My female bp just died! Need some advice please..

so sorry to hear this has happened. It is always hard to loose a pet. With reptiles it is possible for them to have an RI that goes unnoticed and by the time you see symptoms...it CAN be to late. I may have missed it...but what substrate are you using. Be sure that it is dry...some can retain a lot of moisture and that is not good. Personally we using paper towels and I love it...super easy to clean, aspen is always a good choice if you really want some type of bedding.

Thanks for the responses y'all. I use newspaper substrate (same as the breeder) and I always check the tubs to make sure my BP's dont get them too wet. I check my tubs at least once a day and change any type of defecation or wet susbstrate. Feeding day is Tuesday so they get checked well then and Sat/Sun is tub cleaning day (no matter if they defecate or not). I have 3 thermometers/hydrometers and the humidity always stays between 50-65%.

I called the vet today and his vet tech advised she would pass the message that my girl died and have him call me back. I am a little upset he did not do a culture. ROBBIN RN, you are lucky to live so close to Dr. Kendrick, I have heard GREAT things about him.....unfortunetely, he was on vacation when I needed to see him.

I did tell the breeder about the RI when she first got diagnosed with it and that she was on Baytril injections. I will probably email him tonight and let him know she passed away.

As far as live mice go, no, I have not tried that. Next week, I am going to buy more F/T small rats and I will probably buy a rat pup for my bee. If he does not eat it overnight, I will try a live mouse the following week (but obviously I will supervise the mouse feeding and take it out if he doesn't eat it after 10 minutes or so).

Freezing wasn't a good idea. You should have put her in 70% ethanol or fomalin. I'm assuming you're going for a H&E necropsy? If so, having her thawed out can still be done but the tissues usually go mushy. TBH i'm a scientist and do mouse necropsies all the time, i'm not sure what style of necropsy you would be doing

I'm sorry for your loss.. :(

I'm sorry for your loss. One thing kind of jumped out at me when reading your treatment plan. That was the temperature at the cool side. I'm not going to say the cool side was too cool or guess if she ever spent any time there, I just don't think a cool side should be an option when a reptile is being treated for any infection. The snake should be maintained at minimum of 90 degrees to ensure the immune system is working at full capacity throughout the entire treatment. It may not have been a factor here at all, because she might have chosen the warm side on her own, it is just something I noticed when I read your first post.
Paul

I read about bumping the heat up but did not take it that the whole tub should be 90+. I put two UTH heaters in the 41q Sterilite so over half the tub was at 93. I would say the area next to the heat source was 85 and the last small part gradually got down to 80 or so. At night, the cool side would make it to 78 sometimes. I just could not keep the temps on the cool side at 82.....that is the cool side in my rack.

I have researched a lot on the web and there is not a whole lot of detailed information on RI's.......husbandry, options, making sure the vet does a culture, and many other things I wish I had known earlier. The more I think about it, the more I get a upset with the lack of advice from my vet. I guess I am looking for a reason or cause or someone to blame but I just have to move on and learn from this experience.