Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anybody ever bothered to classify the causitive agents responsible for various infections in P. regius? If so where might I find this information? I've read a bit about viruses and I've heard about bacteria but nobody has ever specified WHAT KIND. I've also read nebulus references to "intestinal parasites" and "protozoan infections". Does anybody know of there are any problems with antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria of P. regius?

...there are no known infectious pathogens SPECIFIC to BP's. As far as antibiotic resistance goes, all bacteria responsible for infections in BP show varying (for the most part high) degrees of antibiotic resistance. For example Pseudomonas, a common causitive agent, is resistant to MOST antibiotics. This bacteria, a gram-negative Enterobacteraciae, includes others such as Edwardsiella and Klebsiella. So when treating bacterial infections I aim my guns at Pseudomonas, and recommend a combination antibiotic treatment such as amikacin PLUS ceftazidime.
The only thing I see more commonly in BP's than ANY other snake species is retained/wrinkled/dented eyecaps/spectacle. BP's show a high incidence of partially shed eyecaps and I NEVER attempt to remove these. I always recommend waiting for the next shed and assuring HIGH humidity to effect a good outcome.
Hope this helps. Scott J. Michaels DVM

I have the ability to culture bacteria and identify them to a point (I work in a comparative pathology lab at a University). If my snake were ever sick, which hopefully it would not be, would you reccommend my attempting to identify the pathogen?