Is my Bp sick????????

I am slightly concerned about what I just saw one of my Bps do. She is around 350g and in shed for me for the first time. I have had her about a month and she has been eating F/T mice every five days since the day after I got her. She has had plenty of BMs and urine. Since today was feed day I decided to try and feed her even though she is in blue eye shed stage. She was sitting in her tub funny - with her head pointed straight up at the sky. I touched her with the warmed mouse to get her attention. She struck at the mouse but did not take it. Then she started acting really weird. She opened her mouth a few times - not quite a yawn. Then she drooled a little. Then she yawned. I pushed her tub back in to think about things. About 15 later I tried again. She was looking straight up again. She saw the mouse right away but did not strike. She did open her mouth a little bit at it though. Her face looks a little funny but I can not tell if it is because she is way discolored and way far back in the tub. What do you guys think about the mouth/drool thing!!!!???? Maybe it is just her shed response, she has never shed for me before but my other snakes have never drooled.

Unless she just took a drink, there's a good chance she's sick. Keep a close eye on her and take her to a QUUUUAAAALLLLLIIIIFFFFIIIIEEDDDD Vet if she's sick.:gj:

Should I take her out and look her over? Should I leave her alone until she sheds? Should I move her out of the rack into the qt rack or are those snakes already at risk so I should not expose her to the unexposed animals in qt??? I just read online that a stressful moment may cause drooling????? I am probibly flipping out for nothing. It was not even enough saliva to form a droplet large enough to fall from her mouth, just a little wet spot on the outside of her mouth. She drank it back up after.

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

Unless she just took a drink, there's a good chance she's sick. Keep a close eye on her and take her to a QUUUUAAAALLLLLIIIIFFFFIIIIEEDDDD Vet if she's sick.:gj:

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x2

Possible RI symptoms? I wouldn't risk it, I'd be calling a vet who specializes in herps.. or better yet, who specializes in BPs :) (Hard to find, but I've had luck)

I'd be more worried about the staring straight up thing. I don't like that. This could be a sign of an RI or more serious things. Qt immediatly and take to a vet. What are the temps? You have her in a rack correct? I'd take her to a VET asap. Ive never seen a snake in shed drool. As well as any that aren't. A Stressful moment doesn't cause drooling either.

Yeah she is sick. I pulled out her bin and watched her for a while. She seems to be having a hard time. I think she has RI. From where I do not know but I have a vet apt tomorrow at 4. It was the earliest they had :(. Help me decide what to do with her until then. Yes she is in a rack with 7 other bp. She is on the bottom of 4 shelves next to one other bin. I have a 2 compartment quarantine unit in another room BUT it has 1 other BP in it already who I do not think is sick. I really do not want to infect this animal. Aside from blue eyes, she looked fine yesterday. I took her bin out to check the progression of her shed. Her rack has heat tape set at 93 F and ambient is 81 or more always (hot in Florida). Humidity is also very high 60+% always. She is in a 12q tub with a water bowl. I keep my snakes on carpet and change out them out as they are soiled. She ate a F/T mouse on Friday. Anything else??????? :please::please::please::please:

Hi,

Racks can vary in temp from the bottom to the top - I would double check what the temps actually are inside her tub.


dr del

I have moved her into a makeshift qt. Found some old heat rope and ripped a dimmer switch out of my wall. I used her tub only with the lid on and drilled a bunch of holes in the top. I wired the lid so she can not escape. I borrowed the probe thermometer from my setup qt since it seems to be pretty regular the past week as I have not touched the dimmer. The furthest I could get her away was one room but I guess it is better than in the same rack. I am regulating the temps now. I feel so bad for her. She is bubbling out the mouth and keeps opening her mouth yawn like. How could she go from okay yesterday to this??????

Dr Del

Temps are accurate from her tub. The snake right beside her is fine and took down a good size F/T rat today. I do not understand this at all.

All my snakes have always been healthy. What else can I do until my apt at 4 tomorrow????? I checked her records and she weighed 287g on the 15th so I was off on her weight a bit. She is a Dec hatch. :tears: I have never been to this vet before, any forewarning?

You said you have another in qt? Any chances you could have transferred something on your hands/ clothing? Are you positive noone else is sick? Have you recently touched any strange snakes and them handled your collection?

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

You said you have another in qt? Any chances you could have transferred something on your hands/ clothing? Are you positive noone else is sick? Have you recently touched any strange snakes and them handled your collection?

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I don't even handle them on the same day. The snake it qt looks to be in good health and ate a F/T mouse today. She is only there because she is new, I just got her a week ago. She is on the other side of my house. All my other snakes ate today also and seem to be fine. I bumped the heat tape temps up to 94.5 F today as a precaution. I did have them set at 93 F. I have not touched any other snakes in the past week. No one touches my snakes except me (and my 3 year old:). I can not be positive but no one else looks sick.

Update:

I took the snake to the vet today and want your feedback. The vet was very nice and seemed to know what he was talking about. He gave the snake 3 injections: Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and amikacin. He sent me home with 2 more syringes of amikacin. He said to give another injection only if symptoms continue. Every 1-3 days depending on whether she is active or not. If she is inactive and symptoms persist give an injection in 3 days. If symptoms dissipate right away, no more injections. The RI is low grade. No culture was done at this time. I suggested giving all three injections regardless of symptoms and he said that was not in the snakes best interest because of the toll the meds take on the liver. I still have her in quarantine. How long should I leave her there after she looks better?

I'd leave her in there for a week. That's a pretty decent amount of time. I've always used baytril with RIs and had great success. I've never used the amikacin (sp?) but I do know that most antibiotics can harm the liver. If it's low grade I'm sure shell get better quickly. Just keep her heat bumped up a couple degrees and watch her carefully.

She shed and pooed last night. She is still a little wet mouthed but looks much better. She is trying to escape her quarantine tub now so I know she must feel better. Anyway, I am having a hard time deciding whether I should give her another shot tomorrow or not. Input.....

I would if shes still shown signs. Then again I've only ever used baytril. I don't think a second will harm anything though. Might just give her that little extra push to clear that RI. Your going to have to look at the situation and decide based on what you see.

Well if I would have seen her today and not known she was sick, I would not think she was sick. I had to look really hard at her in her mouth to see that anything was abnormal. The vet clearly, almost harshly, warned NOT to dose unless she needed it. He did so because I said I would just finish them up to make sure it is gone. I guess I will know when I see her tomorrow. TY

I decided to give her another injection. She is not drooling and I see no bubbles but her tongue flick is not normal. She seems to get her tongue stuck out every fourth or so flick. Also, I heard two very soft popping noises come from her while I was giving her the exam. I hope this injection will do it though. She did not feel the needle go in but she sure felt the meds. The Doc said that they sting and by her reaction they sure do. I swear if I ever hear reptiles do not feel from anyone again I will have a conniption fit! I hope she gets well soon :please:

Checked on Bp today and she is still sick. She let out a loud groan noise when I picked her up and I can still hear popping and can now hear wheezing. She is not drooling or bubbling anymore but she does have a wet mouth and held it open a few times while I was examining her. So what do I do now? Her next and final injection is Tuesday. Should I give her until Wednesday to get better or should I call the vet sooner?

Again I'm not familiar with the meds she's on. But if she appears to not be getting better I'd speak to the vet. I'm a huge baytril fan it's literally knocked out 3 majiorly bad RIs I've had in my whole bp ownership time. 2 were awful and the third was a pretty low grade. But if still talk to him. The meds may need to be changed and if that's the case he should be aprised on her progress. If she seems to be getting worse then another day or the third injection won't do much. I'd speak to him asap tomarrow over the phone and see what he thinks should happen.

Called the vet first thing this morning. He told me to give her the last injection today instead of tomorrow and if she is not better by tomorrow we would start her on a daily injection of Baytril and really blast it out of her. I hope she is better tomorrow though because she is starting to flip when I give her injections. I had to wrap her head in a washcloth today to keep her from biting me. She no likey needles.

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Originally Posted by Ladybugzcrunch

Called the vet first thing this morning. He told me to give her the last injection today instead of tomorrow and if she is not better by tomorrow we would start her on a daily injection of Baytril and really blast it out of her. I hope she is better tomorrow though because she is starting to flip when I give her injections. I had to wrap her head in a washcloth today to keep her from biting me. She no likey needles.

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Poor girl, I hope she gets well soon

She is no better today so I called the vet and am waiting for his call back. I am sure she is going on daily injections of Baytril for 5 days. The RI is not bad it is very low grade and someone not in tune with their critter would easily overlook it. I do not know why it is not getting better or worse, it is just staying the same. The only thing I can think of is that the current injections were keeping it from getting worse but were not strong enough to knock it out completely. I hope the Baytril works because I am unsure what to do after that. She has missed 2 feedings now and will almost certainly miss a third due to daily mandatory handling.

Day three of Baytril and she is still sick :( I am really getting worried now. She actually got the forks of her tongue stuck today and went a bit crazy trying to unstick them.

Oh dear. Do you have a therm in her tub? I would just to keep a close eye on her Individual heat. I don't know why she Isnt getting better. I know that some RIs are antibiotic resistant. Surely with the culture he can put the ab towards it and see what works. I'm sorry she's not getting better. I hope your vet is contacting others in the field to see if he can get other opinions on wth is up with this girl. When I was dealing with the RIs I've dealt with my vet had me doing daily soaks after the injection. 88.f. Perhaps this might help things. I wouldn't worry about her missing meals. The most important thing is getting this girl back to normal.
Sorry this is going on. No fun at all. Keep up with it though Things will get better.
Here's a big hug!
Morgan

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Oh dear. Do you have a therm in her tub? I would just to keep a close eye on her Individual heat. I don't know why she Isnt getting better. I know that some RIs are antibiotic resistant. Surely with the culture he can put the ab towards it and see what works. I'm sorry she's not getting better. I hope your vet is contacting others in the field to see if he can get other opinions on wth is up with this girl. When I was dealing with the RIs I've dealt with my vet had me doing daily soaks after the injection. 88.f. Perhaps this might help things. I wouldn't worry about her missing meals. The most important thing is getting this girl back to normal.
Sorry this is going on. No fun at all. Keep up with it though Things will get better.
Here's a big hug!
Morgan

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Thank you for your kind words, I am riddled with worry right now. In my area, we used to have a herp vet but unfortunately he moved elsewhere. Now all we have is a few small animal veterinarians who see herps. I picked the best of the bunch and he is very nice and knows more about snakes than my dog vet but he is defiantly not dedicated to herps exclusively and most of his patients are dogs and cats. With the Baytril not working I am starting to get really nervous about other diseases........IBD. I have read that pythons do not survive long with the disease. I got her March 5th and she has been visibly ill since March 30th. I will try my best to describe exactly what I have seen her do. First there were bubbles and excess saliva, head propping to the top of the enclosure, and excessive mouth breathing/yawning. Then I went with the first type of antibiotic. She seemed to be better the day after the vet gave her vitamins and antibiotics. She had a normal BM and shed all in one piece. She did still have a tongue sticking issue though. The next few days she seemed worse, when I picked her up, I could hear her popping, wheezing, and groaning. There was still excess saliva and a bit of mouth opening. I started the baytril. Day 2 of Baytril I did not notice any popping, wheezing, or groaning. She was still a bit of a wet mouth and opened it a bit more than one would expect to see. Today was day 3 of baytril. WHen I first took her out and was wrapping her up she tried to use her tongue but seemed to get it stuck. She kind of went crazy trying to get it back inside her mouth. She looked like a dog with peanut butter stuck to the roof of her mouth. This really scared me a lot. At the time I could not figure out if her tongue was stuck on a tooth or what and she was frantically mouth open twisting around. Once she got the tongue back in she was fine. Well as fine as she could be I suppose. After her episode (and mine) I looked her over. She had a bit of excess saliva but I did not hear any groans, wheezing, or popping. My other snakes all still seem fine. I have never seen any mites on any of them. I got them all around the same time except my mojave which is in qt. Sick snake is in another qt in between the mojave and 7 snakes in her rack. I am doing my best to regulate her temps with a dimmer but you know this is difficult. I have managed to keep them above 91 on the hot spot and below 98 F. Ambient goes from 80 at night to 85 in the day. Humidity is 60 now but it also just rained. I want to open her tub and she be okay :( I want someone to please tell me they think it is not IBD. I want her to be better :tears::tears::tears::tears:

Both resistant RI and IBD can make the others snakes Ill without mites. If you have any inkling that it could be either of these you need to keep that one particular animal as far away from the others as possible. Is possible to transfer it from contact with you from one snake to another. Please be as careful as possible. Ive never dealt with either though and both scare the crap out of me bc it's heartbreaking to see something you love in pain and not be able to help it. And there's not much factual info on either. The only thing you can do is wait and see and protect your other animals. There's peoples experiences with both and what vets have seen in necropsies. I know one of the true blue signs of IBD is a RIs that don't go away, as well as star gazing and poor locomotion control (movement and muscles) I've seen many YouTube videos on IBD and it's quite sad. I went though the same with a rescue I took in last year that has a head tilt and odd movements occasionally. But I've chalked it up to a trauma, or overheat left untreated. She was in qt for 6 months though. I'll never really know her true issue though. The problem with taking in rescues especially is we don't know what they come in contact with before us. IBD kills balls especially quickly and horribly though and the fact she was sick right off is pretty scary. I don't know the actual timeframe with balls though. I'm
Sorry I can't give you 100% answers. Possibly take a video of her actions and get it up here so others that may have had experience with either of these diseases can look at it and see. For now just be as careful as possible especially avoiding all contact with the others snakes. Do her last, no reusing food, utensils, avoid contact with her mucus, feces, wash hands immediatly, try grabbing some latex disposable gloves to use on her and throw away immediatly. I'm sorry I know this doesn't help much. But if by chance this is either hopefully this will be an isolated case. I will be hopeful in that its not either.
Morgan

She was mouth breathing when I woke up this morning :(

I've been following this thread, and I'm terribly sorry your BP hasn't gotten better. I can't imagine the stress you are under. All I can say is don't begin freaking yourself out. Hopefully it is not IBD, but as has been said, keep her as far from all other snakes as you possibly can and practice meticulous quarantining procedures. Hopefully your vet is doing the best they can, but if I were you, I would also be calling other vets who are known to specialize in ball pythons or snakes in general. It may benefit you to at least explain to them what is happening, what your vet has said, and what treatment you have been administering and ask them for a second opinion. Ask them if they have had experience dealing with IBD and if this could be just that.
Hopefully it is nothing bad! Best of luck to you! :please:

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Originally Posted by Kymberli

I've been following this thread, and I'm terribly sorry your BP hasn't gotten better. I can't imagine the stress you are under. All I can say is don't begin freaking yourself out. Hopefully it is not IBD, but as has been said, keep her as far from all other snakes as you possibly can and practice meticulous quarantining procedures. Hopefully your vet is doing the best they can, but if I were you, I would also be calling other vets who are known to specialize in ball pythons or snakes in general. It may benefit you to at least explain to them what is happening, what your vet has said, and what treatment you have been administering and ask them for a second opinion. Ask them if they have had experience dealing with IBD and if this could be just that.
Hopefully it is nothing bad! Best of luck to you! :please:

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Thanks for the kind words. He is the best vet that I can find. There is no herp vet in my area. I am going to try something different today. I have an old 10g aquarium that I am going to clean out and move her into after her shot today. I am also going to soak her as Morgan suggested. The vet did mention that some snakes are very sensitive to the out gassing plastic bins produce. Perhaps she is one of these? It is worth a try anyway. Updates after her shot later.

Please do keep us updated. I hate hearing when a little baby is sick.  hopefully the tank and soaks start working with the abs.

I hate to say thins because I do not want to jinx anything but....she looks a bit better to me. I took her out and she looked perfectly normal. Once she started flicking her tongue though a bit of saliva was showing where the tongue comes out and I could tell it was bit hard for her to flick her tongue. However, after her initial few flicks with effort she gave a few really good normal looking full tongue out flicks. She also did not flinch at all at the injection. I gave her a 15 min tepid soak in her tub then moved her into the 10g. I used paper towels and a small box on either side. She is all over that tank moving boxes around and pushing on the screen lid which I tied down with bungee. Perhaps it is just the adrenalin from being in the new space but I do not know if a really sick snake would respond this way. I am thinking not though. Hopefully she will do better in this more ventilated enclosure. She will get a shot tomorrow and skip her shot on Sunday as instructed. I was planning on offering her a mouse Sunday morning. Cross your fingers!

Update:


I gave her the fifth shot yesterday along with a tepid 15 min soak. She still looked the same - extra saliva and frequent yawns/mouth breaths. In the closed tub with water her sounds were amplified and I could hear some of the inhalations (groan like). However, I followed through anyway today since she was taking a break from the shot and today is feed day for my 5 day feeders. I warmed her mouse and lowered it into the aquarium. She was hiding under her cool box and did not come out. I put the mouse back under the lamp and moved the cool hide off her slightly so she could see out. I lowered the mouse in again and wiggled it by its tail; no go. She actually turned the other way. I put the mouse under the lamp one more time to warm a bit more. Lower, wiggle, wiggle, around the cool hide, wiggle wiggle, around the water dish and SNAP - she took it and began constricting. MY heart was pounding because I "knew" she wouldn't eat it. She took the mouse so violently that it ripped the tail off - yuck. Then she did something amazing - she started eating the mouse. Her breathing was autibly labored and she had a rough time but she ate it. It was a small meal for her - about 23 grams per her 300 gram self but I figured that would be better. She had quite the time realigning her jaw but seems fine now. It has been 1/2 hour and she is still fine - no regurge as of yet. So what does this mean? Is she getting better? Does she not have RI - something else maybe. None of my other snakes are sick. Could this be a physical issue with her? Perhaps a blocked salivary duct? Whatever - she ate!

Theyll eat even with an RI if their hungry enough. But this should mean maybe she's feeling better. It's hard to try and not read Into every sign. But i think shell get better. Just keep on keeping on.

Update 4/13/11

Bad news: The male het pied that was in the tub next to her has RI symptoms now also :( I will be calling the vet in the morning to order meds for him. I weighed him yesterday and he looked a little wet mouthed (not drooling or bubbling but wet around the edges). I went to feed him his rat today and he struck but no take then strike squeeze for 30 seconds then throw it away then gasp. Clearly he is having a hard time so I am assuming this will be bubbles in a few days and I want a head start. I had no choice but to do what I did and I hope it is the right choice. I have 9 Bp's. 8 were in a rack and one in qt which is a divided 30 breeder in a different room. I rigged a 10 gallon in my bathroom as a emergency room for the first sick girl but have no where else for another sick snake. So....I took the qt mojave and put her in a bin and put her on the heat I was using for the sick het in my bathroom only I did not want her in my bathroom so I put her in another room. I took the two sick ones and put them into the divided 30 breeder. I know they may be a different stages of their sickness and I was hesitant to do this but it was the only way I could get them away from the apparently still well ones and onto some heat. So now I have the two sick hets in 30 breeder in one room, my rack with 6 seemingly healthys in another room and the qt snake in a bin with heat in another room. I have no idea what I will do with another sick one. Please let this be it for me I am so stressed. BTW... the female het pied is seemingly doing a bit better. She still gasps every so often but her tongue flicks are 95% normal and I see no extra moisture around her mouth. I totally bleached that bottom shelf and all the gear I used with both snakes that have been sick so far. I am trying :tears:

Ate your heat and humidy levels where they should be? If you are ending up with multiple BPs that have RI, you should definitely check your husbandry.

RI is not easy to transfer from one snake to the next unless they are in the same enclosure and drink from the same water bowl. It's the same as you having a sinus infection. You spread it by mucus and fluid that comes from your nose and mouth. Since snakes can't cough or sneeze, they need to share a water bowl or rub their face in the exact same spot that another sick snake has rubbed on and left nasal or mouth fluid behind.

So if your snakes keep getting sick and it's more than 1, you probably need to raise the heat and humidity. Cut out the possibility of drafts, and fix whatever else may be causing it.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Ate your heat and humidy levels where they should be? If you are ending up with multiple BPs that have RI, you should definitely check your husbandry.

RI is not easy to transfer from one snake to the next unless they are in the same enclosure and drink from the same water bowl. It's the same as you having a sinus infection. You spread it by mucus and fluid that comes from your nose and mouth. Since snakes can't cough or sneeze, they need to share a water bowl or rub their face in the exact same spot that another sick snake has rubbed on and left nasal or mouth fluid behind.

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I have checked and it all seems right to me. Hot spot was 93 but I bumped it to 94.5 when I saw sickness the first time. Humidity runs between 60-75% sometimes a bit higher due to weather here in FL. Ambient is between 80-85 F night-day. When I change the tubs I pull them out two at a time, one shelf at a time. They could have come in contact then and are right next to each other in the rack. He would be the most likely of any of them to have caught it from her. I checked all my others yesterday and they all seem fine also.

Oh man I thought things were getting better. I really hope that everything is going to get better. Hopefully the vet can just prescribe the baytril dosage so you don't have to pay for another visit and lung wash etc. Sorry 
Keep everyone away from these two and becareful about the one that may be getting better. Dont give that rat to anyone else either.

Could the high humidity be causing these problems?

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Originally Posted by AkHerps

Could the high humidity be causing these problems?

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No high humidity is needed during sickness.

Try to keep the cool side/ air temp min 85 and hot side 95. Minimal handling and stop the soakings(stress). Just mist the tub and keep humidity up. Stress will cause the meds to do absolutely nothing. I would also keep her in the tub and not the tank.

Just give her the shot, mist the tub, keeps temps up and leave her alone. No handling or feeding at all, just handle her when giving meds.

Also when giving shots, im surprised the Vet advised a new series of meds right after previous series. This is how livers get damaged and meds dont work as they get immune to it. Most vets advice 2 weeks on 1-2 weeks off before starting new series

I meant, that the humidity is that high ALL the time. Could that cause the RI problems?

Unless I didn't read the part where the OP said they bumped the humidity up. I just read that they bumped up the heat.

Hey there,

Interesting read. I'm wondering if all your snakes are on a dimmer? If they are I'd try getting a thermostat.

Do you have a high low thermometer? One that tells you what the lowest temp and the highest temp was? Dimmers change with the surroundings if it's cooler in the house the temp of the hot spot will go down. How are you checking the temps? Is it the same thermometer? Maybe you have a faulty thermometer. How big is your hot spot? How big are the the tubs? What substrate are you using? Are you taking the temp from the top of the substrate or the bare plastic? What type of hot spot are you using?

Just trying to help.

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Originally Posted by Jeremy78

Hey there,

Interesting read. I'm wondering if all your snakes are on a dimmer? If they are I'd try getting a thermostat.

Do you have a high low thermometer? One that tells you what the lowest temp and the highest temp was? Dimmers change with the surroundings if it's cooler in the house the temp of the hot spot will go down. How are you checking the temps? Is it the same thermometer? Maybe you have a faulty thermometer. How big is your hot spot? How big are the the tubs? What substrate are you using? Are you taking the temp from the top of the substrate or the bare plastic? What type of hot spot are you using?

Just trying to help.

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I have a herpstat on the rack. Temp gun and probe therms. Hot spot is 1/2 tub. Bare plastic (very thin substrate). Flexwatt.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

No high humidity is needed during sickness.

Try to keep the cool side/ air temp min 85 and hot side 95. Minimal handling and stop the soakings(stress). Just mist the tub and keep humidity up. Stress will cause the meds to do absolutely nothing. I would also keep her in the tub and not the tank.

Just give her the shot, mist the tub, keeps temps up and leave her alone. No handling or feeding at all, just handle her when giving meds.

Also when giving shots, im surprised the Vet advised a new series of meds right after previous series. This is how livers get damaged and meds dont work as they get immune to it. Most vets advice 2 weeks on 1-2 weeks off before starting new series

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The soaks seemed to help the first snake, I have been handling only to medicate with a very short tub soak after then back into enclosure. The first series did not work so we switched because she was getting worse. I am only using the tank because it is my last option. I only have so many heat sources, thermometers, etc. The tank (divided) holds 2 snakes and the tub holds one. Anyway, I switched from tub to tank with the female because the vet suggested she may be sensitive to the out gassing from the plastic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AkHerps

I meant, that the humidity is that high ALL the time. Could that cause the RI problems?

Unless I didn't read the part where the OP said they bumped the humidity up. I just read that they bumped up the heat.

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Humidity is what it is, SW Florida is humid. Sometimes it gets a bit lower but usually above 60% and almost never below 40% year round.

Update: 4-16-11

Well all seems to be going well. The female had a shot yesterday and took a mouse and ate it today. She is showing zero signs of RI. She has two shots left, one tomorrow and one Tuesday then she is done. The male looked much better after the first shot and had his third shot today. I see zero saliva outside his mouth and his tongue flicks are now 75% normal. He still has a bit of a ways to go but both are recovering nicely. The male is bigger than the female and I think I began treatment earlier for him - hence the faster response. I just hope none of my other Bps get it before it is over. Snakes hate shots!

Shots are no fun for anyone. But I'd sounds like they are doing better. That's a good things. Hopefully everyone else stays well for you.

Keep up the good work! Great post.

Thanks for showing me your thread it should help out alot!!!!:gj:

Update 4-21-11

Well, the male het pied ate today but the female refused. I gave her her last shot yesterday and she still had a hint of symptoms. That coupled with not taking (but striking at) her mouse today I am afraid she still has RI. Either way, she has had quite enough for now so no more abos for a while. This is so frustrating. I have heard that sometimes it takes a really long time for snakes to get over sickness due to their slow metabolisms but we are approaching a month with this girl.

Easter update: The female took a fresh mouse today (she refused her refrozen one from last week!). The male is getting to be a PITA for taking his shots. He HATES them and tries to wiggle and buck and bite when he feels the poke. It is getting super hard to get the meds in him without him breaking off the needle. He has two shots left then I am done. Gheeze.

It's interesting that he bucks do much. All of the rescues I've ever had to do iv abos with have just sat there. Well at least he has fight in him. My vet always gives me insulin syringes bc the other syringes that he has are huge and I could see an animal bucking around. Is yours having you use the insulin ones? Or are they much bigger? Usually the insulin ones have the orange needle cover. He had the same issue with a female rescue that he gave a shot in the office so to avoid that he gave me the insulin ones. Maybe you could pick one or two up from a pharmacy?