Re: Spider bp sick again?
A severe RI, could also cause some kind of meningitis with IBD like symptoms. Ceftazdime is a unstable drug, make sure you know how to keep it or it would be useless.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
No IBD should be present since I have not added any reptiles to my collection for at least 3 months now.
The spider bp was in an empty rack for the past few months after I ended up taking him out of the 30gal tank. Hot side of the tub was around 86 degrees and cooler side around 80 degrees. Humidity was around 60%. As of the day i saw signs of being sick again, I put him in a custom wooden elcosure with sliding plexiglass front. I did this so that my family at home could keep a close eye on him rather than pulling the tub out which they're afraid to do so while I'm out at work not knowing what's going on with my snake.
I wasn't at the vet appt, but apparently he seemed like he knew what he was doing, but maybe not if that's the case with the IBD. I'll see what happens with the meds he gave me for the snake. He's supposed to give me a stronger med if needed after he views the results of the culture.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
I was told to keep the meds the vet gave me in the freezer and take them out an hour prior to injecting the snake.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
hope he gets better. this is a reason i hate buying from a reptile show. i bought a bearded dragon at a show and after 700 in vet bills i lost her. the breeder said it wasnt her problem.:mad:
Re: Spider bp sick again?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ralphieeeee
No IBD should be present since I have not added any reptiles to my collection for at least 3 months now.
The spider bp was in an empty rack for the past few months after I ended up taking him out of the 30gal tank. Hot side of the tub was around 86 degrees and cooler side around 80 degrees. Humidity was around 60%. As of the day i saw signs of being sick again, I put him in a custom wooden elcosure with sliding plexiglass front. I did this so that my family at home could keep a close eye on him rather than pulling the tub out which they're afraid to do so while I'm out at work not knowing what's going on with my snake.
I wasn't at the vet appt, but apparently he seemed like he knew what he was doing, but maybe not if that's the case with the IBD. I'll see what happens with the meds he gave me for the snake. He's supposed to give me a stronger med if needed after he views the results of the culture.
Honestly I would recommend keeping him in a tub. The less stress, the better and a large clear window for people to peer in is probably not conducive to a stress-free environment :colbert:
For the duration of treatment I'd kick the temps up from 86 to 90 on the warm side. Helps boost the snake's immune system.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
Will do, now that work is over and I can check on him every so often.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
Quote:
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.
A lot of vets don't know about the spider BP neuro issues. It's not their fault -- no one taught them about all the BP morphs in vet school and that this one happens to have a neuro problem. You'd only learn that if you happened to be involved in BPs outside of vet career, or a client brings you one and you learn from that (as should happen in this case). It's a real problem, because the wobbling, corkscrewing, and loss of righting reflex (not flipping over when placed on their backs) are classic signs of a neurological disease, and neuro signs in a python raise major red IBD flags. Sounds like this is a pretty good vet to me, since he picked up the neuro signs in the face of a severe RI.
I am hoping to make a video some day documenting the spider BP issues to share with other herp vets. I gave a lecture to some vet students a couple months ago and brought a spider in to show them. The good students all mentioned IBD as a differential when the snake stayed on his back for 10 minutes.
To Ralphieeee, make sure to inform your vet that this morph has heritable neurologic problems, which are more likely to account for the loss of righting reflex than IBD.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
My take....
The animal has a heavy parasite load, and the respiratory infection is secondary. Basically, bacteria that are commonly present have been allowed to multiply to an unsafe level because his immune system was already jeopardized.
This is what's commonly referred to as an opportunistic infection. Not a result of being exposed to the bacteria itself, but a result of the immune system not being able to fight off what would otherwise be a normal level of that bacteria.
I'm no vet, but I know what I would do.
1. "De-worm" the snake multiple times with Flagyl and Panacur...just to make sure parasites are a non-issue.
2. The drug you're using (fortaz is the common name) works much better for RI when it's used in conjunction with something like Baytril or Amakacin, so I would ask the vet about getting a bottle of Baytril if you can.
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Not to throw stones (we've all been suckered in by a seemingly good deal at a show), but this is a perfect example of why it's best to buy from a breeder you know. Whatever may have been saved on your spider by getting it at a show is hardly worth all the time and energy you've put into this....and that's not to mention that you have a snake that is trying to recover, rather than growing up to be a breeder. It took me a long time to get that, so don't think I'm grilling you...just pointing out that the truly good deals sometimes cost a few bucks more up front.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AnthonyCaponetto
2. The drug you're using (fortaz is the common name) works much better for RI when it's used in conjunction with something like Baytril or Amakacin, so I would ask the vet about getting a bottle of Baytril if you can.
How well an antibiotic works depends entirely on the antimicrobial resistance pattern of the bug causing the infection. It is not good practice to throw more than one antibiotic at a bug without knowing its resistance pattern. Culture and sensitivity should always dictate treatment, and then the narrowest-spectrum possible antimicrobial should be used. Only one broad-spectrum antibiotic should be used before the C&S results are back.
Re: Spider bp sick again?
Update from culture. Snake has Pseudomonas and Klebsiella. Was given Amikacin to treat the Pseudomonas. He seems a little better today, but who knows. Hopefully he'll pull through.
