Vet and possible RI questions

For the last 2-3 months or so, my 7 year old bp has been showing possible signs of an RI. His "symptom" is that he has been whistling and clicking a little bit. The vast majority of these noises are very quiet, and I have to have his head close to my ear to hear them at all. They don't really sound like hisses, but I'm not totally sure. My temps are good, the humidity stays around 20 percent without misting, but I mist multiple times a day because I am home all day, and he has a humid mossy hide that he uses. He has shed once during the time that I have heard these noises. He is eating like an absoloute pig, and does not show any other signs of an RI. Does anyone else think he has one? I would rather be safe that sorry.

My other question is, if it is reccomended I take him to the vet, what would it cost to get a bacteria culture ( is that what the test for RI's are?) and get "him" sexed, because I received him from my cousin and he did not know the sex.

On another partially related note: I was at the Washington Pa reptile show on Saturday, and they were auctioning off a albino BP. It was about 20 degrees outside, and it was MAYBE 65 inside. This BP was sitting pretty close to the door and probably caught alot of drafts from outside. There did not appear to be a heat source of any kind for him. This was only a 1 day show, but couldn't he get a RI from that?

Sorry for the long post:):)

its hard to say yes or no it is. like you said to be safe rather than sorry i Would take it for a culture at least. the last vet visit i had for an RI was only about $65 bucks I think. but could be more else where.


Eric

Sounds like RI. You should go to the vet and get antibiotics the longer you wait to treat it the worse it will get and more it will cost.

If you can hear a clicking i would definately get him checked out straight away as it could be a RI and the sooner you get it sorted the better.

2-3 months is a long time to go unchecked really. Has symptoms got worse or remained the same?

What temps is he at?
Until you get him checked i would bump temps to 94-95 deg to help him out a bit.
My last female i took in with an RI could only be heard clicking when there was no background noise whatso ever.

Im in the uk and My last treatment for RI was £125 including baytril injections , mouth swab and lab sample ect.

Its a small price to pay really for pece of mind and a healthy animal in my eyes

it has gotten slightly worse
i want to take him to a vet,but my mom will not take him unless he exhibits another sign of an ri like mucus

Hi,

Have you checked to see if there are any sounds coming from his lungs?

Can you see any sign of any blockages in his nostrils? You can try one of those "snot suckers" you get for babies to see if that clears anything.

I take it you have checked in his mouth and he doesn't sit with his head elevated open mouthed breathing or anything?


dr del

how do i check if it is coming from his lungs?
he doesnt have any mucus or bubbles around his nostrils
he doesnt do any open mouth breathing

Hi,

Hold his head near your ear and then put your ear against his sides about a third of the way down his body. You're listening for pops, clicks, crackles and wheezes.

If you open his mouth is there a lot of frothy mucus in there?


dr del

unless you're seeing mucus its not definitely ri my babies whisper sweet nothings in my ear and it sounds like a whistle all of my babies are in good health i thought it was weird the first time i heard it asked the vet about it when i took them for their physical exam and he told me what signs to look for ie mucus mouth rot in really bad cases so far healthy and happy snakes just whistle when they breath but not generalised for all of my babies don't whistle just 2 of them

@dr del
i dont really understand the first test.
he definetely does not make noises with every breath he takes
i pulled his lips down to look for mucus cuz i didnt want to open his full mouth
there wasnt exactly mucus,but there was a couple of clear saliva bubbles on one side that looked pretty normal

sry for the spelling,i am typin this on a cell phone

open ur snakes mouth and if u see excess saliva then he is sick. if it is pretty bad u can use a q-tip and wipe it out of his mouth to help him breath. when ur holding him do u feel anything coming from his lungs? most times u can feel something when they "pop" while breathing. let him rub his face on ur hand or something and if he leaves a streak of thick/slippery mucus that is a sign. also check for retained shed or snot in his nostrils cuz that can cause noises.raise ur temps and humidity a bit n try soaking him for about 30 min a day. it can help them breath and sometimes they can cure themselves but a vet appt is needed. when u go to the vet tell them u want a culture done first to test what is making him sick. they will prolly give u some antibiotics until the test results get back

mkpelee-
the humidity thing makes no sense to me because i wud think that wud make it worse
i want to set up a vet appointment, but my mom says unless he exhibits another symptom she wont

Hi,

That's why we're trying to get you to open his mouth and hold him up to your ear - to find out if he has any other symptoms. :D

If he doesn't then your mother is right - if he does she'd wrong. :gj:

Only problem with that is I can assure you that even when they are wrong mothers are right - it's in the job description. :rofl:


dr del

From what I understand, RI's are highly contagious and care should be taken with any snake that would have been in the same room as a sick one.
Is that accurate?
I have currently begun helping a young man with his very sick bps. One has a RI for sure, but the other one, who was housed in the same room is showing very minor symptoms. I assume both need to be brought to the vet?

Hi,

Yes, I would take in both.

Remember it is often a good idea ot get a culture done to determine which anti-biotic will work best against the specific cause.

The vet will normally start a course when first seeing the animals and then change it if the tests show another would work better - but once a course has been started it's too late to take a culture.

It does cost a little extra but has the best chance of helping the animal and is probably cheaper than 3 courses of non effective anti-biotics.

But ask the vet for prices etc first.


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

mkpelee-
the humidity thing makes no sense to me because i wud think that wud make it worse
i want to set up a vet appointment, but my mom says unless he exhibits another symptom she wont

---

my snake just had an RI and higher humidity and soaking helps. warm water (not hot) helps break up all the mucus thats stuck in her mouth and everything

@ dr del
in your most recent post were u talking to me?
am i checking his mouth for mucus? if so,wat color is it

Hi,

Sorry should have specified - the last post I made was aimed at mr.s. :)

The one before that however was definately addressed to you. :D

But yes check your snakes mouth for mucus - it's the amount of it you are looking for as it should be clear and slightly frothy.


dr del

o ok del gotcha
i actually already checked that earlier and on one side of his mouth (i only pulled his lipbback because last time i fully opened his mouth he bit me) there was maybe 4-5 small,a couple mm, bubbles and one bigger bubble maybe half centimeter big
these were definetely not coming coming out of his mouth or nostrils

sry about my bad spelling, i am typing this on a phone

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

o ok del gotcha
i actually already checked that earlier and on one side of his mouth (i only pulled his lipbback because last time i fully opened his mouth he bit me) there was maybe 4-5 small,a couple mm, bubbles and one bigger bubble maybe half centimeter big
these were definetely not coming coming out of his mouth or nostrils

sry about my bad spelling, i am typing this on a phone

---

bring to vet, have culture done and put it on the correct meds. End of story.

balls unlimited-
you obviously have not read the thread- my mom is very hesitant to take him to the vet unless he shows another sign of an ri

the next signs of an RI are not what u want to wait for. stargazing, open mouth breathing which can cause ur snake to be bloated, wheezing, sneezing, not eating, and some others. also if she makes u wait longer it will cost more to fix. if you can talk her into going now she will save a good chunk of money while the RI isnt too bad yet.

Hi Goalie,

Yes I did read that in your earlier post - thing is pulling down a lip is not the same as opening his mouth diagnostically. :(

Use something round and relatively soft to open the mouth like the body of a bic pen - that should cut down on the chances of you getting bitten I think.

Have you tried holding the snake up to your ear yet?


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

balls unlimited-
you obviously have not read the thread- my mom is very hesitant to take him to the vet unless he shows another sign of an ri

---

i read your whole thread. Ive been keeping ball pythons for 10 years. If theres any sign of it being r.i they go straight to the vet get cultures and wait for the sensitivity report to come back. Once its back they are put on proper meds if they are indeed sick End of story. If you dont have the money to spend yourself on a vet visit and treatment then you may want to get into a different hobby. Im not trying to put you down at all. But i own currently 22 snakes and have spent thousand upon thousands on them as well as vet bills. I had 3 snakes come in with r.i's that i had to shell out 1k for vet bills. This is an expensive hobby and if you really care about your animal take it to the vet a.s.a.p. and get a culture done. The longer you wait the worse off the snake will be. Hope the best for you :gj:

I don't recall if you said how old you were but is there any chance you can get a part-time job, raise enough money for a vet visit? $120-150 should be enough for at least one visit, if he's really sick. If he's not sick, prob around $40-50 for an office visit.

del- okay i will open him up later lol
what do you mean by holding his head to my ear

im 14 and i have around 150 dollars in the bank, but my mom will not take me even if i pay for it

im not sure if i have mentioned this, but he does not do this every time he breathes and seems to mostly do it when i hold him

I noticed similar behaviour in one of me Females who escaped and spent 2 seperate nights in my cold front room.

She shows no other signs of R.I and when she lays in her tub she acts and sounds normal , no mucus and her nostrils are dry and clean, get her out of the tub and hold her for a bit ans she starts weezing. She is booked into vets for tomorrow so ill let you know what advice they give me for reference but you definately need to take the snake in.

I have had a bad year for R.I due to a few school boy errors but everyone i have had checked out by a vet.

You need to try some charm on your old lady. Get her on here and show her some of the opinions people have shared on the subject.

She clearly doesnt want to waste the money and who would want to blow $100 or so if they dont have to..... but its not about wasting money.. its about piece of mind and the health of a snake.

Hi,

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thegoalie22

del- okay i will open him up later lol
what do you mean by holding his head to my ear

im 14 and i have around 150 dollars in the bank, but my mom will not take me even if i pay for it

im not sure if i have mentioned this, but he does not do this every time he breathes and seems to mostly do it when i hold him

---

You're kidding right? :rofl:

Pick up snake, move your arms so the snakes head is close to the flap of cartilage and skin on the side of your head people call ears, listen.

Repeat process but bringing the snakes body about a third down from the head to your ear, listen again.

:rolleye2:

Did you hear pops, crackles, whistles or wheezes? If so were they louder when listening to his head or his body?

If he only does it when being handled I think your mother is right and your snake is probably fine - they breath more heavily when excercising ( same as we do ) and sometimes they way we hold then can cause them to make sounds
. :gj:

But let me know how you get on listening to the snake breathing.


dr del

ok ya i just listened to him and i dont hear anything from his lungs

the excersise thing makes alot of sense because the only time i hear anything from him while hes in his cage is when he is moving around trying to get out

i also read that the low humidity may have something to do with the noises

i also read that the low humidity may have something to do with the noises

that is why i said to raise the humidity and try soaking him.

so what happened? did u go to the vet yet?