"Rescued" a group of ball pythons, have a few questions.

[angllady2]

So, this is kind of an odd experience for me. A few days ago I get a text from a guy who buys mice form me from time to time. He has decided to get out of ball pythons and focus on his bearded dragons. I can understand that. Then he tells me he wants me to take his snakes.

I had no idea what to think. Was this a joke ? Was he wanting to pawn a bunch of normals off on me that I can't breed or sell later ? Were they sick or something else ? And where was I supposed to house them ?

So I tell him I'll think about it. Later that evening he calls me. He is serious about this. He has met me before, seen my snakes and knows how much I love them. He says a good home is much more important to him than money. He wants to send me all 10 of his ball pythons, their rack with heat and thermostats, their hides and water dishes, basically everything included. He says perhaps at a later date, he might like to get a morph from me, and he feels like if he gives me all these things, I'll be more likely to give him a good deal on a future purchase.

So I drive to the guys house, and the first thing I notice is his house reeks. I don't know exactly what the smell was, but it gave me a headache within minutes, and left me feeling dizzy the rest of the night. He shows me the rack. Just a basic homemade melamine rack, seven tubs in it. He's got zoo med heat pads on each shelf and a pair of thermostats to run them. Then he starts pulling out the snakes. It turns out he has a cinnamon male, yellow belly male, spider male, mojave male, pastel female, and 5 normal females, two of which are breeding size. So we bag the snakes, manage to load the rack, hides, water dishes and such. Then, as I am leaving, he mentions that the spider and mojave both have RI, and he gives me a test tube that supposedly contains Baytril. They have never seen a vet, apparently he just calls his vet and tells him what he needs, and the vet gives it to him.

So I get the babies home, and later that night after hubby gets home we re-do the rack, which was a mess, and start getting the snakes settled. The spider seems fine, but the mojave definitely has an RI. Everybody is in quarantine right now, the mojave is separated from the others. They all act very hungry, and he tells me when I ask, he hasn't fed them for a few weeks so they would eat when I got them.

So, I am looking at this little test tube of Baytril, and it reads, "Bovine Baytril" no strength or anything. I have no intention of using this stuff, but apparently he already has been. Can this stuff hurt the snakes ? I have no idea what dose he's been using, but he claims he's been treating the spider for about 3 months now.

So here I am. I have my established collection of 25 snakes. 9 new ones in quarantine in the storage room, 1 in quarantine in the bathroom. I just keep wondering what on earth I got myself in to. Also, since I know the mojave has RI, what are the odds they all might, since they were in the same rack system, no quarantine at all when I got them ? Should I wait for them to show symptoms before I treat ? or just treat everyone as a preventative measure ? I realize treating them all will cost me a pretty penny, and I am prepared for that. All my husband could think about was, " Yes, free snakes!" Let this be a lesson, there is no such thing.

Ok, I guess I'm done rambling. Send some positive thoughts my way if you can. The next 6 months are going to be a bumpy ride for me.

Gale

[devildog_dk]

Was the baytril he gave you supposed to be oral or injectable? And without the strength you would have no way of calculating a dosage, so I wouldn't use it either. Should probably get him to a vet if he's had the RI for a while already.

Gratz on the pickups though! Basically got an entire small breeding operation for free!

[KMG]

I wish somebody wanted to give me just a spider. Sounds like you have some work to do but it sounds like you really lucked out.

I would take the ones your concerned about to the vet. Then ask them if you should treat them all.

[Poseidon]

His vet gave him cow medication for a cow respiratory disease? I don't buy it. Says it's broad-spectrum antimicrobial for serious infections. Broad-spectrum means it's a general antibiotic. Like going to the doc for an ear infection - broad spectrum vs going to the doc for strep - narrow spectrum. I'd say yes, it is very possible it's hurting the snakes.

[Tfpets]

Keep them quarantined, keep the husbandry and cleanliness perfect and keep a close eye on them. I don't think it would make sense to treat all of them. I don't think they would all necessarily be infected. The one with the obvious RI might come around if conditions are improved, it's possible. Overall, use your best judgment and congrats!

[angllady2]

Thanks for the replies.

It is supposed to be injectable Baytril. But, the label on it is hand written and simply says, "Bovine Baytril" no dosage, no strength, no anything. Not in a million years would I give this stuff to a snake.

The spider he says he's been treating for an RI for 3 months seems fine. No clicking, popping, wheezing, no mucous no nothing. The mojave has the classic symptoms of a mild RI, but he says he's never treated the mojave.

I spoke to him again last night for more details, since the spider doesn't seem sick. I found out he's been treating him for an RI because he hisses when handled. Apparently he's never heard any of his snakes make that sound, so he knew it was an RI. The mojave's clicking and popping he figured was due to him re-aligning his jaws because he yawns so much, so he's pretty sure the mojave is fine.

Heaven save me from stupid people. So, I will be going to my own vet today for the correct treatment for the little mojave. And I'll hope like heck that 3 months of cow baytril injections didn't do any lasting damage to the spider. Aside from almost certainly making anything he does catch anti-biotic resistant.

I'm going to ask my vet about treating the group and see what she says. Since I no longer believe they have been exposed to an active RI for 3 months, I will probably just see what good husbandry and food does for them.

Naturally their quarantine will be a long one, just to be sure. The cinnamon, yellowbelly and pastel I know I am most likely keeping. The little spider I probably won't. Hubby has his, and I'm just not that in to spider's and spider combos. Once I know he's fine, he'll probably be sold. He's a handsome little guy. The two biggest normals hubby wants to keep { no surprise there since he's terribly jealous of my hard earned collection}. The smaller normal girls will go up for sale when I know they are healthy.

Tonight I'll be attempting to feed them after my own collection eats, and we'll see how that goes.

Gale

[mackynz]

Oh wow, best of luck to you. And I could guess that bovine baytril would be pretty heavy stuff. Cows being large and all.

[Mike41793]

Good luck gale! I know its alot of work and some of your own money for vet bills but it seems like you got the better end of the stick here. Congrats on your new pickups.

ALthough after reading the whole story the thing i still am most curious about is the smell...? What did it smell like lol?

[angllady2]

I can't describe the smell.

It was like medicine, something sweetish, mildew, and ammonia all mixed together. A nasty, chemically smell. And it permeated his whole house. Upstairs and down. You could even smell it outside, standing near the door. The rack still smells like that. The hides and water dishes did until I washed them. Even the snakes smelled faintly of it for a day or so. I've never smelled anything like that, and considering how it affected me, I can't imagine it being healthy for him or his animals.


Gale

[DavidMundy]

The smells you are describing are similar to crack cocaine and meth...It could be something different but I would deff get rid of that rack if I were you just to be on the safe side.