Safe home remedy to treat possible RI in ball python? Is it too late?

My BP has been having some wheezing and making noises... I've admittedly put it off for more than a year. I took her to the vet about 1-2 years ago and she gave us some antibiotics. Didn't really do much good and my BP still has tons of mucus in her mouth. She still eats every 1-2 weeks though, so maybe she doesn't have RI. Would it hurt if I try a remedy?

Found this one online.. wondering if it's safe:
http://bamboozoo.weebly.com/snake--r...ry-remedy.html
- Vapo Rub
- Sterilite Tub
- Eucalyptus Oil

or maybe this one that was posted on the forum:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-from-Home-DIY

Not suggesting or trying to debate the issue . But I've had success with f10 .

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Originally Posted by Andylee11

Not suggesting or trying to debate the issue . But I've had success with f10 .

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If she's had RI for a year or maybe even two, is it too late to treat? But if she is willing to eat, is that a good sign that she doesn't have RI? The only thing is that she's had tons of mucus in her mouth and wheezes ever so often. It's been very hard to keep humidity high in the glass tank.. that may have triggered this.

Tom, read that thread completely about the do it yourself RI treatment. You and only you can make a determination as to wht you feel is good for your snake.

I personally would take my snake to a vet for a culture to figure out exactly what it is the snake actually has so it cn be treated correctly. I personally wouldn't use f10 or any of the like due to chemical in it that could be harmful to the animal. One should really read bottles well, and heed their warnings when they are present. I also wouldn't use vicks or any eucalyptus anything around reptiles, as I have read it is an irritant to them, and being they cant tell you that wht you may have used to treat them is doing damage, I would avoid them all together.

It makes no sense to me to let the animal suffer longer than necessary while one plays science project whom isn't really qualified to do so.

Take your snake to a vet, have a culture done. that is the answer to your issues.

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Originally Posted by Jeanne

Tom, read that thread completely about the do it yourself RI treatment. You and only you can make a determination as to wht you feel is good for your snake.

I personally would take my snake to a vet for a culture to figure out exactly what it is the snake actually has so it cn be treated correctly. I personally wouldn't use f10 or any of the like due to chemical in it that could be harmful to the animal. One should really read bottles well, and heed their warnings when they are present. I also wouldn't use vicks or any eucalyptus anything around reptiles, as I have read it is an irritant to them, and being they cant tell you that wht you may have used to treat them is doing damage, I would avoid them all together.

It makes no sense to me to let the animal suffer longer than necessary while one plays science project whom isn't really qualified to do so.

Take your snake to a vet, have a culture done. that is the answer to your issues.

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I've taken the snake to the vet, a year ago. She told me she was fine and gave me oral antibiotics. Doesn't seem to have worked. I wasted $60.

I have had success treating mild RI with Vicks and eucalyptus. I also use glass tanks and have managed to keep humidity and temps in check by simply covering the screen tops with plexiglass.
If your snake is in distress by all means, get it to the vet. However if it is eating and just shows signs of mild RI, I use the above mentioned therapy first.

Then U need to take her back to another vet or back to same vet and pay for them to do a culture. There really isnt a way to figure out which med is right unless you know what one is treating.

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Well first off, you need to figure out what caused the RI because unless you do, treating it wont help. And not to sound like a jerk but if she has had RI for a year or two, then that is really bad on your part. For something slight, you can raise the temps but in all honesty, you should take the snake to a herp vet. It is your responsibility to keep any animal you take under your care healthy. If you can provide that, then might be a good idea to rehome them. Again, not to try and sound like a jerk or be harsh but it is the truth. I don't know about stuff like vicks vapor rub or eucalyptus oil, not sure I would want to try that stuff. I have heard F10SC work but you need to nebulize it with a nebulizer. And again, unless you find the cause, your snake will just get the RI back again. Snakes in good health and good husbandry can generally fight off mild RI on their own. My advice is find a good herp vet, make an appointment and get a general check up done as well as a culture to find out what is causing the RI, be it bacterial, viral or fungal. Then you can work on fixing the husbandry.

And how in the heck did u treat your snake w ORAL meds? Was it liquid, pill form? What was it?

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And if she is in a glass tank and you absolutely cannot find a way to maintain her environment correctly, you may want to consider a basic tub set up. What are the temps you keep her at? What do you use to provide heat? I would really want to address the reason she has an RI to begin with. Cant fix the problem if a husbandry issue is causing the illness.

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Originally Posted by tomjones456

I've taken the snake to the vet, a year ago. She told me she was fine and gave me oral antibiotics. Doesn't seem to have worked. I wasted $60.

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For $60 I doubt a culture was done. You need to get a culture done to find out exactly the type of "bug" causing the RI so you know what antibiotics will work best if at all. I would not go back to that vet if they didn't even bother to do a culture. Doesn't sound like a good vet imo. Call around and find one that is more into reptiles or check with your local herp society on who they have check their reptiles and adoptions. A good vet also wont be cheap. Harley got mild RI a couple years ago and it ran me about $270 to get everything done. I did tell the vet I wanted a full blood work up done too though it was her first time into the vet. So without that, it still would have run around $170. A good herp vet is not cheap but is very valuable imo.

Glass tanks can work, it just takes more work. I would advise you cover the whole top with a sheet of thick cardboard wrapped in tin foil. You can use lexan or plexi if the tank is going to be a permanent home. Then assuming you are using a dome to get an ambient temp, cut a hole in the cardboard about 1/2" bigger than the dome on the warm side of the cage. Then place the water bowl close under the dome. That should help with humidity. If you need a lot more, you can also place wet folded paper towels on top of the cool and warm hides. Those will raise humidity too. Using that method, I can easily hit 70%+ humidity in a 36x18x12 cage. Anyways good luck.

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Originally Posted by enginee837

I have had success treating mild RI with Vicks and eucalyptus.

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Hmm you gave my an idea...I hope I never have this problem though.

I have Eucalyptus inserts for a plug in that I use when my kids are sick, I'm wondering if this on an extension cord sitting on an open part of the tank that allows air flow would work. I think I get insert packs of 6 for about $7 bucks at the drug store. Sometimes Sprawlmart sells off brand versions too.

OP...I agree, another $60 vet visit for a $50 pet :(

Or do yourself a favor and ditch the glass tank, they are more trouble than they are worth.


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Originally Posted by Hammertime1977

OP...I agree, another $60 vet visit for a $50 pet :(

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Where's the eye roll emoticon on mobile

Again , not trying to debate f10 . Some
people love it some people hate it . All
i can say is when my vet recommended it I gave it a shot and it did what I needed It to do.

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Originally Posted by Hammertime1977

OP...I agree, another $60 vet visit for a $50 pet :(

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So if you got a free puppy and it got sick after 6 years of keeping it, would you just drive it to the woods and dump it off? Don't know about you but regardless of how much my pets cost, each one is special and I will do whatever I can to keep them healthy and happy. Heck Harley cost me $225 but her vet bill was $270. I also know lots of other people who have spent thousands of dollars on their dogs who needed surgeries as well as other pets. Kind of surprised how you look at a pet as just a dollar figure. Hope the rest of your life isn't evaluated by dollar figures.

*steps onto my soapbox*

Animal ownership is very similar to owning an automobile. When a person buys a car, there are certain things that are required before you can even take it off the lot, before you can even sign the papers to own it. You need to have a driver's license, proof of insurance, and the necessary funds to purchase the car (or a clear line of credit for most of us). Even then, when purchasing a car, you don't expect to never spend money on it again. Parts wear out, accidents happen, "time and chance happeneth to them all," and as such you recognize the need for a mechanic. If you keep up with the recommended maintenance, by the time a major part breaks (an axle, a transmission, etc) you have probably already spent the car's value in Preventative Maintenance. But most people will still opt to at least get one or two major repairs done.

Pet ownership differs in one way from this, however...there are no requirements for pet ownership. Any schmuck can go to PetMart, buy an animal with a 20 year life expectancy, and then take it back to whatever hell-hole they live in and expect it to thrive. These are the kind of people who tend to look at an animal as a dollar value; they have no sense of respect for the privilege of animal ownership, and the responsibility that comes with caring for a living thing.

On the subject of medical costs, the drugs, tests, procedures, and skills needed to treat animals in a veterinary clinic are the same that are used/needed in a human hospital, but at a fraction of the cost. Ever look at the bill for a human surgery? Let's take an ACL repair. The average price for an ACL repair in a human in 2010 was 5-6 thousand dollars, not including surgeon's fees or anesthesiologist fees. Compare that to the $800 ACL repair for your Golden Retriever, diagnostic testing and "fees" included, and the picture changes a bit. The only reason most of us never see the huge expenses that our own medical bills cost is because of Human Health Insurance, which magically lowers the drain on our pocketbooks.

So please, if you're going to be getting a pet, consider the cost. You aren't just owning a piece of machinery; you are responsible for an animal's LIFE. And just like any living thing, animals get sick and get hurt. And just like us, their medical bills get expensive. But don't let the price of a medical bill influence the quality of life that your animal enjoys. If you aren't able to pay for the bills, that's where euthanasia becomes an option; but please Please PLEASE don't allow a sick animal to linger on through chronic illness without proper medical care. And if you can't afford the vet care, but are unwilling to man up and have the animal euthanized, perhaps at this point in life you aren't qualified for the responsibility to own an animal [1].

*all done*


[1]--All use of the second-person pronoun "you" are made in the general sense, and are not directed towards specific members of this forum/participants in this thread

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Originally Posted by Hammertime1977

OP...I agree, another $60 vet visit for a $50 pet :(

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And people think feeding pics put a bad name on the hobby-personally I'm surprised this type of attitude along with the OP's animal neglect aren't called out more instead.

OP, take your snake back to the vet, or to a better vet as suggested and have a culture done, get the proper medication and treat, it may take an extended period of treatment especially with how long this has been going on, your snake is very ill if it's been showing signs for over a year and has a mouthful of mucus. This is far beyond home treatment. Not all vets are alike and not all those that claim to see exotics actually know anything. Do your research, ask questions. I called about five vets in four different towns before I found one worth the drive when I needed one.


Btw, Mephibosheth1, I need your vet, around here a doggy knee repair runs around $2600.

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Originally Posted by GoingPostal

Btw, Mephibosheth1, I need your vet, around here a doggy knee repair runs around $2600.

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Wish I could help...he's one of a kind. Good mix of old-school knowledge mixed with new-age tech. Do you know off hand which treatment method the vets in your area used?

I was more supporting the owner wanting to try and treat a common issue himself before the expense of a vet. Of course we are all going to take our pets to the vet if they are in distress.

I assume we have a fair amount of experts here that can help guide OP.

Before anyone gets the idea and actually uses eucalyptus or vicks w reptiles w RI, I urge U to take the time and educate yourself about this properly.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-for-RI/page2&

http://www.peteducation.com/article....+1913&aid=1612

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