IBD? RI? Or just paranoid? Help!

[Anergyne]

Hello, I own a 5 month old ball python and I purchased her from a local pet store. She is my first snake and I was unaware that I was purchasing a severely underweight and dehydrated snake with mites. After a bit of luck I got her eating and after a few times of force feeding water and soaking I got her to a healthy weight and she drinks and soaks on her own. I fought the mites for a while until she got what seemed to be a RI. I soon took her to the vet for a professional outlook. He gave me trichlorfon for the mites and an oral cleanser for her mouth, which he suspected mouth rot. The vet also said I should look for signs for IBD as well. After doing the research I've become very paranoid and I watch her like a hawk. After the trichlorfon dip and a good shed she was mite free and seemed so healthy. One thing I noticed was how she was having problems pulling the skin from her face. I ended up having to aid her and it seemed stuck to her nose. Finally it pulled free and what looked like plugs came out. She took a DEEP breath and stopped open mouth breathing, popping, and wheezing. Everything seemed to be perfect, except the threat of IBD hanging over head.

I've seen her start to stargaze (she'll stick her head straight up for about 2 or 3 minutes at a time but never doubling back) and after a 3 weeks of good health, she's open mouth breathing, popping, and wheezing again. I've done a few tests that I've read (laying her upside down and she does right herself imidiately as well as holding her from her tail and she doubles back and climbs back up to my hand). She is eating like clockwork, and doing her business just fine.

IBD? - Do the signs of IBD ever seem to fade then return? Or is it normally a constant downhill of health?

RI? - Any way I can help this without taking her to the vet? I wish I could take her, but I currently do not have the funds. Should I continue to administer the oral mouth cleanser, or is that going to cause more problems with her breathing?

If this is a possible case of mouth rot, I still have that oral cleaner, I've been giving it to her daily, but I'm not seeing any improvement.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I hope I got everything.

[Somed00d]

It sounds like a RI.

sticking her head up is also a symptom of a RI.

check out this link:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=50

[Anergyne]

Thank you. ^-^

[starmom]

It does sound like an RI.
I would take her to the vet.
The vet will take a sample of the mucous in order to determine the correct course of antibiotics and the vet will show you how to give the shots so that you can give the rest of the course of meds from home.

[filly77]

how long ago did you buy her? if it's within the time frame of the pet stores policy, i'd call and ask what they offer for such occurrences. (I bought a budgie from petco, several years back, it was sick, the vet had to put it down due to some disease I forget what it was, but petco gave me a full refund and even reimbursed me for the vet bill because it was within the time frame and the avian vet wrote a letter explaining what was wrong w/ the budgie, so you never know, the store MIGHT help w/ something?)

You mentioned nothing about temps and humidity, what are they?

And there's nothing you can do for your snakes RI at home, she needs to go back to the vet, the sooner the better or the outcome wont be good...

[Anergyne]

Well, my boyfriend helped with the vet bill, and I just got back. He said it looks like a trachea infection. He gave me some antibiotics to rub in her mouth once a day.

Also I've been keeping the temp up as much as I can without over doing it. She's in my quarantine which is smaller and my thermostat is stuck to the other tank. The humidity has been kept low as well. I guess we'll just sit this one out giving medicine everyday.

I'm still looking for signs of IBD but she's been getting so fat and eating well, it seems we might be in the clear. Thanks for you're help. ^-^

[starmom]

I really would not stress yourself out over IBD... really, I wouldn't. I'm really glad that the BF helped you and the snake out!! Great guy!!

[Skiploder]

I've seen her start to stargaze (she'll stick her head straight up for about 2 or 3 minutes at a time but never doubling back)

That's not star-gazing. It's either because of her respiratory infection or some snakes just do this. Maybe they see something interesting overhead, who knows, but I have a few who do it and have been doing it for years.

Bottom line is that she's eating and putting on weight. That's an excellent sign.

and after a 3 weeks of good health, she's open mouth breathing, popping, and wheezing again. I've done a few tests that I've read (laying her upside down and she does right herself imidiately as well as holding her from her tail and she doubles back and climbs back up to my hand). She is eating like clockwork, and doing her business just fine.

IBD? - Do the signs of IBD ever seem to fade then return? Or is it normally a constant downhill of health?

It sounds like the original case of RI was never really dealt with. Get her properly treated via your vet and get her clear of the RI.

If she continues to get RIs after being properly treated, and still is experiencing stomatitis (also after being properly treated), then you can start to think about more serious issues.

IBD does not fade and return. It presents itself as a serious of ailments that stem from the compromising of the immune system (think AIDS). Infected symptomatic animals can show a wide range of symptoms, from neurological issues to chronic infections that clear, then come back.

Again - you first have to make sure that your snake has been properly treated per the instructions of your vet.

RI? - Any way I can help this without taking her to the vet? I wish I could take her, but I currently do not have the funds. Should I continue to administer the oral mouth cleanser, or is that going to cause more problems with her breathing?

If this is a possible case of mouth rot, I still have that oral cleaner, I've been giving it to her daily, but I'm not seeing any improvement.

She needs to go to the vet. A lot of people will give you conflicting advice on home treatments for the various symptoms she's having, but in the end, your Vet needs to diagnose her and administer the appropriate treatments.

Ditto on the stomatitis. Can you still see the infection? Did you administer the medication for the full duration? A follow up appointment with the Vet is your best course of action.