Snakes that only eat f/t?

[GoBoilers]

I know, but it's probably best for your BP to know quickly what's going on...not all antibiotics are created the same. One might be better for killing one bacteria than another and visa versa. It's best to do a culture and figure out exactly what bacteria is infecting your BP so that the right antibiotic is chosen right away as opposed to the "blind guess" technique ie. if one antibiotic doesn't work, try this one next! Especially if your guy has already lost some weight...time is really a factor and even though it's more money up front, you may save a little cash by getting the right antibiotic off the bat as opposed to having to buy 2 or 3 antibiotics because the one before didn't work. You're also helping to prevent overall bacterial resistance to antibiotics by getting only what you absolutely need and keeping our current stockpile of antibiotics effective for a longer period of time! MRSA is one example of a super-bug that was created out of our tendency to throw antibiotics at everything!

And be sure to up those temps! That can have an equally important impact in his overcoming an infection!

[GoBoilers]

p.s. Good luck!! I hope everything turns out okay!!

[dsmalex97]

p.s. Good luck!! I hope everything turns out okay!!

thanks appreciate all the help!! Temps are higher as well!!

[kc261]

There are lots of antibiotics available without a prescription. Tylan is only one of them. There are at least a few different ones available for farm animals, and a few available for aquarium fish. We can even get antibiotic ointment for humans.

However, what we can't get OTC is a culture that will tell us what sort of infection it is, and which antibiotics will help. Even broad-spectrum antibiotics like Baytril won't cure every infection, so if you want to give your snake the best chance of getting better ASAP, go to your vet and get a culture done. Then your vet will know which medicine to prescribe.

Here is a link to an old thread in which the possibility of treating a BP's RI with Tylan is discussed:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ighlight=tylan

I believe one person reported first hand success using Tylan to treat RI in a BP. Of course, we don't know for sure it was the Tylan that worked. Maybe the BP never had an RI. One time I managed to drop a drop of water right on the nose of one of my snakes. Immediately after, she whistling, popping, wheezing, and bubbling, just like they are supposed to with RIs, except her symptoms faded within a few hours. Something similar could have happened in this case and in others where snakes supposedly recover from RIs with no treatment or alternative treatments (or even those that get "properly" diagnosed and treated by a vet that is clueless about herps).

More importantly, several people pointed out problems with Tylan. Most of the 2nd hand info that was shared in that thread was about treating boas, not BPs. Maybe it is a very good RI treatment for boas, but that won't necessarily help a BP. Also, Tylan is apparently only effective against either gram negative or gram positive bacteria (don't remember which), but not both. If you don't know what kind of bacteria your BP has, you can't know if Tylan will be effective.

As far as your feeding question, an RI can definitely put your snake off feed. I recommend taking him to a vet, getting a culture done, and treating the RI. I wouldn't be surprised if once he is well again, he starts eating again.