Fun ain't it! For one, I hate Baytril. Whew, got that off my chest.



I set up a PVC restraint system, that I call the Trough of Pain.



I took a six inch PVC pipe and cut it lengthwise. It looks like a big U and smoothed the edges and slightly padded with duct tape with a cap or bag fastened on one end. The trick is to get the snake in the tube like you would with a restraining tube, but have room to inject the snake an allow for the animals thrashing. The objective is to size the animal to the tube to minimize the amount of space that could thrash. With this setup I can inject 20 pound snakes by myself quickly to minimize stress.



The other option is to bag the snake in a cloth bag, let them settle and tighten the bag to get them to curl up and place them in a shallow plastic tub to restrict their movement. Locate the injection point through the bag with someone holding down the snake around the injection site and inject.



However, you do it keep in mind the following:

1. Do it quickly to minimize stress,

2. Protect yourself from getting bitten or accidently injecting yourself.

3. Make sure you inject correctly based on the medicine (Baytril is intra-muscular, Amikacin is sub-cutaneous) for effective administration of drugs.

4. Amikacin requires hydration so soak before.

5. Elevated temps for proper immune system function.



Hope that helps. I handled a lot of rescued snakes that had respiratory problems and having a knowledgeable vet is a must. But even he likes having me explain and show his vet techs how to inject big snakes. Try a 12-13ft burmese python! Or a nasty 5ft d'alberts python with stomatitis requiring mouth rinses three times daily, now we are talking fun.

[ Show Entire Thread ]