Tylan for RI?

[care2adopt]

Hello!

I have a ball python that I just rescued from a very run down pet shop that was going out of buisness. She was the "store mascot" and was in a tiny little tank with no heat behind the main counter. They were closing down yesterday and I went in to buy some goat food that they had at 75% off (I had never been in there before). Anyway she looked miserable and since they were closing that day I offered the owner of the shop $50 to let me take her and he agreed.

So I get her home and she is cold to the touch and is wheezy and bubbly. She looks otherwise healthy (no retained sheds, no mites, etc) other then the immediatly noticable RI. I have her in a small enclosure with raised temps and have started treating her by nebulizing her with a combination of eucalyptus oil and vicks. I live out in the BOONIES. I am 2 hours away from the closest reptile vet. However, I did call them and talk to them about her and I was told that I could use Tylan (which I have on hand for my goats and chickens) to see if that helped her.

My question is this: has anyone had success with Tylan? I am just trying to decide if I should try it and see if it helps before putting her through the stress of a 4 hour plus round trip in her condition or if I should just give up the goat so to speak and take her to the reptile vet and see if she needs a different spectrum of antibiotic.

PS- I am a retired vet tech and familier with injection techniques. thank you for all advice

[kitedemon]

I would not use either eucalyptus oil or Vicks. The principal ingredient of eucalyptus oil is cineole. Cineole, which is a part of the chemicals family that is a strong reptile irritant. I recognize this is out of a limb a bit but Cineole is a component found in rosemary oil as well. Generally (really general here) any ol ending chemicals are bad for reptiles. (phenol and any and all phenol variates.) It is certainly a huge question mark for nebulization.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi...%20reptiles%22
(I have done a lot of research about the brown snake)

I have never heard of tylan as a treatment for respiratory issues. Reptiles react to drugs differently than other animals and much much slower. I know tylan as a digestive treatment I am unaware of it as a respiratory treatment. I might PM skiploader and ask an opinion but to the best of my understanding it is a unknown.

The best action is a culture and treatment based on the results of that. You may have the expertise to do a lung wash yourself and send the culture out to a lab. i certainly don't and would never suggest that with out a great deal of experience.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I have heard of it used with boas however what you need to remember is that the most important is that if you need if you suspect a RI you need to get a culture done to identify which type of RI you are dealing with, after that the proper anti-biotic will be prescribed.

In other words do not decide to use Tylan just because you may have some laying around.

Also based on the vet answer, you may want to find another one, there are some vet that will prescribe things just in case or even without a culture and those are the ones you want to avoid.

[care2adopt]

Hmmmm- I really hope I didn't screw her up further using Vicks and eucalyptus oil. I was recommended to a step by step article showing treatment for RIs in balls and followed that article. I wish I'd asked here first!

I could maybe do a transtracheal wash- I've assisted with them before but not so confident to do it on my own and don't want to risk her life with clumsy hands. I just hate the idea of putting her through all the stress and discomfort of manhandling.

Would it be worth it to try a full regiment of injectible baytril to see if I can get her in better shape before subjecting her to travel and the vet? I believe I can get that called in for me as a favor without taking her in.

[care2adopt]

Yes- this is the closest reptile vet to me and open on saturday to receive my call. I don't believe I will have any luck today but I will do some searching on Monday to see if I can find other options. They did tell me the best thing would be a culture, but upon explaining my issue I was told that either tylan or baytril are acceptable broad spectrum
Antibiotics for use in treating RIs and would be worth a shot to improve her condition before travel.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Would it be worth it to try a full regiment of injectible baytril to see if I can get her in better shape before subjecting her to travel and the vet? I believe I can get that called in for me as a favor without taking her in.

Again you need a CULTURE to assess the type of RI you are dealing with and have the proper anti-biotic prescribed.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ons-The-Basics

[ewaldrep]

My vet had me do the baytril as a nebulizer treatment and it worked well. From my understanding, baytril injections can cause a lot of damage to the tissues and I have read several posts of people that discuss scars from baytril injections. My vet had me do .5 mL baytril in 5 mL saline along with another antibiotic that was injected but I can't remember the name right now. Good luck!

[kitedemon]

Thanks Deb I had never heard of tylan used in snakes something new everyday!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Thanks Deb I had never heard of tylan used in snakes something new everyday!

There have been many discussions over the years and some people swearing by it. The thing is Tylan works with RI caused by gram positive bacteria while most RI in boids are caused by gram negative bacteria.

My guess people choosing Tylan are likely the ones bypassing the vet and going straight to tractor supply where Tylan is sold.

[BFE Pets]

If you insist on injecting tylan make sure that you are using tylan 50 and not tylan 200. I have used tylan both injected and vaporized. I havent ever seen positive outcomes with injections. however for a mild case of RI caught right at the start i have had sucess with vaporizing it. I used 1 cc of tylan 50 and 5cc of distilled water and vaporized for 20 minutes and leave in container for another 20 min. then put back into a cleaned and sanitized enclosure. However a vet and a culture are a must if you want to actually see the animal survive. Home remedies usually only temporarily subside the symptoms. even when i have used this method of treatment it was only to help relieve the symptoms until I could make the trek to the vet!