodwork take too long to look at? my snake doesn't look so great.

Hi,

Again, so not a vet :oops: , but I don't know why he would use bloodwork rather than a culture for an RI - unless he feels it's not the root cause. Perhaps he thinks it is crypto as previously mentioned and wants to see if there is any hints in the bloodwork that could help find an underlying cause.

Have you checked the arav and herpvet connection websites for alternates? If you can find someone semi-local you could even ask for a phone consult through your local vet - pricy but it does let you choose someone with experience with no restrictions of geography.

A culture will take some time but they normally start you on a course when they take the swab rather than waiting for the results but then change the treatment if what they gave you initially proves ineffective when checked on the culture.

I'm trying to think of a way to be tactful but you knew he was ill a month ago so the fact he got worse shouldn't surprise you and vet bills rarely go down if you let the animal get sicker. :(

Have a look round the forum to see what others have had success with as a treatment for RI's and ask the vet if you could have that.

I hope he pulls through ok for you.


dr del

:O Bugs in his stool....wow. I would definetly bring that up to the vet as well.

Again I have no experience in this area and quite frankly know pretty much nothing when it comes to this.

I applaud you on not just sending him back to the breeder...I could never do that. Keep trying and ya know...he might be the best little guy ever once he gets better!!

Friend brought him into the vet today and got me the invoice. He has a severe RI. He was thinking the snake could possibly have IBD. He put the snake on it's back and it couldn't get back up on it's own. Could this be from a combo of being sick with the RI and the genetic probs spider have? A culture was taken and I will know in 5 days if I need a stronger med. than what he gave me. Ceftazdime injections are what I will be giving him every 2 days. Really hoping he gets better soon.

My bp has been sick ever since day one of getting him at a reptile show. Once i got home and put him in his quarantined tub, he had a definitely not normal stool and it went downhill from there. The first vet trip in May, my snake had excess amounts of nematodes and and flagellates in his stool, along with some blood. The metronidazole seemed to get rid of all his problems a week after finishing the med and I finally got to see him eat for once, and every week after that up until a week ago when this all started to happen again...I really hope this vet puts an end to all this snakes problems.

IBD will kill a ball python in under a month. Since you've had the snake much longer than that, unless you introduced IBD to your collection in the past few weeks its very unlikely.

How are you keeping the snake? Is it still in the 30gallon aquarium you originally told us you were keeping him in? Incorrect temps/humidity (as often occurs in aquarium setups) can possibly lead to a respiratory infection.

If your vet thinks that it may be IBD then it seems that the vet probably isnt too experienced with herps and I'd recommend you find a legitimate reptile vet to help you treat your snake.

Best regards,
Your friend Mike