Need Help and Advice!

[kriselattime]

My best friend took in a rescue Cinnamon Ball Python and he has some serious health issues. We started a gofundme.com page (because his vet bill from his first visit was so high) but I don't exactly know know to spread the word. I'd really appreciate any advice on who I should reach out too.
His name is Cinnabon and he is only two years old but he has an eye infection, RI, possible mouth rot, and is on antibiotics for wounds in his back that occurred when he was attacked by a mouse. Basically he's in really rough shape.
If anyone has any advice on how to keep him comfortable and as calm as possible I'd also appreciate it. He receives an antibiotic shot once every three days which I administer while his owner holds him and I know that it always stresses him out. Per vet advice we upped the heat in his tank and have been taking him out on sunny days to try and boost his immune system but we are still very worried about him.
Thoughts and prayers are much appreciated

[bcr229]

The antibiotics hopefully will knock out the RI.

Vetericyn gel, which is available on Amazon, can be used to treat the wounds on his back and the mouth rot. There's also a formulation of it for pinkeye in livestock which may help with the eye infection.

I wouldn't take him outside as BP's don't require sunlight to thrive, they're primarily nocturnal critters. I would keep him in the cleanest environment possible (tub on paper with hide and water bowl) with correct heat and humidity, and leave him alone except for cleaning and when he gets a shot so he's stressed as little as possible.

[Kcl]

Definitely skip the taking him out. The stress will more than negate any potential benefits from UV to his immune system, which are very unlikely to be strong even if existent because they are nocturnal. A broad spectrum antibiotic is probably what is being used which has a good chance of being effective against all of the listed infections, just depends if any of them happen to be viral or resistant to the particular antibiotic, but more likely than not, it's all bacterial. Keep things as clean as possible, disinfect the water bowl daily, and leave him alone and cover his tank as much as possible to minimize stress.

Beyond that, you can use topical treatments on the wounds and the potential mouth rot, but for only "potential" mouth rot in a snake that is already on antibiotics, it may not be worth the stress, and it's hard to know if topical treatments will be ok on the bite wounds without knowing how deep they are. I'd make sure to consult with the vet on any additional treatments. Although if the vet advised you to take him outside on sunny days, you may want to get a second vet opinion.

[DennisM]

I'd make sure to consult with the vet on any additional treatments. Although if the vet advised you to take him outside on sunny days, you may want to get a second vet opinion.

agreed.

kriselattime , while the intentions of your friend are admirable, in the future you might want to consider that “rescuing” and animal that you can’t afford to bring back to health is probably not the best idea. If GoFundMe doesn’t work out for you, the snake hasn’t been rescued at all, it’s simply moved its misery to a new location.