Your experience with RI's relapsing

[oskyle1567]

I am hopefully getting over 3 cases of RI. They all have been to the vent and have been prescribed Ceftazidime. My vet said they will always be more susceptible to RI's even when there completely healed. My question to you is out of how many snakes you have treated with an RI relapse months maybe years down the road and how often do they? Also wondering if those snakes were immune to the previous medication or dosage.

[LLLReptile]

I've never had one of my own snakes come down with one, but I have helped numerous customers fix issues in their animals.

Out of dozens of animals with issues, the majority were due to improper husbandry of some kind. Fixing the husbandry fixed the RI in most cases, and for the small percentage that fixing the husbandry didn't fix it, a trip to the vet did. In the last 5 years, I've not heard of one of these kinds of customers coming back with a repeat RI that could not also be blamed on a return to the conditions that led to the initial RI in the first place.

However, there have been one or two where the animal(s) seemed to get sick for no particular reason, and I have read on a couple of forums of people with animals that contracted a viral type of RI. One such forum poster (this was years ago, so forgive me, the details are fuzzy) received a sick animal that ended up wiping out most of her collection. I remember that one story in particular because it was so sad, especially how quickly the snakes started passing away once the illness spread. I don't remember much beyond that, unfortunately, because again this was several years ago. I've never dealt with this in person, though, I just offer that as an "I read this once" anecdote.

So, if the RI's your snakes have were due initially to husbandry issues that have since been corrected, you're probably safe in assuming that as long as you keep up on husbandry, the RIs won't return.

-Jen

[jbean7916]

I bought my first male spider and realized he had an RI as soon as we got home. Took him to the very and got him on baytril. He cleared up and I thought we were good. Then a couple months later the wheezing was back. Vet trip again, this time we cultured and did different meds. Things were looking good until several months later. We had been pairing him with our female since he had been symptom free for 3 months. Well about a month in he started with symptoms again and they came on bad and fast. I hadn't noticed any wheezing or popping but when I went to get him from his weekly break in his own tub he was slobbering all over the place! We made yet another vet appointment but he didnt make it the 3 days we had to wait.

I was heartbroken but so thankful he didn't pass it to the female he had been locking with.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[don15681]

here's a link below with one of the best exotics vets talking mostly about ball pythons. it's long and very good. hope this answers most of your questions. don

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reptile...ile-veterinary

[Pampho85]

I don't have any animals, but, one of my friends does and two of his snakes have gotten RI before. Luckily, he spotted it during an early stage, so he didn't go to the vet. Instead he did this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNNTr...feature=relmfu

It seemed effective enough, but, I'd advise if it's at a later stage, this might not help.

[kitedemon]

I work with a reptile rescue group. I have looked after a few RI cases now. We ended up keeping one of the rehab cases. She is about the sweetest snake I have ever 'met' anyway. She was being treated when she arrived (batryl) no culture. She got better but not cured. After the cycle was over she was still ok not 100% we watched and waited 6 months later ( cultures are not very effective during or immediately after antibiotics have been administered) We took her for a culture (lung wash) the vet proscribed a different cycle on antibiotics and over a year and a half later she is 100% better.

The advise that I got from my vet was culture culture culture! The advise I read here is the same and the advise I give is also the same. Yes recovery is quite possible especially if the case is not advanced and the correct drugs and dose is delivered.

[oskyle1567]

Thanks for the replies guys! I have been doing the f-10 technique thereptileguy which im not too sold on maybe mild cases but from my experience the one mild case i had only showed minimal improvements at first then eventually turned into a full blown ri. I did a treatment of 2.27% baytril 10 days of .3ml for my larger snakes and .1ml for smaller and had success with one and minimal improvements on the other two. So i went back to my vet and she prescribed ceftizadime which there all on now. .1ml per kg or "1000g" every 3 days. I took the advice of my vet not to get everyone cultured but it may bite me in the a** at the end of the day. All 3 of the snakes that have ri's now were shipped that way from the sellers frustrating...