Trouble with hognose RI not responding to antibiotics

[SeaPancake]

It sounds like you're doing everything as well as you can. Getting the culture done is the most important part and honestly probably the only thing I would consider doing a repeat of if the symptoms kick back up. I wouldn't try any other antibiotics without another... It's a bit more invasive, but you may want to ask about doing a respiratory flush and culture. That way it's not just the mouth mucus, you can hopefully get a sample from a little deeper down in the trachea and such.

If he's gaining weight and active otherwise, I would give him a chance. It could just be something he'll have to deal with longterm. I had a dog with chronic respiratory issues and lung damage. It was difficult at times, but she was a happy little girl. The only downside here is just that reptiles are even more secretive about when they're feeling ill. So it can be hard to pick up on the early signs of a flare up.

It's a tough decision regardless. Thank you for already stepping up and doing so much though! That's already such an important part of things. I hope that you can get some other advice and maybe a better idea from other hoggie keepers. I like the little guys but I haven't actually owned them myself.

I just made another appointment for him and I'm definitely going to bring up the possibility of doing a culture via respiratory flush (if it's even possible on a snake his size, he's about as small as full grown males tend to come). When he got the swab culture done there was a bit of blood in the sample which the vet said might mess with the results, but in the end I was told the sample turned out to be fine. I've always wondered if it ended up being a bad reading.

I would be less concerned if his symptoms were holding steady and it just seemed like something chronic but the recent sneezing up of white fluid is something new so that's what has me worried right now. I'm seeing a different, very experienced, vet this time to get an overall second opinion on next steps. Fingers crossed!