RI Treatment

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Originally Posted by Sammy412

The humidity is the problem.......put a SMALL amount of water for the snake to drink.....the high temps are to dry up the mucous, as the snake can't cough it up. If the humidity is too high, the secretions increase and the snake will drown in it's own fluid. I have cured many babies with just high temps/low humidity, as babies cannot handle antibiotics. Good Luck!

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Actually low humidity can cause an RI and or make it worse/take longer to go away. The main cause for RI in BP's is temps too low and not enough humidity.

It is more unusual for babies to get an RI, however in the 12+ yrs of rescue/rehab, I've had plenty. I've also heard of the higher humidity being recommended, but after not losing one snake to the old way, I think I will stick to that. It does loosen the secretions, however since snakes can't cough, that increases the risk of the snake drowning in it's own fluid. More specifically, if the snake is over 6 months and can be given antibiotics, it might be OK to increase the humidity, but I wouldn't take the chance.

About humidity causing RI I don't know where I read it but I was reading about how keeping herps from drier climates in high humidity causes RI. However it is not a bacterial RI it is actually fungal. Very interesting read I will see if I can find the article again.

I didn't hear the word 'culture' mentioned once here, SO:
If your vet did NOT do a culture to determine the strain of bacteria causing the RI, 1,. he's a moron, and 2. you can spend a million dollars of Baytril, and inject it every day for 16 years, if the bacteria that is causing the RI is resisitant to Baytril, you're killing your ball python and wasting both your money and time.

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Originally Posted by mykee

I didn't hear the word 'culture' mentioned once here, SO:
If your vet did NOT do a culture to determine the strain of bacteria causing the RI, 1,. he's a moron, and 2. you can spend a million dollars of Baytril, and inject it every day for 16 years, if the bacteria that is causing the RI is resisitant to Baytril, you're killing your ball python and wasting both your money and time.

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Good vets know that the bacteria that causes most RI's are already present in the mouth. So doing a culture can many times give false positives. Treating the animal with baytril is the first step toward treatment. After a round of treatment and no improvement the vet will most likely pursue other means of treatment.



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I did request a culture and vet advised that the infection was in the lungs and a culture from the saliva may or may not have any bacteria in it.

I noticed the RI when I was checking the cages and heard a "sniffle." I pulled my girl out (she is an 08 female and about 1200 grams)......a sub-adult. I opened her mouth a their was a lot of saliva and bubbles. For the first two days or so when I would pull her out for her Baytril injections, I could hear the weezing/liquidy breathing in her. After 3-4 days of treatment, I have not heard it. I gave her one Baytril injection for 7 days straight and that was all the vet gave me. Today is day 10 and she still has a lot of saliva/bubbles in her mouth but I have not heard any liquidy breathing in a week.

I have still been putting a slightly moist paper towel in with her so she is getting some descent humidity along with her water bowl. She is also in a 32q tub instead of the normal 41q tub she is usually in so that should provide a little more humidity. Still, with about 85% of the tub being at 92, it keeps things fairly dry.

She pooped (normal) on day 4 of the RI, she ate a small F/T rat as normal on day 8 of the RI, and she doesn't seem too irritated when I briefly handle her to check her mouth or remove her to clean her tub. The last thing I want to do is stress her out with another vet visit, exam, and more medications if the RI is going away. I left her at the vet for a couple hours last time and she bit one of the vet techs......which is abnormal for her but understandable since she is not feeling well and was in a strange environment.

I was just wondering if her having a lot of saliva/bubbles is ok. The vet explained the RI is like the flu, the Baytril will kill the bacteria and she will have to just fight the rest on her own.....let the RI take its course and her body should handle it.

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"Good vets know that the bacteria that causes most RI's are already present in the mouth."

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That's why a 'good vet' doesn't take a culture of the saliva from the mouth. A 'good vet' would do a lung wash.

That said;

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"I did request a culture and vet advised that the infection was in the lungs and a culture from the saliva may or may not have any bacteria in it. "

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You NEED to find a 'good vet'.

How do they do a culture on the bacteria from the lungs? About how much should I expect the vet to charge for a lung culture.

Is there a website with good recommended herp vets? Is there a website with proper ways to treat an RI? I have looked and I could not find one. I live in Dallas-Fort Worth so I would think finding a good herp vet in the area should not be a problem, but it seems I am not looking in the right place.

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/texas.shtml

maybe one of these are near you

Unfortunatly there are no herp vets that are certified in the DFW area. In order to do a trans treacheal wash on a snake it needs to be sedated so.... (not really the best option on a snake with breathing issues). That being said if the mucus has not cleared up, the infection is not gone. The baytril may need longer to work. If there is still an issue after a longer or different round of ab's a trans treacheal wash is then something that should be done to rule out fungal lung infectons such as asperigilosos etc. I have worked with many herp vets and as a tech at the bronx zoo. I was really dissapointed at the lack of specialist in general in the DFW area. It seems that if you want really good quality veterinary medicine in texas you need to drive to A&M.

If you are uncomfortable with your current vet and would like to try another one you can come to North Tollway Pet Hospital 972-733-3340 and make an appointment with Dr. Maxwell. He is ok with reptiles but also takes my advise even though I am a tech he values my experience with exotics.

If you have any other questions about this or are curiouse about the clinic please feel free to IM me

Ed