Behira - 2016 Female Ivory Ghost - First BCI

[dakski]

Behira looks ready to shed, but has not shed yet. I am keeping humidity way up and will soak her again tomorrow if she hasn't shed yet, or even if she has. Want her scales/skin feeling nice and moist and comfortable.

[richardhind1972]

Behira looks ready to shed, but has not shed yet. I am keeping humidity way up and will soak her again tomorrow if she hasn't shed yet, or even if she has. Want her scales/skin feeling nice and moist and comfortable.

I really hope this works dave

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[dakski]

I really hope this works dave

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Thank you Rich. I am open to the idea that between this shed, the soaking, the electrolytes, etc. that it may take 1-2 more sheds to clear up. I am really hoping that's all. I am optimistic, but also nervous.

Given her behavior, and nothing bad on the blood test or stool sample, I am really hoping it's hormonal and/or a bad shed that started this and she can fight it off with help.

[dakski]

Okay. Bad news and good news.

Bad news: Behira Shed today. I went out for two hours, came back to check humidity, and there was fresh shed Behira. This 19 days from last shed. Not good.

Good news: She had a great shed and her skin/scales look MUCH less irritated and MUCH less red.

I took some pictures, but you have to look for the redness. There is a little on her underside near her tail and a tiny bit on her side near the tail too. However, it's about 80-90% less than last shed, if I can quantify it. I think this is a really good sign. Irritation appears to be going down.

I soaked her after her shed in the electrolyte soak and she really seems to enjoy that.

I also plan to feed her tonight and every 10 days or so for a bit to help her get her strength back. I had been feeding every 3 weeks.

[dakski]

More good news and bad news.

I did not feed Behira last night, but did tonight. She NAILED the rat BOA STYLE!

As mentioned, I will be feeding her more frequently on a go forward basis. At least until her skin issues resolve and she gets more strength back and starts putting on weight again.

Earlier in the day, she left me a present and weighed in dry at 1,680G, which is about what she's been since the skin issues started.

Additionally, she was little redder on her belly today then yesterday. Once she has digested this meal, or about 2 days, I will soak her again with the electrolyte soak.

Fingers crossed she goes longer between sheds this time.

[dakski]

Behira got another good soak today. Her scales on her body have some red blotches, but they are faint. This seems to be a similar pattern as last time. Her belly is still reddish, but not horrible.

After a 25 minute soak, her skin/scales looked better. I am hoping the soaks are penetrating her scales and giving her some relief and hopefully more than just relief, but moving towards getting her cured.

I checked in with the vet again. Through the front desk person, she said she is leaning away from a skin infection because of how normal, or how close to normal, her white blood count was. I asked about topical treatment and she said that she really doesn't do that with snakes, at least not a whole body type problem. She said to keep soaking her if that seems to help and see if it resolves over time. She is also very happy she (Behira) is pounding food.

She said the next step would be imaging, fearing that something more serious is going on. I am not sure how I feel about that given how she is a) eating and b) acting normal otherwise. However, I am running out of ideas and getting really discouraged. I will be even more discouraged if the soaks don't help. Having said that, I will give them some time as they do seem to give her relief, at least momentarily. Plus, it could take a few sheds to resolve and I do not know how to measure progress for this as no one seems to now what's going on.

I even emailed Vin Russo, having read his books, and he hadn't really heard of this either. He was very kind to quickly and thoroughly email me back, and I thank him for that, but he also said if it wasn't a bacterial infection on the skin, he had no clue.

EDIT: I wanted to add how much I appreciate everyone on here who has been following along and thinking of Behira and sending well wishes. THANK YOU. It means a lot.

[dakski]

Sorry for another quick update.

I just had a long talk with Don Soderberg, who is another reptile breeder I trust implicitly, and who I bought Solana from.

He thinks we should culture Behira's scales/skin and look for a bacterial infection. He says the shed cycle is too fast and something is wrong, but that a skin infection, in his experience, may not show up on a blood test RE white blood count. He insists that illness causes a sped up shed cycle and that's it's not random. Something is causing Behira to feel the need to shed. Additionally, he thought it was very interesting she's spending 90% of her time on the hot side, versus 10% historically.

I am going to call the vet tomorrow and ask about that.

Additionally, I wanted to mention something about Katie and Behira. Katie has had her differences with Behira over the years. First when she nailed me (food response) and then when she realized how big she would get. Last week Behira needed to eat and I was sick and in bed. I got up to take the rat out and went back to bed and set my alarm. I got up to feed Behira and she ate like a champ and I went back to bed. However, Katie, who's fed each corn snake once, offered to feed Behira if I didn't wake up/was too sick. That blew my mind. She's really come a long way and cares deeply for me and for the reptiles, even if she doesn't always show it. I didn't want her to have to feed Behira, and would have fed her the next day if I couldn't get up, but the thought meant a lot and I know she would have done it.

I am a lucky guy.

[Bogertophis]

You're such a dedicated & caring keeper, Dave. How frustrating this must be to have such vague & conflicting information as "answers".

On the one hand you have your vet saying ..."the next step would be imaging, fearing that something more serious is going on." which is certainly
not comforting & makes me wonder what other things she has in mind? It's interesting that you also checked with Dan Soderberg for his input,
& for what it's worth I agree with his comment "that illness causes a sped up shed cycle and that's it's not random..." & also that "he thought it
was very interesting she's spending 90% of her time on the hot side, versus 10% historically." I also think that "illness" could include something
atypical that you don't always consider an "illness", like some sort of chemical exposure that messes with a snake's body...but how you track that
down is beyond me. I'd want to rule out an external bacterial infection for sure...you have to start somewhere & that's the most accessible. I hope you can get
this figured out & soon...

[dakski]

You're such a dedicated & caring keeper, Dave. How frustrating this must be to have such vague & conflicting information as "answers".

On the one hand you have your vet saying ..."the next step would be imaging, fearing that something more serious is going on." which is certainly
not comforting & makes me wonder what other things she has in mind? It's interesting that you also checked with Dan Soderberg for his input,
& for what it's worth I agree with his comment "that illness causes a sped up shed cycle and that's it's not random..." & also that "he thought it
was very interesting she's spending 90% of her time on the hot side, versus 10% historically." I also think that "illness" could include something
atypical that you don't always consider an "illness", like some sort of chemical exposure that messes with a snake's body...but how you track that
down is beyond me. I'd want to rule out an external bacterial infection for sure...you have to start somewhere & that's the most accessible. I hope you can get
this figured out & soon...

Thank you for the kind words.

Don is a good guy and has more experience than most in the business. He was breeding snakes before most breeders were born (and I was born).

I will advise after I speak with the vet tomorrow.

We will get to the bottom of this (I say with confidence but not 100% certainty).

[richardhind1972]

Really hope you get to the bottom of this with her, Is she loosing any weight or remaining the same

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