Repeating RI, urgent..

[DeVipera]

Hello,


I have a repeated problem with my Ball python (male). I have him about six month and he had several times RI. Unfortunately he had it when I bought him at terraristic market (like Hamm). He was cured with Baytril. But after two monhts there was another problem (another RI) - again cured with Baytril. And about month ago another problem - I went to the vet and he recommended nebulization with desinfection F10 and after that it looks much better. Finally after almost two months he ate and defecated. But this Saturday it started all over again - and it look very bad. Lots of saliva and I see he has very serious problem with breathing (has his head up and make noises when is breathing, just like many bubbles in his lungs). We went to the vet and she take sample to see if it's viral. I put him in a quarantine box and there is about 94F except one colder spot.


My question is...I have the opportunity to make lung wash and apply antibiotics to breathe better (he is breathing really bad). But I dont know if I should do it because we dont know what happened when there are no results yet. And I know it is very stressfull for an animal.


What would you do?


In his terrarium he had the following conditions
Right side 81FC, left side 90F, humidity 60%, 120x60x60, disinfected and regularly changed substrate.


Thank you. And sorry for my bad english :-)

[zina10]

Your English is just fine ! I'm German and English is my second language, too ..

Sounds like you are doing all you can for your little snake. Shame on whoever took the poor baby to be sold while it was sick..

Unfortunately, a Upper Respiratory infection that keeps coming back despite treatment can be a symptom of a bigger problem. The only thing you can do is try to figure out what causes it, whether it is bacterial, viral or fungal. It seems your Vet is running tests, so that is great.

I would think if antibiotics helped him before, you could give him some now while you await the test results. But call the Vet first, and see what they would like you to do..

I hope its nothing viral or one of the diseases for which there is no cure. If it ends up being that way, you certainly did nothing wrong.

Maybe you just need to switch medications, sometimes a "bug" is resistant to some antibiotics and its hard to eradicate them. Baytril is not always the best solution, I'm almost certain that there are better options. I'm not 100% what its called or used for, but there is a antibiotic out there that has to be kept frozen until you administer it (right after it becomes liquid again). I hear it works wonderfully.

Make sure you run a culture to know exactly what you are dealing with and then discuss other medications and whether they may be a better option.

Good luck

[Lirenn]

My thinking is that if it keeps coming back after the antibiotic it is resistant to it. Cultures will be very useful.

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

I would wait for a culture to return before doing anything.

Sometimes while symptoms may be alleviated enough to give the appearance that a RI has been cured but yet is still lingering so my first question is this was a culture done initially before prescribing baytril (obviously there are different types of RI that respond differently to different treatment), second question was the treatment prescribe for at least 30 days ( a common mistake is to treat for less than 30 days which can mean that the RI will return)

[DeVipera]

Hello and thank to all for your help!

Unfortunately, until the last case vet didn't do any test. In all cases the treated an animal for 14 days with high temperature for month and a few days. I didn't like the method of this treatment and that's why I'm changed to another vet. In the Czech Republic, he's well known and very well evaluated. Sadly he flight to Africa so on his recommendation i went to another vet, where I am doing viral test by now.


Thanks you once again!

[zina10]

I thought a culture was taken (lung wash) and additional tests are pending? I may have understood it wrong.

Best bet would be to call the Vet back and ask how long until the results come in. Its always best to treat them with the correct medication for the actual problem (bacteria, virus, fungus). Its just that sometimes some of these tests and cultures can take 2 weeks or even longer..

If his current symptoms are severe and they have previously been helped by the medication you have, it "may" help to start treatment with what you have to get him through until the culture comes back. You can then adjust the treatment if needed. Some Vets over here treat that way, to get a head start.

However, you have had several treatments already, so at this point the Vet may want to approach this differently.

Find out how long until you get answers. Explain to the Vet how your snake is doing right now, ask if you should treat this to get it under control UNTIL the culture is back, or whether its safe to wait.

It is very difficult to help with medical advice over the internet, esp. if this is a severe case. Its great to get tips and advice, but you should take them and use them to discuss options with the Vet.

Deborah has a very good point, if treatment isn't long enough, all you do is create "resistant" bacteria. Ask the Vet whether longer treatment would be warranted.

Does your Vet have a lot of experience with reptiles ? In a case like this, make sure you use a Vet with good reptile experience !!

[zina10]

Hello and thank to all for your help!

Unfortunately, until the last case vet didn't do any test. In all cases the treated an animal for 14 days with high temperature for month and a few days. I didn't like the method of this treatment and that's why I'm changed to another vet. In the Czech Republic, he's well known and very well evaluated. Sadly he flight to Africa so on his recommendation i went to another vet, where I am doing viral test by now.


Thanks you once again!

Ok, I wrote my reply before I saw this.

So it seems that the treatment wasn't ideal in the beginning. To short, no culture done. It seems that you have a better Vet now.

I would call that Vet, tell him how your snake is doing. Ask him if its better to wait on the culture, or start some treatment before the culture is back, if its going to be a while..

[Lirenn]

Deborah has a very good point, if treatment isn't long enough, all you do is create "resistant" bacteria. Ask the Vet whether longer treatment would be warranted.

THIS. This is very important, and I would definitely discuss that with the vet. Whether it is worth trying more than one antibiotic for the next treatment to make sure there are no resistant bacteria left over.

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[DeVipera]

She said about 3-4 days, so 2-3 days remain. I called her this morning and she gave me a choice. We wait for the result or we run the lung wash and start with ATB without culture done (for now).

Sadly I don't know what is best for snake.. he's in very bad condition.

[zina10]

If he is in VERY bad condition, as you say, just take him in. Let the Vet see him and then make the decision.

Waiting on the culture is not going to do you any good if the snake dies before its done.. You can always start treatment with a broad spectrum antibiotic now, and then adjust the treatment as needed once the culture comes back.

Of course the stress is also a concern, but at this point, it seems rather critical to do something..

In the end, you will have to make that decision. You are there, you see your snake, go with with you feeling on this one.

I can only tell you what "I" would do in that situation, and there is no guarantee that its the right or wrong thing to do ..

I'm crossing my fingers and toes for you and your poor baby..