I know we all hate this, but.. HELP

[amandajf]

If this is in the wrong section, I apologize ad nauseum.

I know I'm a horrid person, but I acquired a approx 24in ball python from a friend who had poop hit the fan and has to relocate. She kind of got dumped, and I was the one who allowed her to get dumped on me. I got her Sunday.
Tuesday or Wednesday, my children mentioned she hissed at them. Knowing they normally do not make noise, I held her for awhile and noticed she coughed. She was coughing. Like a slight hiccup and she was yawning in excess.

So I towel her tank to keep the heat in and removed the huge water bowl to decrease moisture so she'd have a higher, dryer heat. I can as of last night. I called my friend explaining, dude, i took her for you but im in no position to spend a bunch of $ on a vet on a holiday weekend!

As of last night she was rattling, yawning each breath, keeping her head and first 6 inches of her neck errect. so i began to freak out. An upper respratory infection.
I contacted his temporary housing friends.. they run a reptile rescue for our county. not bonoafide, but they house animals and rehome the reps cuz we're in south florida and we have ferral reps. They had baytril, which i thoroughly researched, and they agreed to give me some, with sterile syringes. i spent awhile researching it and the dose since i couldnt' get any help, and i am worried at her rapid decline.

So now she's in heat again, the baytril was 22.7 mg per ml. she is 300grams. so i calculated 15 unites to be 3.405 mg which she needs 3.33, but my math gave out on me.

I feel awful, just awful. she's technically, morally and legally MY responsibility now. but i practice good husbandry as best I can so I don't have THESE issues!
Personally, I think she needs a corticsteroid to stop the mucous production so she can breath. I can't find anyone open to even take her to if i
had $200. So i'm wondering and looking up the use of albuterol
nebulizers in herps. Any experience? Albuterol is a stimulant but I
know it's not like tylenol with adverse rx in animals. it's just an
upper. the saline will help break up the snot. she just started having it come out her nostrils today. so i'm wondering if i tent her tank and put my hand held neb in there for a few minutes just for her to get a minute dose of the albuterol and open her air ways?

Keeping in mind I was up all night with an
apoplectic 8 year old bawling her eyes out as "Lillith" is her new
best friend. I also know she needs fluids asap due to baytril's nephrotoxicity.

any advise is appreciated.

[Boanerges]

How long have you been giving the baytril?

[dr del]

Hi,

I don't know if any of the videos is of use?

YouTube - Injectable Solution ( enrofloxacin ) - part 1

YouTube - Injectable Solution ( enrofloxacin ) - part 2


dr del

[llovelace]

Maybe this will help http://www.leaplizard.com/articles/dosage.htmlBreathing treatments will not work on a snake.

[amandajf]

She got her first dose of baytril today. 15 unites = 3.405 mg of baytril so that is what we gave. 3.33mg was the proper dose, but it was hard for me to calculate it down to that small of an amount.

She is actually improving quite a bit. I just watched her awhile and she is breathing regularly without having to yawn or do the death rattle sound. This is hopeful, right?

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Mine improved quickly on the injections. I did lose one, but we're not sure the cause. She had an RI and improved to appearing normal, then was randomly dead one morning. I don't think it was necessarily related.

[amandajf]

Thank you guys so much. At this point my concern is for the animal. I just want to make sure I'm doing best by her. Now when I get my hands on my friend and can throttle him.. he'll need to be posting.

Hopefully the Baytril will work. If she lives my next goal is finding a good herp vet I can trust to avoid last minute ordeals. She is breathing better which gives me hope. Lord knows it could just mean she's too tired to rasp and yawn to breath and is gasping, but deep down I feel like it's working.

Those videos were exceedingly helpful. I'm stuck doing subsequent injections so seeing how easy it is helped out alot. I regret my syringes are insulin thin ones, but my snake is only 300g and his was 100g. I'll be extra careful.

[llovelace]

OMG were neighbors!!!!!! I got syringes if you need some.

[amandajf]

We are, we are. I'm in Port St. Lucie but work in downtown Stuart. Where are you?

Big John's feed supply in Ft. Pierce sells 25g, 3ml syringes. I traded them for 6 of the 3/10 cc insulin ones because my animal is so small.

Do you know of a vet in the area for me to use? That's my biggest problem. We have limited vets here and lord knows which oens really know herps v. the ones who claim to!

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Ah, hello from St Pete- too far to help, but still "neighbors" in a sense