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  1. #1
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    Unhappy My Burmese python flinch every time she see me

    Hi,

    So I have this beauty for over 6 months now
    she got sick ..

    so I took her to this "vet"
    and he prescribed oral antibiotics ( sulfamethazine ) for her ... and asked me to give it to her. << cost me 200$ and 100 miles trip just to see him

    I have no experience in this matter (giving oral medications to a snake )
    but I'm sure I did it right .

    thankfully she is getting better

    But, my problem now
    after giving the last dose . she regurgitates the medication.

    not all of it , maybe half of the volume .

    and now after 5 days she doesn't want to eat , she is really scared , flinch a lot ,, and doesn't want me around her and today she constricted my arm really hard and pushed her spurs in my arm (I didn't know a female can do that ) I had to let her go .

    is this normal ? what can I do to get her back on feeding and to gain her trust again ...
    should I just leave her for like 2 weeks so she can eat again ?
    or I should keep handling her to gain her trust again and the feeding can wait for weeks ??


    Please help me .. I couldn't find an answer
    and that vet has no real experience with snakes


    ** sorry for my English If I made a mistake

  2. #2
    BPnet Senior Member CALM Pythons's Avatar
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    Re: My Burmese python flinch every time she see me

    Quote Originally Posted by burmese-KSA View Post
    Hi,

    So I have this beauty for over 6 months now
    she got sick ..

    so I took her to this "vet"
    and he prescribed oral antibiotics ( sulfamethazine ) for her ... and asked me to give it to her. << cost me 200$ and 100 miles trip just to see him

    I have no experience in this matter (giving oral medications to a snake )
    but I'm sure I did it right .

    thankfully she is getting better

    But, my problem now
    after giving the last dose . she regurgitates the medication.

    not all of it , maybe half of the volume .

    and now after 5 days she doesn't want to eat , she is really scared , flinch a lot ,, and doesn't want me around her and today she constricted my arm really hard and pushed her spurs in my arm (I didn't know a female can do that ) I had to let her go .

    is this normal ? what can I do to get her back on feeding and to gain her trust again ...
    should I just leave her for like 2 weeks so she can eat again ?
    or I should keep handling her to gain her trust again and the feeding can wait for weeks ??


    Please help me .. I couldn't find an answer
    and that vet has no real experience with snakes


    ** sorry for my English If I made a mistake
    Welcome to the forum.
    First your right that vet has no experience. You didnt say why you thought the snake was sick or what was wrong. I assume Repository infection. The vet should not prescribe oral meds. Shots of the correct antibiotic is what would be best if it has a RI. However they needed to test the snake to see if it is viral or bacterial. The wrong meds do no good.
    What are your temps? What is it housed in? What are you heating with? Does the heat source have a controller (thermostat) ?
    What country are you in?



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Name: Christian
    0.1 Albino Ball (Sophie)
    0.1 Russo White Diamond (Grace)
    1.0 Hypo Burmese (Giacomo/AKA Jock)
    1.2 Razors Edge/Gotti & American Pit Bull
    ----------
    1.1 Albino/Normal Burmese (Mr & Mrs Snake)
    1.0 Albino Ball (Sully)

  3. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to CALM Pythons For This Useful Post:

    distaff (11-20-2018),KevinK (01-10-2019)

  4. #3
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    Re: My Burmese python flinch every time she see me

    Thank you ,,,,


    her RI started like a month ago when I kept her with a friend ( I heard the wheezing and the cracking sound ... but without mucous or the open mouth breathing )
    she did shed completely in one piece but all the above signs didn't go away


    I use both heating pad and a Ceramic Heat Lamp , because it's really cold here nowadays .
    the temp thermostat in the hot side under the hide adjusted on 31°C (88°F) degree


    * it was 33°C (91°F) but she kept sleeping in the mid of her enclosure .. and it was cold there about 24°C (75°F)
    so I reduced the temp to 31°C (88°F) from time to time I see her sleeping outside .. but not as she used to do.




    her enclosure is all glass 6 x 2 X 2 feet
    she is 6 ft long and about 3 kilograms (6.5 pounds )

    I'm from Saudi Arabia ,, but the humidity is good , always more than 50%

  5. #4
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    One thing, did you check with the vet about your snake not getting the full last dose of antibiotic? I'm not saying oral antibiotics are the best choice, but you
    did say that it seems to have worked: the issue is that when antibiotics are not used as prescribed (for the full course) you can end up with resistant pathogens.
    Do ask your vet if it's OK that your snake did not get the full last dose.

    Antibiotics do have the bad 'side effect' of destroying both "good & bad germs"...including the beneficial gut bacteria that helps your snake digest food. It's
    normal that a course of oral antibiotics would upset her stomach...if she did eat right now, she might regurgitate it anyway. There are probiotics made for use
    in reptiles (such as BeneBac) that you should probably add to her food to help her digestion recover. (check with your vet?)

    Snakes don't like getting medicated & they don't understand you're trying to help, so her behavior is normal, all things considered. In her mind, you have been
    attacking her, & she is defending herself. As she is only going to get larger & stronger, you should have a trusted friend with you to handle her, especially for
    any such procedures in the future...please be safety conscious. Hopefully she'll calm down in time?

    It might help to insulate most of the glass tank you keep her in, to keep the temperatures more stable. (various materials like foam board can be used to insulate)
    I hope she makes a good recovery, and also calms down.

  6. #5
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    By the way, I'd wait 2 weeks after her last dose of antibiotic, & only then offer a small rat or adult mouse (frozen-thawed), in which you have either injected or inserted (orally) some reptile probiotics to help her digest. Don't feed a larger meal until you see how her digestion is working...smaller is easier on her stomach. Any time a snake regurgitates, you need to wait 2 weeks+ before offering food, otherwise they just regurgitate again & again, & that can cause very serious dehydration & death.

    Good luck, let us know how it goes?

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  8. #6
    BPnet Senior Member CALM Pythons's Avatar
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    Re: My Burmese python flinch every time she see me

    Crank the heat. Id say 91/93 Hot side and 80 cool side should be the lowest. Burms are prone to RI when temps get cool or have a lack of humidity.
    Also crank the Humidity to help break up congestion, at least 70%.
    How the snake is behaving is the last problem. Get the snake well first. Put something around the glass of that tank before the snake is chilled from the heat loss or drafts. Leave the snake alone for a couple weeks to get better. No handling. Clean any urine etc right away to keep bacteria out of the enclosure.
    I spoke with you a month ago when this started. Its not good the RI is still present. Crank the temps and dont assume the snakes wants to be cooler. They come from Hot Humid region.. Dont let the snake get cooler than 80 and have a Basking of 90/92.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Name: Christian
    0.1 Albino Ball (Sophie)
    0.1 Russo White Diamond (Grace)
    1.0 Hypo Burmese (Giacomo/AKA Jock)
    1.2 Razors Edge/Gotti & American Pit Bull
    ----------
    1.1 Albino/Normal Burmese (Mr & Mrs Snake)
    1.0 Albino Ball (Sully)

  9. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to CALM Pythons For This Useful Post:

    bcr229 (11-20-2018),Bogertophis (11-20-2018),distaff (11-20-2018),KevinK (01-10-2019)

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    Re: My Burmese python flinch every time she see me

    Bogertophis

    yeah I told him about the
    regurgitation and he said " it's OK we will repeat the course after 10 days ".


    Thank you for the BeneBac information I didn't know about it before , I'll ask the vet about it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    Hopefully she'll calm down in time?.

    I'm prying for that .. I promised her previous owner that I'll get good care of her and he can buy it back at any time.. and he is asking for her now .. but I asked him to wait until spring..


    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    It might help to insulate most of the glass tank you keep her in.
    I'm using a blanket now , but I'll try the foam board 👍 .



    thank you for all your advice
    between the antibiotics doses the vet told me to give her small chicks..
    now I'll wait for her to get better first. then ,, I'll try to feed her again


    CALM Pythons
    I raised the humidity now , adjusted the thermostat on 90 f ( to check on her behavior first )

    I'll put another ceramic heat lamp and a foam board around the enclosure .

    Thank you


  11. The Following User Says Thank You to burmese-KSA For This Useful Post:

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  12. #8
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    Where are you located? Maybe someone will know of a better exotic specialist in your area.

  13. #9
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    Re: My Burmese python flinch every time she see me

    Quote Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    Where are you located? Maybe someone will know of a better exotic specialist in your area.
    Saudi Arabia (already asked & answered post #3)
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 11-20-2018 at 12:03 PM.

  14. #10
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    burmese-KSA: Like humans & other creatures, stress is a factor that depresses the body's immune system, so infections such as RI (respiratory infection) often

    show up after a snake has been re-homed, since the world as the snake knew it has just completely changed...it's normal for a snake to be frightened, even more

    so when you have to give meds also. Yours is a strong snake that you have had to restrain for treatment, but the snake feels it's under attack when you do that-

    the way we handle a snake sends a signal to the snake as to our purpose...too much force & we appear to be a predator, or maybe struggling prey . Whether

    or not you realize it, you are communicating to the snake by how you handle her. I wish you success both in getting her healthy again and in calming her down

    for safe handling. Snakes don't like change any better than we do.

  15. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

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