A bit worried. RI.

Hey,
I have my little 1.5 year old female ball. Shes just lovely. She doesnt eat to much (doesnt seem to like big mice..) so its been a bit tricky feeding her. But besides that we took her to the vet 3 weeks ago because of a RI scare. It happend that she did have a little RI. So they sent us home with 7 antibiootic injections. We just gave her the last shot the 19th. And the next day i still herd consistant wheezing.. Is it just because their motabolism is slow? Or did the injections not work..
Thanks
-Breana

Here's my personal experience with an RI:

Got a new snake that came to me with a very mild RI, took her to the vet (after bumping up temps), and he only gave me 10 days worth of Baytril injectables. I knew (just a feeling) that it wouldn't be enough to kick her RI completely (having them being hard to get rid of and most actual herp vets that I've read about recommend a solid 30 days of treatment -sorry I don't have links just what I've remembered reading-) so after the 10 days of injectable and seeing that she still had the RI I asked specifically for a solid 30 days of treatment and after that (my vet agreed that the 30 days would have been the next step to take) she kicked her RI and it hasen't came back since. (My vet wasn't an actual herp vet unfortunately).

Was your vet that concluded that it is an RI an actual Herp vet or a dog/cat that occasionally sees exotics vet?

Did they do a culture of the RI? What did they give you for the injectables?

Did you bump up your temps when you saw the RI? How is your husbandry otherwise (temps, how youre measuring them, etc)?

Get a culture done first... I've been fighting a RI for almost 4 months. It's hell on earth.. Don't just dive in and get medicine and injectables, Over medication is a horror, and all the stress is bad for your snake, especially when it is already stressed from the RI. I've have Fortaz and Baytril both given to all three of my snakes, and though they're recovering from the baytril, they can't seem to kick it completely. Get a culture done first.

To a money issue...I've spent almost $1,500 on vets... That's A lot for me...... ALOT.

Make sure you get the culture done before the medication.. It could save you time, money, and your snakes health most of all.

Breana,
What's your set up like and temps? I would make sure the hotspot is a solid 94.f. Don't skimp on that humidity either. Make sure there's plenty of air flow. Stagnant air is a cause for Ris and doesn't help getting rid of them. I've seen more and more folks having issues with reoccurring Ris and Ris that won't go away. Personally I think thats from too many vets just prescribing whatever and not doing cultures to find the most effective abo. We have to keep in mind that stress and setups come into play here as well but I would recommend going straight for the culture. Help her stay well hydrated with good humidity. If you mist only mist with warm water. I actually fill my sprayer with hot hot water and it comes out nice and warm as a nice fine mist. Keep as LOW stress as possible. Make sure she's in a low traffic area. If you use a tank you could cover it up, or the sides to make it nice and dark in there.
And I'd say that if she's still showing signs of the Ri after all of her abos. Its time to do a revisit and push for that culture.
Hope this helps.


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the temps are around 95, am i supose to keep the humidity normal or lower?
Also i am not in a very finacial spot.. so im stressed out that i wont be able to do what she needs (blood tests fecal tests more shots ect) im really worried about her. And i dont know what is best to go ahead and do. What are the ESENTIALS i need to do for her when i go to the vet? i dont want him haveing to do somthing i dont have to do. And he is a herp vet.
thanks again!

okay so keep humidity up, lower stress.! got it.
what do i do about feeding? she usually eats ever five days.
what exactly does the culture do?
do you guys think i should go back to the vet now or wait

Keep your humidity around 60-70% just make sure there's good airflow. If its too low you risk scarring to the lungs and making things worse. Keeping it in good ranges will mean she can easily spit nastiness out and it will help her lungs heal.
Your hot spot sounds great.
For essentials a culture is pretty necessary right now. This is usually done with I beleive a lung wash and a sample of the mucus is cultured to check what abo will be most effective with that snake.
Beyond that and meds I know a fecal isn't necessary, and a bloo test probably isn't. But I'm not a vet. Definately concentrate on the Ri. That's going to be the most important test are anything that has to do with that.


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Oh and keep offering food but don't be surprised if she doesn't eat it. I'd also make the appt ASAP. These things need to be taken care of as quickly as possible. The meds obviously aren't doing what they needed to be. If you finished them and she still is wheezy anyways. Did you notice any change? Did it get in any way better?


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Okay. Thank you so much for giving me all this great info. Ill take her to the vet as soon as possible to get a culture.. Will they give more meds? There wasnt much of a change no.. somdays i wouldnt hear the wheezing but the other day it was consistant..

They probably will Give you more meds. That's unfortunately not going to go away without the correct abos.


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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!