Treat or freeze?

Snakes do recover from RI if treated properly, that means early as possible and long enough by a reputable herp vet.

Sure some animals with weaker immune system may not recover or may develop one RI after another but it's no a common occurrence, and each case should be evaluated before deciding to euthanize.

Honestly I am not surprised by what you were told and I have heard even worse before (but that would be another debate) , I guess for some people it's just value of the animal vs cost of treatment.......sad but true.

I also would also like that list please.

When someone gets this list please pm it to me. I would greatly appreciate it.

To the OP I hope your snakes recover.

In going through your old threads it looks like you took in 8 rescue BP's during the middle of last August, and lost 3 of those rescued babies in early September, so that leaves 5 rescues still alive. Are the rescues still QT'ed from the rest of your collection, or is this an RI they brought in that is now popping up through even your established group?

it makes no sense to not give them a chance to recover.

they have an immune system too and even without meds some of them will recover, vet care just drives up the odds and helps them recover faster. When its caused by a virus, there is no medication that really works anyway.

i would give all of them a chance to recover, even without vet care some may pull through and fully recover.

i would consider euthanasia only for these that continue to deteriorate, when they get so bad that they have trouble breathing, or when they just fail to get rid of the RI after everything has been tried.

(and about the other topic: euthanasia means something like merciful death or painless death, and freezing is not that. humane methods i heared about would be an injection from a vet, and for a DIY method i often heared about pithing, which is basically swift brain damage. or you put them in deep sedation and then cause brain damage.)

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Originally Posted by bcr229

In going through your old threads it looks like you took in 8 rescue BP's during the middle of last August, and lost 3 of those rescued babies in early September, so that leaves 5 rescues still alive. Are the rescues still QT'ed from the rest of your collection, or is this an RI they brought in that is now popping up through even your established group?

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That's a good question. I took the 5 to the vet again the end of September and he cleared 4 to move from quarantine, I used hibicleanse on the animals, 10% bleach, rinsed and then F10 on the new tubs before putting them in the rack. The Vet said to give the other another month or two to be on the safe side. All 4 of those are doing great.

It is the main housing rack that is showing signs. I have never dealt with RI before this. Not sure if one of those 4 was carrying it but not infected? But with all the disinfecting I am not sure. For all I know it might be my fault in cross contamination, at this point with all that I have going on with them I am not sure what is the main cause I just know they are sick.

My set up is a rack that holds 28 qts for the subs on top and 41s for the adults underneath. Belly heat on a herpstat 2 temp at bottom of inside of the tubs is at 90.5 taken with IR temp gun and a digital probed unit taped down inside an empty tub. Have a 1/2 degree variation. Humidity is 54%. I run it as low as I can and still have perfect sheds. I have only had one snake blow up a shed.

I have had snakes off and on since 1993 and feel I have a pretty good grasp on care but always look at all the information given to me.

I just want people to know that the only way these snakes will not be treated is if they pass away on their own. I have taken them in and will go broke with Vet bills if that is what it takes. I just wanted others opinions on the matter. Didn't mean to stir things up so bad.

Sorry to revive a month old thread, but I was on leave from the forums so I missed this. Can somebody forward me that list as well? Thanks.

I was also away for awhile. Can I get the list?

Sent from my Droid RAZR M using Tapatalk 2

I'd like the list as well.

Freezing is one of the most inhumane methods to euthanize a snake or any thing for the matter. Freezing is highly painful. It can take hours for a snake to freeze to death. Because they are cold blooded, reptiles do not loose consciousness like mammals do when freezing. And contrary to many beliefs, they do not go into hibernation. Its also said they can feel their cells freeze and burst. Putting a hand in ice water for 30 seconds hurts us already. I can't imagine doing that for hours.....

I'm not surprised that some breeders suggested freezing. Freezing is an accepted old school method that many breeders have been using for generations. I don't agree with it at all. Modern science has shown that it is not a humane, painless, or quick method and should not be used to euthanize reptiles. Unfortunately, many people are still ignorant of this.


So whatever you do, please continue to treat your animals until they recover or your vet decides it's a lost cause.
Bacterial RI is the most common and not difficult to treat.
Fungal RI is a little bit more tough, but still treatable. And there is no treatment for viral RI.
If you've been seeing an improvement, then that's a good sign.

Also interested in that list.