How long does a RI take to clear up?!

I bought my very first BP from a pet store(before I knew the HUGE online BP world!) about 2 wks ago. About 3 days after I got the snake my husband noticed that he was blowing bubbles....at the time I didn't know what that meant! So, we went about our day and went down to another pet store for some supplies for our Beardie....and I happened upon a BP lover in the reptile dept. He begins to tell me about this pet store that sells sicks snakes and that I should never shop there!! :oops: And what-ya know....it was where I bought my BP!! So, I told him about the bubbles in my BP's mouth and he said that was classic RP signs!!! :mad:

So, I go home and do some research on here and decide I need to take him to the vet. Well, all the vets quoted me $150-$200 to see and treat the snake! Now, I paid $49 for him!!! At this point I am getting super pissed b/c I'm going to have to pay a huge vet bill b/c the stupid pet store sold me a sick snake! So, me and my DH decide to take the snake back to the pet store and ask for our money back! But when my DH goes in....they offer to treat the snake for us! We say ok, and they give him a shot of something that starts with an "A" and said to come back every 3 days for another shot(the meds were in prescription bottles). Yesterday, was our third shot and my poor snake is still bubbly when you open his mouth! I can also feel him wheezing when I hold him! :( :tears: I told the guy this and he said that it could take a while to clear up....and that if the wheezing didn't clear up, then come back for another shot!

SOOOO, if you got through all of that, my question is...How long does it take for an RI to clear up?

Thanks!!

First. Why would you agree to have the store that sold you sick snakes, that is rumored to sell sick snakes, treat your sick snake? Fighting fire with fire are we?

Second, not all RI's are created equal. Are you even sure that they are using an anti-biotic on the snake? Most effective anti-biotics require prescriptions. Baytril (enroflaxicin) indeed does require a prescription from a Vet. They are not a vets office, so why are they treating animals like they are? Many medicines will put tremendous strain on the animals liver and can damage them permanently if given improperly.

I would not continue to take this snake back to the store that sold it to you sick. That will not solve the problem, otherwise you wouldnt have been sold a sick snake to begin with. If they had all the means necessary to treat him before, they should have.

Either you can return the snake and again demand your money back to later on buy a healthy snake from a good breeder, or keep it and dish out the money to have a qualified herp vet do a culture to figure out EXACTLY what your are dealing with. Be it viral or bacterial. The vet will prescribed hopefully injections of medication, although oral are also common.

Sorry you think $120 is a lot for an animal you didn't even pay $50 for, but there is no way around that. Animals that are sick need medical care, and RARELY is it less then the cost of the animal.
Would you deny a puppy the necessary vaccines and fecals if you got him for free, even though the visit and shots will cost quite a bit?
It is part of being a responsible pet owner, and should be expected.

It's up to you. Like I said, call a vet, spend the money, have a healthy BP. Or take him back. I wouldnt trust the pet store to heal this BP, and more likely than not make the situation worse.

Take your snake to the vet, get a culture done so you KNOW what antibiotic will work, and pay the bill. You took on the responsibility of this animal, and sick or not, you need to provide the absolute best care you can. If that means finding him another home who can do so, then by all means, do it.

Antibiotics that come to mind that start with A are Amikacin and Amoxicillin. Amox will NOT work. If the antibiotic is Amikacin, and he's already had 3 shots and isn't at least looking a bit better, then it's not going to work. Getting another injection of it won't do anything other than prolong the infection and make it more resistant.

This snake is your responsibility and regardless of how much you paid, it is your priority to take the best care of him as you possibly can. You wouldn't adopt a dog from the animal shelter and just chain it up in the backyard suffering from ticks, fleas, heartworms, without a shelter, proper food and water and not vaccinating the dog, would you?

My friend adopted a rat from the pet store 2-3 years ago and when the rat came down with pneumonia, she took it to the emergency clinic. $1200 later, she had a dead rat. Pnut likely cost her $10 max.

When you take on the responsibility of an animal, their care is up to you. If you cannot provide proper care, then find someone who can.

Also, how are you housing the snake? What are his temperatures/humidity? While he is sick, bump the temperatures up to 95-96 warm side and 85-86 cool side with 70% humidity(not wet, humid). This will help him feel more comfortable until you can get him to an actual veterinarian who will treat him. You cannot put off vet treatment any longer or the snake will die from drowning in its own fluids.

And dangit! I have to spread more reputation around before giving it to Connie again.. Sheesh.

Bwahahaha! I just tagged you! Freaky similarities in our posting :P

Totally agree Connie,

It IS an accepted part of animal husbandry to expect, at some point in an animal's life, to visit a Vet. & the cost is rarely comparible with the fee for some pets in the 1st place!

Respiratory Infections are not always a simple matter of indulging in the 'handy' remedy & then it miraculously disappears. Your Vet. will take a mouth swab to determine the bacteria at work (if indeed it is a bacteria) & prescribe the appropriate antibiotic - Baytril is wide spectrum, but, not always suitable for some I.R.

Also, increasing the Temps in your B.P's Viv may relieve his condition until you see a Vet.

Lex

Don't get me wrong...I'll do what I need to do to get my snake well! But at the time the store offered to treat him, I didn't see any harm in letting them try....I still don't! Now, tho, the treatments don't seem to be working...so I will take him to the vet. He just shed yesterday as well....poor thing!

His temps and humidity are good!

The Amikacin is what they gave him! The shot they gave him was about 3 inches down from his head.

Thanks for the help everyone!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

My friend adopted a rat from the pet store 2-3 years ago and when the rat came down with pneumonia, she took it to the emergency clinic. $1200 later, she had a dead rat. Pnut likely cost her $10 max.

---

really crazy! I would have put that poor poor rat out of his misery for half that! ;)

My friend DID put the rat to sleep humanely, but after all options were exhausted. When a pet cannot breathe and is struggling, and it's a Saturday night, what do you expect when the E Clinic charges $400 to walk in the door?

A pet is a responsibility, regardless of whether that pet costs $5 or $5000. Their life is in your hands.

We figure an extra $100.00 on top of the snake purchase and shipping on every one we buy. They go to the vet ASAP and we get a fecal done as soon as the snake decides to let us. Now we are trying to decide how to work baby snake clutches as we can not recover that cost on every single one. We will probably take each clutch under the "Herd" plan which will cost around $100.00 for the clutch then since we know all our existing snakes fecals are clean we can safely assume the same of the off spring. The only thing that we do not take to the vet are our feeder rats, but at the first sign of sickness in one he gets uthanized and all tub mates go into quaranteen until we know everything is clear.

Pets are expensive and it is very difficult to make anything if all you breed are normals. Now we know why good healthy snakes cost what they do!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by png_lovebirds

Don't get me wrong...I'll do what I need to do to get my snake well! But at the time the store offered to treat him, I didn't see any harm in letting them try....I still don't! Now, tho, the treatments don't seem to be working...so I will take him to the vet. He just shed yesterday as well....poor thing!

His temps and humidity are good!

The Amikacin is what they gave him! The shot they gave him was about 3 inches down from his head.

Thanks for the help everyone!!

---

hey rebecca, its not really ever worth a try having pet store employees practice vererinary proceedures on any animal because the jobs qualifications between them are just slightly different... you know?

im glad you decided to take your bp to a professional where he can actually start receiving proper treatment and walk the road to recovery!

p.s. one time i needed surgery and a butcher quoted me cheaper than a surgeon so i went to him to perform the operation. let me tell you, did not go so well.... j/k;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

A pet is a responsibility, regardless of whether that pet costs $5 or $5000. Their life is in your hands.

---

Ok....so if you take a housefly in as a pet and it gets sick and someone who works on houseflies can says they can give it a shot for $80, is it your responsibility to pay them $80? :weirdface

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the bull

Ok....so if you take a housefly in as a pet and it gets sick and someone who works on houseflies can says they can give it a shot for $80, is it your responsibility to pay them $80? :weirdface

---

How does a housefly have any bearing on this? I know your trying to make a point, but the point has been missed by sheer over exaggeration, and I think your just trying to start an arguement.

Perhaps you dont think it's necessary to take a rat to the vet, but I along with many others do. Any animal in your charge deserves to be treated humanly. Giving medical care when needed, whether free or not, is the responsible thing to do.

Regardless of the monetary value of the animal.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the bull

Ok....so if you take a housefly in as a pet and it gets sick and someone who works on houseflies can says they can give it a shot for $80, is it your responsibility to pay them $80? :weirdface

---

if you decide to take on the responsibility of a housefly as your pet then you must pay the $80 dollars for the shot. if you dont want that responsibility you can choose not to have it by not taking in the fly.

no matter what the creature is, a life is a life regardless of the monetary value.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigballs

no matter what the creature is, a life is a life regardless of the monetary value.

---

I disagree, I think you need to look at the value of the animal and the animals lifespan. By value of the animal I mean how much it means to me. i love my dog she goes with me everywhere and brings me great joy. $1200 would be spent with out even thinking about it! My last dog was a boxer and he was 12 years old he started getting sick alot and finally needed a $2,000 operation. i had to put him to sleep. I loved him but it was time to let go. He was 4 years over his lifespan and lived a great life. I never had a rat pet, I have set traps in the garage for them though. For me to spend over a grand on a rat, well he better be one charming ass rat! Like cooler than Stewart Little!:rolleyes:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the bull

I disagree, I think you need to look at the value of the animal and the animals lifespan. By value of the animal I mean how much it means to me...

For me to spend over a grand on a rat, well he better be one charming ass rat! Like cooler than Stewart Little!:rolleyes:

---

Ok, so apparently this rat was worth over a grand to the owner. So where's the issue?

Just because you wouldnt spend that money on this rat for the surgeries, doesn't mean others wont.

Just like you, she had the option to either put the animal down (responsible) or try and save him (also responsible).

Alleviating the pain and suffering the animal is responsible.

The irresponsible part comes in when they refuse medical treatment. Whether that be putting them down, or trying to save the animal through other means.


And yes, some rats are that special. ;)

Just had to chime in here... My $35 ball python got an R.I. and I didn't hesitate to take her to the vet which was over an hour away, when I was 15. There was no question that she had to go, so she went and got proper treatment. The vet bill cost alot more than the $35 snake. My $40 leopard gecko also had to go to the vet because something was stuck in his eye. 80 dollars later, some ointment cleared it up just fine. I've also taken pet rats to the vet, including my 3+ year old who was attacked by my cat and was obviously not going to make it. Right now I'm treating a $2 fish for what I think is a fungal infection.

It doesn't matter what the animal is, if you choose to keep it in your care, it's your responsibility to keep it alive and thriving.

To the original poster - When my ball had an R.I. (the wheezing was so severe it sounded just like a sick person) my vet gave me 5 or 6 shots to give her at home. She recovered in about 2 weeks. Good luck!

Another pet store nightmare story.

You are on an animal lover forum and many of us have spent (including myself) many many 100's of $ treating animals/snakes.

I know this sucks and we all learn somewhere but the final decision is yours. I would have taken the snake back for a refund if you dont want to deal with it. It can take up to a month to complete an antibiotic routine depending on what the vet perscribed and if in fact they are using the right medication. There is no one med that cures all types of RI infections.

My first BP had ticks and mites and I still returned it to the pet store and never got another snake from a pet store again.
Lesson learned.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by invadertoast

It doesn't matter what the animal is, if you choose to keep it in your care, it's your responsibility to keep it alive and thriving.

---

exactly! thats what im sayin'

hey the bull, in your situation with the dog i would also consider putting it down at that stage of its life. the quote from invadertoast is the point though. whether it be a $5000 ball python or dog or a $5 rat.

but i guess you may have a point because if i had $1000 and must choose between treatment for keeping one of my snakes or you alive, then i'd probably choose my snake.

what can i say they are worth that much to me and your not that charming!;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigballs

exactly! thats what im sayin'

hey the bull, in your situation with the dog i would also consider putting it down at that stage of its life. the quote from invadertoast is the point though. whether it be a $5000 ball python or dog or a $5 rat.

but i guess you may have a point because if i had $1000 and must choose between treatment for keeping one of my snakes or you alive, then i'd probably choose my snake.

what can i say they are worth that much to me and your not that charming!;)

---

You better choose your snake!!!!!!
I am just another smartazz chump on the internet!:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the bull

You better choose your snake!!!!!!
I am just another smartazz chump on the internet!:D

---

you know it!:D