A bit worried. RI.

Hey guys.
I emailed my vet and this is what he said.. What do you guys think?

"I'm sorry to hear that she's still wheezing. 30 injections is far more than I've ever seen prescribed for a patient at any given time, but it is possible she may need additional medication. Taking a culture is dependent on where the actual issue is. If it's in the lungs, getting a culture involves heavy sedation to pass a tube into the airway and flush some saline in to get a sample back. However, since Monty has already been on medication, a culture at this point could come back as a false negative -- antibiotics can suppress bacteria growth enough that they won't culture, but are still there to cause a problem in the pet.


Another consideration is that Monty's immune system needs to work with the drugs to fight the infection -- if she has something else going on such as parasites or other concurrent disease that are weakening her ability to fight back, that can be a contributing factor.


I'm out of the office for a few days, but I know any of the other doctors there would be happy to see Monty for a recheck to see how she's doing and to possibly go farther with testing if need be. Good luck with her!"

Just as a thought, my "diagnosed RI" from one vet (a dog/cat vet that "also did exotics") turned out to be a fungal infection when I took her to an actual herp vet. Wasted $500 for nothing! The culture is probably your best bet on making sure you're treating her for the right problem. :gj:

He is a herp vet. He has a billion snakes as well. Hes really persistant on seeing if she has other parisites. But ill get a culture as soon as i can. How much do you think that will cost..?

Thanks again for all the help guys!!

Depends on the type. Mine was just a culture of her mouth/throat mucus so it was $45. They recommended a more in-depth culture for if the mouth one was inconclusive, and it would've been about $120. It really depends on how invasive they have to be. The more they have to do the higher the price, most likely.

Ok (: thanks again!