No problem at all with a disagreement, and that is actually a positive and functional aspect of this forum. The main goal of the forum is the dissemination of information from as many people as possible to allow individuals to gain knowledge and/or make informed decisions on specific topics. The forum will not function to its potential without proper debate.

On the humidity topic, there is definitely debate among boid keepers as far as the proper humidity levels to maintain during RI treatment. From the information and discussions that I have had, most long term boid keepers think that slightly higher humidity levels, along with a slight temp increase, will aid in the recovery of RI in boids from humid tropical habitats. One basis I have for agreement is the fact that I have seen tropical pythons on numerous occasions, especially burmese and the blood python group, that have acquired RI’s simply due to extended periods of low humidity without an accompanying temperature drop. I have also seen specimens of the above not respond to increased temps until the humidity levels were raised. Some vets even recommend the use of nebulizers to administer antibiotics to tropical boids with RI.

I do not disagree with your findings, and would be interested in your standard humidity levels, and actually how low your humidity levels were dropped, and how they were actually lowered. Were you able to measure the actual percent relative humidity at the lowest level? This would be important information to have. Humidity levels that are too high can actually cause respiratory problems as well. My guess is that the increase in temps you described solved the problem and you lowered the humidity, but not below an unacceptable level. Additionally, if results were being seen within a few days as you stated, I would also tend to question the cause of the respiratory problems these retics were experiencing. True bacterial RI would never be completely resolved within a few days, even with antibiotic treatment. It could have been a mechanical respiratory problem, as opposed to a biological one, that was resolved by the lowered humidity and higher temps. It would be interesting to hear the experiences of others concerning humidity and RI treatments with respect to other boids, as well as retics. Good discussion topic.

Kelly

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