While obviously dependent on condition and need, I have listed below the more common antibiotics, and their classes, that are used in boids to treat the majority of bacterial infections. While culturing and antibiotic susceptibility testing is highly recommended, it is not always possible, or accurate in the identification of the causative organism.

Tylan, or tylosin, is a macrolide class antibiotic that is mainly effective against only gram positive bacteria. It has been used successfully to treat chronic RI caused by Streptococcus and Mycoplasma bacteria in reptiles. Some people confuse Mycoplasma with bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium, which causes tuberculosis, but they are completely different. Tylosin will work well if the causative organism of the RI is Mycoplasma, otherwise it will usually be ineffective in resolving any other types of infections. John touched on this in his post, but if you are getting reoccurring RI’s in some of your snakes, and other antibiotics have failed even though environmental conditions appear to be good, you may have Mycoplasm in your collection. Another aspect of tylosin is that it has a very wide margin of safety.

Baytril, or enrofloxacin, is in a relatively newer class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. This class also includes the antibiotic Cipro. They are both used in reptile medicine, with Cipro being slightly superior to Baytril. The main drawback with Baytril is that it will sometimes cause tissue damage at the injection site. Cipro is given orally, but I believe there is now an oral form of Baytril as well. The advantage of these antibiotics is that they are relatively safe, and very effective against most gram negative bacteria, and they penetrate tissue well, so they are a good choice for most RI or other tissue infections. The oral administration of Cipro has also shown to be very effective against intestinal infections. There are other newer generation fluoroquinolone antibiotics that are broader spectrum, but they are very expensive and haven’t been used with reptiles that I know of.

Amikacin is an aminoglycoside class antibiotic that is mainly effective against gram negative bacteria. It has about the widest spectrum of activity of all the aminoglycosides. It is a potent and very effective antibiotic against most reptile RI’s and stomatitis (mouth rot), but it has the drawback of being toxic, and proper dosing is very important. Overdosing will cause liver and kidney damage, and ultimately death several weeks or sometimes months later. Clean and drinkable water must be available at all times when using aminoglycosides, however artificial hydration has not shown to be needed. If care is taken, it can be safely used. Additionally, blood and borneo short-tail pythons are very sensitive to the aminoglycosides, and the dose needs to be halved for these species.

Fortaz, or ceftazidime, is a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic. It’s mainly effective against gram negative bacteria, and many of the more antibiotic resistant forms. It is relative safe and works well against many RI’s in reptiles, as most of these are caused by gram negative bacteria species. Ceftriaxone, another third generation cephalosporin, has also shown to work very well on severe cases of stomatitis.

There are several issues concerning the use of penicillin class antibiotics with reptiles. One problem is the limited spectrum of activity, as penicillin will only be effective against a small number of bacterial species that cause illness in reptiles. Another critical point is that bacterial resistance to penicillin develops rapidly, and many species are now resistant to it. Penicillin group antibiotics, including extended spectrum ampicillin and amoxicillin, have short half-lives in the body and must be given daily. Additionally, they require large doses as in 50 mg per kg body weight or more to be effective on even a susceptible organism. One nice thing however is that penicillin is quite non-toxic and has a large margin of safety.

As John stated, respiratory fungal infections do occur in boids, and these would be unresponsive to conventional antibiotics. However, fungal infections usually show up in boids that are even more immuno-compromised than boids that acquire most bacterial RI’s. These boids can have weakened immune systems that are caused by either environmental conditions and/or their individual genetics. Anti-fungal agents for use in reptiles have not been studied to near the degree as antibiotics.

And lastly, there are three main reasons why a specific antibiotic treatment will fail with regards to a bacterial infection. The target bacterial species is resistant to the antibiotic being administered. The dosage of that antibiotic is incorrect. Or, the environmental conditions of the snake being treated are sub-optimal (temp, humidity, etc). Just keep in mind that the bacteria that is causing the RI has always been in the snake. Something within the snake or its environment has changed to lower its resistance and allowed the bacteria too overcome the snake’s immune system. If the fluid and bubbles are still clear, you have caught it early and it should come around without major problems. Additionally, if caught really early, adjustment of the environmental conditions alone (temps, humidity, etc.) can sometimes be successful in treatment of the RI without the use of antibiotics. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Kelly

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