Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted this on the pine/bull/gopher forum, but I haven't gotten any responses, so I figured I'd try here too.

Hey guys, got some interesting news today from my vet, so I figured I would throw it out here and see if anyone else has experienced this with any of their snakes.

First some background- in Feb. of this year, I bought a male bullsnake from a trader here on Kingsnake, which not only was misrepresented as far as size and temperment, but also was sent with what appeared to be a Respitory Infection (he had all the signs, wheezing, popping, open mouth breathing, mucus,etc)

So, I took him to the vet and she put him on Baytril injections. The open mouth breathing stopped, and the mucus cleared up, however the popping, wheezing, gasping etc still continued. He went through about 4 rounds of Baytril ( from March to October) and absolutely no response to it.

Today I took him to a new vet, with more reptile experience who has given me two different immediate options. 1) it is a respitory infection, or 2) it's caused by a beneign mass in the trachea obstructing his breathing (which he stated was somewhat common in snakes)

so right now, I'm on a 10 day treatment with a drug called Gentocin, at the end of that 10 days if it doesn't appear to be helping he has to go in for x-rays. If it does happen to be a mass in his trachea, then surgery is the main option.

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or heard of it at all? It's turning into a very stressful situation.

ive had snakes for many years and never had one with a mass in the trachea but if this is what the vet is thinking id go for the rads and see, and if something is in there then SX would be the best thing, if not total removal then at least a biopsy to determine what your dealing with
keep us posted!!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

I agree, the plan sounds like a good one. The difficult decision will be what to do if the X-rays "don't" show up anything obvious. This unfortunately doesn't mean there isn't anything in the trachea. While I don't think such a problem is very common, my impression when reading the Mader text is that it is not uncommon.

Ian

If x-rays don't show up with anything, you can inquire about endoscopy, a direct look into the trachea to check out if anything going on.

I recall reading a paper about chondromas (neoplasm of connective tissue) being quite common in Ball Pythons... Wouldn't surprise me if they showed up in other snakes not-uncommonly, too.

Has any bloodwork been done to check the snake's immune status? What are the characteristics of the mucous?

I have plenty of first hand experience with lung infections, and I know that even for a week or two after the infection has cleared (with or without antibiotics) I almost always have wicked mucous accumulations that linger. Herps get sick slowly and heal slowly, so if there's no longer an infection in the lungs it crosses my mind that maybe it's just mucous even after four weeks of Baytril.

Of course, don't let my snot theory stop you from getting those x-rays done!

Christina
www.herptiles.net

Once I finish this 10 day course of medicine, I'll be heading back to the vet to see what to do next. He did mention endoscopy along with x-rays.

He was actually on Baytril 8 months, not just 4 weeks! My new vet and I concluded that the vet who originally diagnosed him made quite a few mistakes, with the meds, the dosage, and technique- If I had a different vet at the time, I might not be dealing with this now.

I also read about Chondromas is ball pythons not too long ago, this may very well be the problem, but I'll see after this round of injections are over!

Oh my, 4 weeks vs. 8 months is quite a difference. I must have seen 4 rounds and for some reason turned that into weeks.

I've dealt with self-proclaimed but inadequately-informed "herp vets" too, it's frustrating. I can just imagine what 8 months worth of Baytril has cost you, kudos to you for still wanting a diagnosis and proper treatment after that.

I'm sure that if the new vet is suggesting x-rays and endoscopy, you're in good hands. Good luck and keep us updated!

Christina
www.herptiles.net

It has cost me about 3 times what I paid for the snake, and it will cost me a lot more by the time this is all said and done. It's fine though, once an animal is with me, it's family till the end, so I'll do whatever I have to, to get him well again.

My vet also was concerned about that. He said theres a chance nothing will show up on the x-ray, and at that point we'll really have to dig deeper to find the problem. I'm hoping it wont come to that at all.

After this 10 day period of injections, I'll be taking him back for the x-rays, and whatever else the vet needs to diagnose him. Hopefully we'll nip this in the bud soon!

COuld you show us a picture of your bullsnake? I have a big handsome one here, and am a fan of them

Hopefully this will work, I've never posted an image in a message before. Heres a head shot of him that I posted on my old account name a long time ago. I'll add more whenever I get the time.