septicemia :(

[open_eyes]

hi i'd be grateful for any feedback on this as i really feel like im at a loose end on this one. My three year old python was diagnosed with septicemia this time last year and was given a course of antibiotics (fortum) injected twice weekly. She was really quite poorly, hadnt eaten for about 6 months, blood under the scales covering quite a large section of her body and was really quite weak. Luckily she responded well to the antibiotics and pulled through, gradually started eating again and her condition improved. After a few months the blood under the scales came back, only covering a couple of cm of scales, took her back to the vets and she told me to keep an eye on it but it didn't look like anything to worry about as it didn't seem aggressive and she was eating, showing normal behaviour etc. So i did just that. For the past year this redness has came and went every few months in small patches, dissappearing shortly after and she appeared fine and eating well. I'd taken her back to the vets a few times and she'd said it looked like something she could fight herself and to continue to monitor it.
Anyway, about half way through september she stopped eating. i wasn't too concerned at first as i know how prone bps are to going off their food. I noticed the septicemia was back and after her refusing two feeds i took her back to the vet. Her muscle tone is too good for the vet to feel anything wrong but she's gave me the same course of antibiotics as last time to administer twice weekly. The first two weeks she was constantly roaming her cage and i could tell she was really stressed. After the second week i took her for a checkup and the vet said to just keep her going with the treatment. After the second week she's seemed to settle a bit, she's still not eating(ive been offering weekly)but she seems to be showing more normal behaviour. I've left her undisturbed during this time except when i clean her and to inject her. However i've noticed tonight that the redness has spread from one little patch under her chin to 2/3 larger patches along her neck. im worried that she's not responding as well as she did before and it's really getting me down as i feel helpless and that it's my fault she's suffering.
I understand how septicemia is caused, through bacteria entering the body through cuts etc, filthy cages and also a secondary infection to something more serious. So i know that chances are it is something i'm doing wrong.
As far as i know she hasn't had any injuries that could have caused this, her cage is cleaned regularly, water changed daily, faeces never left in there.
I keep her in a 4ft viv, heated by a red heat bulb on a thermostart, hot end 85-90,cold end 70-75. hide either end with the hot hide doubling as a hot spot under the bulb. water bowl in hot end,humidity 55, plenty of shelter and hiding places, newspaper substrate.At the minute she rests mainly in the cold hide but the vet has said to knock the temp up to help her fight this.
any suggestions on anything i could be doing wrong would be really helpful, i don't want to be making the situation any worse for her.
I'm really worried she's not going to pull through so if anyone knows of anything more i can do or has been in a similar situation id really like to hear from you.
sorry about the essay, i just wanted to be thorough

[CritterVet]

Sounds like there is a chronic problem here. Did the vet do any blood work? That would be a great next step towards getting to the root of the problem. Blood tests can tell us a lot about what is going on in the body. I would want to do a CBC and chemistry panel in this case.

Hang in there.

[JLC]

I would definitely bump the temps up. Your cool side is too cool even for regular maintenance, much less for a sick ball python. Aim for lower 80's on the cool side and closer to 90-92 on the warm side.

I hope this works out for you and you're able to help her kick the illness once and for all!

[blackcrystal22]

You have some husbandry problems that you need to work out.
First, 4ft is an awfully big cage. Cool side needs to be 80-85F and warm side 90-95F. Humidity 60%.

It sounds possibly stressed related, but a smaller enclosure will allow for you to regulate the problem and the temps more. Get rid of the heat lamp and get a UTH to put on the thermostat as well as getting some thermometers with probes for regulating the temperatures.
What kinds of hides are you using?

[mooingtricycle]

Get a second vet opinion.

[CoolioTiffany]

I might as well add in (since people have already got the husbandry needs down) that the snake's body is getting immune to the injections so the injections MAY not be working as successfully as it did the first time. It's the same thing when you take medicine too much, like when your sick and take some Robitussen (sp?) or Tylenol too much. Each time you take it your body starts to become immune to the effects of the medicine so once you've taken it too much (not from only ONE time your sick, but maybe a few other times) you can't use it anymore because your body has become immune to it.
Sorry if that was a little confusing to explain.

[CritterVet]

That doesn't actually happen, Tiffany. If the antibiotics aren't working it's because the infecting bacteria isn't susceptible, the issue isn't a bacterial infection, or the dose is wrong.

[open_eyes]

Hi thanks for all your posts of concern,I really appreciate it.hopefully I can get to the bottom of this with your help. Crittervet- I am due back 2 the vets on the 5th so I will suggest that to my vet.she has spoke to me about this before but said it can be quite long winded,hence the course of antibiotics.although I think this wud be a good next step seen as though she's not responding as well.ill let you know how it goes.blackcrystal-thanks for the advice,I hav been looking into getting under tank heating but with it being a large viv I wasn't sure it wud heat it as well.also id heard bad things about them.changing the viv atm is out of the question as I can't afford to.my viv is wooden so how wud I go about putting uth in?what size and wattage?and what thermostat is good 2 use?wud u add and additional heat source? Thanks for all the input guys,there's so many different opinions out there,its goos to get sum specific advice.x

[Nae]

Wooden? is the inside bottom of your viv wood or is it covered in plastic/plexiglass? I would think that the porous nature of wood could be holding some bacteria/mold, especially if the viv has been in use for some time or with more than one animal.

[open_eyes]

Its just the standard 4ft wooden vivs with glass sliding doors on the front.I clean it with reptile antibacterial (cascade). My beardie has the same one and I havnt had any problems with him.think I'm need to invest I'm a new glass viv sometime soon.