Take it from an old Respiratory Therapist with many years experience treating patients in the intensive care unit with respiratory infections and various other respiratory illnesses that the conventional wisdom of reducing the humidity to "dry up" the secretions is exactly what you do NOT want to do. Reducing the humidity will only tend to thicken the secretions in the snakes respiratory system and make it that much harder for it to clear them.
Important components of an effective treatment regimen for treating respiratory infections are as follows:
1. CATCH THE INFECTION EARLY!
2. Raise the temps for the entire cage to the mid to upper 90's. No gradient, as some snakes will seek out the cooler end if given the choice - for some reason the sicker they are the more they seem to seeck out the cool end. It is almost like they are "giving up". The higher temps allow the snakes immune system to work much more effectively. If caught early. often just raising the temps will allow the snakes imune system to beat the infection.
3. Administer appropriate antibiotics at the appropriate dose. Yes, it is always better if you can get a culture, BUT you should NEVER delay administration of antibiotics to a very sick snake waiting for cultures to come back. A good vet will culture and then start treatment immediately. Especially if the vet is sending the culture out as it normally takes 48 hours for results to come back. If it turns out when the culture comes back that the antibiotic is not the most effective against the particular organisim the antibiotic can be changed at that time. Don't try and treat yourself unless you know what exactly what you are doing. The proper dose is very important. The antibiotics used to treat reptiles tend to be quite toxic expecially to the kidneys and MANY snakes ultimately succomb to the effects of overdosing or secondary kidney failure.
4. Make sure the snake remains properly hydrated. I almost always administer fluids to any snake that I have started on antibiotic therapy. Proper hydration significantly reduces the negative impact on the snakes kidneys from the antibiotics normally used to treat RI in reptiles. Proper hydration also helps keep the secretions in the respiratory tract hydrated so they can be more easily be removed (coughed out) by the snake. Maintaining proper hydration of the sick snake and not allowing it to become dehydrated is actuallyprobably one of the most important things you can do to increase the viability of a really sick snake undergoing antibiotic therappy. I also maintain proper humidity levels in the cage for the same reason.
Hope this helps!
Grant

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