Respiratory infection treatment vs me going to hospital

There's no reason to go into too much detail but I've been feeling pretty suicidal lately and it's gotten to the point that my therapist suggested inpatient treatment for a couple days until I'm straightened out a bit. However, my snake has an RI and he's on oral baytril twice a day. I have no one else who can administer it to him and if I went inpatient, he would miss at least four doses. I REALLY could not live with myself if I did this and it harmed my snake. I know I need help but he has to come first. Would missing a few doses hurt him? He's on the mend well, but still. You can't mess around with antibiotics...

:/

Honestly, you need to think of yourself first. If your snake is getting better then maybe stopping and starting in a few days wouldn't hurt. If stopping and starting means that your snake still has a little bit of the RI left and the last bit of antibiotics doesn't clear it up then you can always get more antibiotics.
You are priority number 1. Without you your animals die.
Good Luck. I hope everything works out :)

Can your vet keep him and treat him? When my snakes had surgery they stayed at the vet, one for a few days, the other for several months (it was a major operation).

You need to treat you first. Hugs

I know this might not be the best advice, but I've dealt with depression and suicidal thoughts and actions for pretty much my entire life. At one point it got so bad I had to be continually monitored to make sure I didn't kill myself, but the only time I couldn't even hurt myself was when one of my animals was sick or injured. When they're sick I care about them more than anything and without me being there for them they would worsen and die. I could never do that to them. So I would stay and continue to treat him until he's better, but your animals might not be as big a part of your life as mine are to me. If you feel like you still might hurt or kill yourself while he's sick then you should go, if he's improving then two days without meds won't hurt, but if you're like me and their health matters more to you than anything and you know they won't get better without you then you should stay.

He's pretty much the only thing that keeps me going but my last suicide attempt was in February and I ended up on life support so it's really like... I have to be there for him but I also have to be there for him. Giving him up is not an option; without him I don't want to be here.

So yes, he's as big a part of my life. My friends all pooled their money to get him and his tank and everything for me. He's like all I live for right now but I'm just barely hanging in there.

I agree with seeing if the vet will do board-and-treat/inpatient care. It usually costs a bit more than regular boarding but not too much. Then you don't have to worry if he has enough water or if his heat has gone haywire, etc. either.

My roommates can do the water and heat monitoring part; they just can't do the meds. They are all slightly scared of snakes and I don't want an improper administraton to waste the baytril.

I will see how much the vet and boarding cost is. I'm on a really tight budget right now but i know he comes first...

No, you come first. Find the meaning in your life. I believe that everyone has a reason to be here. You just need to find yours. Once you have your cause, survival becomes mandatory.

There are certain inpatient programs allow you to have a pet if you emotionally need them. My girl works at one. They even allow friends or family to stay the night with you aswell.

Im on here all the time you can PM me if you want to chat anytime.

Your more important than your snakes. Snake will probably be fine and even if something was to happen (which i doubt) we have to make sure we stay healthy before we make sure our animals are! I say go to the hospital whether you find someone or dont. To correct you on your last post your snake or NO animal for that matter come before you. You need to get better first, and i DONT care who on this forum disagrees with me which i doubt anyone does. Get better soon!!!

From your profile it looks like you're in/near a metropolitan area, so there's probably other snake fans around. Have you posted here on the regional threads and/or looked for a local herp club? Maybe there's someone local to you that would be willing and able to come administer meds and/or snake-sit. Or call and talk to your vet about alternatives to the meds you're administering, maybe there's something else that can be injected once every few days.


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Honestly if your snake is the only thing keeping you going then your probably safer to stay with him/her until it's better by the sounds of it.
Only you know you so it's your choice
Good Luck and don't be afraid to message me at any time :)

Your health and safety is priority number one. I agree with others who have asked if there is anyone local you could find by posting here or elsewhere. Are there any reputable reptile shops near you? Some times they will board animals and may be able to administer your snake's meds. Your snake missing a few days of meds and perhaps needing to start another cycle of meds is not the worst thing that could happen. You harming yourself is.


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Thanks, you guys. I think I'm safe for tonight at least so I'll see if I can find someone to take care of him if I end up going.

Good to hear. I admire your ability to be open about struggling and seeking help as well as the supportive responses on this thread. Too often, there is shame and stigma surrounding those types of discussions where there absolutely should not be.
Good luck :)


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Baby girl, you need to help you first and foremost. As others have said, if you aren't here then no one can care for your snake and either he goes to someone else or dies. Further, if you don't get help and continue his meds, who's to say he might die anyway from something else completely unrelated (sorry, I know this sounds depressing but bare with me)? As hard as it is, you simply cannot base your quality of life on an animal--they don't live as long as we do, they can't tell us when things are wrong so we can't always help them if they are sick or in pain, etc. Crap happens, you know? Sometimes our beloved pets die for no apparent reason at all--heck, this even happens to people. So by living this way, you are setting yourself up for a potential disaster. We all know life throws us curveballs. So rather than bargain unrealistically by saying if your snake dies then you must die too, make an action plan so that when (not if) those curveballs come your way, you already have a plan and you can and will get through it--with your life and your snake's life intact.

Good luck sweetie pie!:grouphug: