Have RI and questions

Well, the rescue came down with an RI after all (not surprised one bit). She's been on amikacin for 10 days and she's not getting better at all, in fact she seems a bit worse. Her dose is .04 ml for her weight, 696 grams. Yes, I bumped up the heat. The only time she makes any sounds anymore is when I take her out for her shots, but then she sounds terrible. Is this normal? How long before I should see some improvement? (yes she's in strict quarantine and has been from the beginning because of the conditions I found her in)

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Originally Posted by grammie

Well, the rescue came down with an RI after all (not surprised one bit). She's been on amikacin for 10 days and she's not getting better at all, in fact she seems a bit worse. Her dose is .04 ml for her weight, 696 grams. Yes, I bumped up the heat. The only time she makes any sounds anymore is when I take her out for her shots, but then she sounds terrible. Is this normal? How long before I should see some improvement? (yes she's in strict quarantine and has been from the beginning because of the conditions I found her in)

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Aww, i'm sorry for the struggle that you must be going through! i do hope that she gets better!
If amikacin isn't working too well she may need a different antibiotic, for whatever reason (not working due to stress, natural diffusion, or too advanced of an RI). Seems like you have her on a good dose, though, so i wouldn't suggest bumping it up unless you're willing to deal with the consiquence, and i don't think you want any adverse consiquence.
Is it normal? With BP's i'm not too sure, someone else can better answer than than i can. I have not heared much wheezing, 'coughing', or much noise from any BP that i have dealt with that had an RI. But, i may just be one of the lucky few.
As for results... that depends on the snake and how bad the RI is. With the heat up i would say give it a few more days, but not many, and then try a new antibiotic, if possible. If not possible i would up the dosage SLIGHTLY. I know the dosage is based on weight but if there are no results there may be no other option. Typically, you see some kind of result within one week, maybe two, which is why i would personally say give it a few more days. The sounds only being made when you pick her up could be either a sign of improvement: because she isn't making sounds unless moved, or the exact opposite: where she can only make sounds when she is moved.
As i write this i am sure there are more knowlegable people who have dealt with RI's much more than i have; this is just based on my experience and what i would do but i'm not perfect as much as everyone tells me i am :rolleyes:
Let us know how it goes!


-edit- just thought of this... if she had lost a large amount of weight due to the proper care before you recieved her, her body and organs may be filtering out alot of the antibiotics. Has she deficated at all? Any eurates?
She may have lost alot of weight but i don't know the back-story so i'm just throwing stuff out there that could be completely wrong :/

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If she had lost a large amount of weight due to the proper care before you recieved her, her body and organs may be filtering out alot of the antibiotics. Has she deficated at all? Any eurates?
She may have lost alot of weight but i don't know the back-story so i'm just throwing stuff out there that could be completely wrong :/

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She's been here a little over two weeks and nothing yet. I know she hasn't eaten in probably 6 months but I don't know about her weight. (again, I know the previous owner and he is one that thinks they can live forever without eating and proper care. When he lost his 11 yr old, you'd think he would have learned)

I wold ask the vet about batril or fortaz, you should have seen some improvement by now

Thanks, I was afraid of that. :)

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Originally Posted by grammie

he is one that thinks they can live forever without eating and proper care.

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You mean they can't?!? They need care?!? Don't tell me Santa isn't real either! :P
I do hope it all works out. As llovelace said you should ask about the other two antibiotics. I used Ceftazidime type (Cefzim) in the past but i couldn't remember the name at the time. It's the same as Fortaz just not as fancy a name and Fortaz is a bit 'newer'. I've only used cephalosporin type antibiotics, which Fortaz is part of, and it breaks down the bacterial cell walls. It's close to Penicillin.
Amikacin is aminoglycoside which basically means that it stops the bacteria from producing the enzymes they need to reproduce, but it doesn't kill the bacteria so it does have a longer time period to remove all infection.
Now that i am done being a nerd i will get back to work and act cool :cool:

The vet needs to do a swab of the throat or of the mucous (if any is present) to identify the bacteria and thus determine the correct antibiotic for it :)

At this point a swab may not work since he's been on ab's for a while already. Best of luck!

well, we did go back to the vet the next day and got her put on baytril. She's doing wonderfully, no more wheezing or any funny sounds. How long do I keep her by herself, before I can put her in the main quarantine room? btw, she's such a loving baby, I'm so glad she came here.

Oh what lovely news that she is getting well again. No idea how long to keep her in QT, but so pleased for you and her :)

thanks granny.

anyone that will tell me??

I would keep her QT'd for at least 3-4 weeks from the start of the Batril, I am so pleased to hear that she is doing better :)

Thanks so much!!!!

That's great! I'm glad she is doing better! You'll have to put some photos of her up here soon so we can admire the 'lil fighter.
As for quarantine, i quarantine any sick animal for a minimum of a month to six weeks, sometimes as much as two months but that's only if they will be breeding and in physical contact with another snake.
Keep us updated!