Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The large burm I rescued a year ago came with a URI and mouth rot. I thought they had been successfully treated, but the URI seems to come and go (i.e. he has his good and bad days). I need to know what the best cure/treatment is until I can get him to the vet again.

The best I can say is keeping his humidity and temperatures a little higher than normal (85 cool side/95 warm side with humidity no less than 70%) I really think he needs to get to a vet ASAP though as they will be the only ones able to provide proper care for this issue if the URI is really bad. What are his temps/hum sitting at right now?

Chris

>>The large burm I rescued a year ago came with a URI and mouth rot. I thought they had been successfully treated, but the URI seems to come and go (i.e. he has his good and bad days). I need to know what the best cure/treatment is until I can get him to the vet again.
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U.A.P.P.E.A.L.
Uniting A Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League
www.uappeal.org

That's good advice. When you take the burm to the vet, ask him/her about Fortaz. We have done very well using this form of medication (versus baytril or amikacin). Unfortunately with RI, it can be a recurring problem so keeping the burm in optimal conditions will certainly help in the long haul (Chris' advice is right on....I would even try to get humidity levels at 80% but just make sure you aren't sacrificing good fresh air with stale air and high humidity).

>>The best I can say is keeping his humidity and temperatures a little higher than normal (85 cool side/95 warm side with humidity no less than 70%) I really think he needs to get to a vet ASAP though as they will be the only ones able to provide proper care for this issue if the URI is really bad. What are his temps/hum sitting at right now?
>>
>>Chris
>>
>>>>The large burm I rescued a year ago came with a URI and mouth rot. I thought they had been successfully treated, but the URI seems to come and go (i.e. he has his good and bad days). I need to know what the best cure/treatment is until I can get him to the vet again.
>>-----
>>U.A.P.P.E.A.L.
>>Uniting A Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League
>>www.uappeal.org
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

IF the original RI was successfully treated, then the treatment isn't really at question, but some other variables.

The most common is husbandry... you probably know how to judge that.

Another thing to ask is what symptoms are you seeing? Sometimes scar tissue from the healing process narrows the nasal openings, and a wheezing will occur occasionally.

Probably an important thing to ask yourself, if there is no other apparent reason for this animal to be getting RI's, is if it's immunocompromised. Being a rescue, you don't really have it's life history which leaves a lot of questions. I think the number one reason for being immunocompromised is viral in origin, but we really don't have a firm grasp on the whole pathogen picture. But to make a point, think of Feline Leukemia in cats, probably IBD in boas, and there are a whole range of viral families that may compromise a burm. (IBD, herpes, lente, retro virus' ect).

Something to think about anyways, and probably leads to more questions than answers.

Ian

I agree with Ian's comments. BUT, I would also say that RI, even after successful treatment, can be a recurring problem and as Ian said, we don't have all of the answers as to why this happens. Environment could be a big cause as many burms that have recurring RI tend to have it pop up during our cold winters where most houses are very dry. This can also lead to misdiagnosing animals to have RI when in fact they just have inflammed respiratory passages in which the irritation is caused by a drying of the mucous membranes....many questions, not enough good answers. Bottom line is to have a vet you can work closely with and trust.

>>IF the original RI was successfully treated, then the treatment isn't really at question, but some other variables.
>>
>>The most common is husbandry... you probably know how to judge that.
>>
>>Another thing to ask is what symptoms are you seeing? Sometimes scar tissue from the healing process narrows the nasal openings, and a wheezing will occur occasionally.
>>
>>Probably an important thing to ask yourself, if there is no other apparent reason for this animal to be getting RI's, is if it's immunocompromised. Being a rescue, you don't really have it's life history which leaves a lot of questions. I think the number one reason for being immunocompromised is viral in origin, but we really don't have a firm grasp on the whole pathogen picture. But to make a point, think of Feline Leukemia in cats, probably IBD in boas, and there are a whole range of viral families that may compromise a burm. (IBD, herpes, lente, retro virus' ect).
>>
>>Something to think about anyways, and probably leads to more questions than answers.
>>
>>Ian
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Thanks to Rob and everyone else who responded. I'm heading to the vet as soon as possible. Hopefully everything will work out for the best. Oh and Rob, how did those snakes work out for you?

Matt Cross-CMU

Keep us posted Matt. If you are referring to the black rats they are doing fantastically well so thanks again. Several went to my bro at Malone College and one to a nature center in Ohio and everyone loves 'em. I meant to ask you if you had any locality data on the. Are you going to be at the island this summer?...we'll be there in mid June.

>>Thanks to Rob and everyone else who responded. I'm heading to the vet as soon as possible. Hopefully everything will work out for the best. Oh and Rob, how did those snakes work out for you?
>>
>>Matt Cross-CMU
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

That Black rat wouldn't have been given to Shawnee state forest's nature center would it?

Just curious,

Chris

>>Keep us posted Matt. If you are referring to the black rats they are doing fantastically well so thanks again. Several went to my bro at Malone College and one to a nature center in Ohio and everyone loves 'em. I meant to ask you if you had any locality data on the. Are you going to be at the island this summer?...we'll be there in mid June.
>>
>>
>>>>Thanks to Rob and everyone else who responded. I'm heading to the vet as soon as possible. Hopefully everything will work out for the best. Oh and Rob, how did those snakes work out for you?
>>>>
>>>>Matt Cross-CMU
>>-----
>>Rob Carmichael, Curator
>>The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
>>Lake Forest, IL
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U.A.P.P.E.A.L.
Uniting A Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League
www.uappeal.org