Beth touched on an area of concern with the use of amikacin, or any of the other aminoglycoside class antibiotics (gentamicin, tobramycin, kanamycin, etc.). Many don’t realize that it is highly risky to use them with any snake that may be physically compromised beyond the fact that it has an RI. This class of antibiotics should only be used with snakes that are in good physical condition, not underweight, or dehydrated, etc. It is a great antibiotic for RI’s, easily as effective as Baytril in most cases, it just needs to be used within certain criterion to maximize it’s effectiveness, number one of which is to maintain good hydration.

Mike mentioned some other safer alternative antibiotics like the cephalosporin class antibiotic ceftazidime. It is a great, safe choice for most RI’s, one of the best, but is a little higher priced. A really good additional one for snakes that are still feeding is ciprofloxacin, or Cipro. This is one of my favorites as it can be used for enteric infections as well as tissue infections. It is a fluoroquinolone class antibiotic just like Baytril, but is slightly more effective and has an equal or better spectrum of activity against pathogenic bacteria. It is fairly inexpensive; however the vet will need to write a prescription for it as it will need to be purchased at a pharmacy. It comes in tablet form and can be placed in a small food item. It is very safe and the dosage is not highly critical like amikacin. There are other highly effective antibiotics out there as well, but these are the most commonly used in snakes.

Kelly

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