RI update/creeping paranoia

[Annarose15]

Ok, that all took much longer to read than I expected, but here's a few thoughts.

1) Snakes can't cough mucous out of their lungs, so soaking is just for hydration.

2) When people talk about raising temps a few degrees, it's ambient, not the hot spot, so the air they are breathing is actually warmer.

3) Do not accept oral antibiotics - injectable only. The slow rate of snakes' metabolism does not allow them to absorb and utilize oral abx nearly as effectively.

4) If you're uncertain about injecting him/her yourself, have the vet either demonstrate the first shot for you, or even better, supervise you doing it yourself the first time.

5) Definitely sounds like your spider just drained a recent drink of water onto you.

6) Consider your sick snake to be in QT - separate tools, feeders, bowls, sponges, washing thoroughly and changing shirts between handling it and your other BPS, etc. If at all possible, do NOT handle your healthy animals on the same day you are working with the sick one.

7) With your multiple vet visits, did you ever get a culture done to know what you are actually fighting in the RI? What were the other four visits for?

[Salamander Rising]

Ok, that all took much longer to read than I expected, but here's a few thoughts.

1) Snakes can't cough mucous out of their lungs, so soaking is just for hydration.

2) When people talk about raising temps a few degrees, it's ambient, not the hot spot, so the air they are breathing is actually warmer.

3) Do not accept oral antibiotics - injectable only. The slow rate of snakes' metabolism does not allow them to absorb and utilize oral abx nearly as effectively.

4) If you're uncertain about injecting him/her yourself, have the vet either demonstrate the first shot for you, or even better, supervise you doing it yourself the first time.

5) Definitely sounds like your spider just drained a recent drink of water onto you.

6) Consider your sick snake to be in QT - separate tools, feeders, bowls, sponges, washing thoroughly and changing shirts between handling it and your other BPS, etc. If at all possible, do NOT handle your healthy animals on the same day you are working with the sick one.

7) With your multiple vet visits, did you ever get a culture done to know what you are actually fighting in the RI? What were the other four visits for?

Sorry.
The Irish are nothing if not gabby.

She's on the other side of the house, far from the other snakes and other than peeking in the tub but not touching her or the tub, she's the last snake tended every day.
[and except for tub scrubs or feeding, nobody's being played with, with the singuar exception of Leon's outing, just in case...I peek through the tops to check for messes, talk to them a bit and go on to the next tub]

Thanks to the dollar store, I now have a lifetime supply of hand sanitizer.....

She was not cultured as our normal vet is not snake savvy but is trying to study and become so for the future.

The other visits were for one of my dogs who died last week, another dog whose Thyroid tests were due, the same dog again for a hygroma which popped up 2 days after he went for thyro tests and then the trip for Norma.

And now as I was typing this, my regular vet just called and is going to start her shots tomorrow.

I'll ask him about cultures, then.

Bless his heart, he's been studying all the "sick snake info" I sent him....

I have hope!



I have to go find a smaller transport tub and a clean snake sack to put her in so she stays as warm as possible tomorrow.

Wish us luck!

[and thanks for the reassurance about Leon...you know how lovable Spiders are and he's one of my very favorite snakes]

[Annarose15]

Sorry.
The Irish are nothing if not gabby.

She's on the other side of the house, far from the other snakes and other than peeking in the tub but not touching her or the tub, she's the last snake tended every day.
[and except for tub scrubs or feeding, nobody's being played with, with the singuar exception of Leon's outing, just in case...I peek through the tops to check for messes, talk to them a bit and go on to the next tub]

Thanks to the dollar store, I now have a lifetime supply of hand sanitizer.....

She was not cultured as our normal vet is not snake savvy but is trying to study and become so for the future.

The other visits were for one of my dogs who died last week, another dog whose Thyroid tests were due, the same dog again for a hygroma which popped up 2 days after he went for thyro tests and then the trip for Norma.

And now as I was typing this, my regular vet just called and is going to start her shots tomorrow.

I'll ask him about cultures, then.

Bless his heart, he's been studying all the "sick snake info" I sent him....

I have hope!



I have to go find a smaller transport tub and a clean snake sack to put her in so she stays as warm as possible tomorrow.

Wish us luck!

[and thanks for the reassurance about Leon...you know how lovable Spiders are and he's one of my very favorite snakes]

No worries on the chattiness My sympathies on your pup that passed. I was confused that ALL of the visits were for snakes, but now I see. When it rains, it pours. I have a dog that's hypothyroid, so I feel your pain there. Getting a culture will help the vet target what "bug" is at work and choose the right antibiotic to treat it. As for a tub to transport, I would use a cardboard box (with styro inserts if you have them, shredded paper if you don't). Basically, pack her like she's being shipped. The cardboard will hold heat a little better than a plastic tub.

[Salamander Rising]

No worries on the chattiness My sympathies on your pup that passed. I was confused that ALL of the visits were for snakes, but now I see. When it rains, it pours. I have a dog that's hypothyroid, so I feel your pain there. Getting a culture will help the vet target what "bug" is at work and choose the right antibiotic to treat it. As for a tub to transport, I would use a cardboard box (with styro inserts if you have them, shredded paper if you don't). Basically, pack her like she's being shipped. The cardboard will hold heat a little better than a plastic tub.

You're brilliant!
I have a shipping box I saved with all the styro inserts intact!
Perfect!

Thank you!

Sorry about your thyro dog.
It's a never ending balancing act, isn't it?

If you haven't already, go visit Dr Jean Dodd's website.

http://www.hemopet.org

She is THE thyroid expert.

The dog who passed had been a train wreck since she was born.
She was the runt of the litter and the idiot greeder who bred her did not separate her from the other pups and she couldn't compete for food so she lived on their poop mixed in with pine shavings.
She had the worst load of coccidia my vet had ever seen and every other worm known to dogkind.
We spent $300 on her in the first 2 hours off the plane, just to keep her from dying before we got home.
[hypothermia, shock, dehydration, erratic heart rhythm, etc etc etc]
At 3 months old, she weighed 12 pounds when she should have weighed 20...or more.
It's a miracle she lived almost 10 years.
She was at the vet more times than all my other dogs, combined.
I took this photo the first night she was home because we didn't know if she was even going to make through the night.



I feel terrible that I couldn't fix what had been broken in the first 90 days of her life but sometimes, they get so damaged that early on that they're never really 'right' again.

She did have a run of a few years where she was doing pretty well.

She was a lovely, lively, happy in spite of it all dog and is greatly missed.

"Phoebe"



Sorry.

Being gabby again.