Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am new to this forum and only a hobbyist so please bear with me. i'm small time compared to most of you, i have 4 pits, 5 kings, and a beardy. anyway, i would greatly appreciate some advice from more knowledgeable individuals than myself.
i have an 07' female hybino bull. several months ago i first noticed a rasp and visible signs of mucas. i upped the temps a couple degrees, but it didn't go away. aprox. a month and a half ago i took her to the vet. he "confirmed" my theory of r.i.
he prescribed baytrill. intermuscalatory injections of 0.02cc every 48 hours for 3-5 treatments. i went the full 5 with no results. she was still blowing bubbles. he had me go for an additional 5 treatments with no results.
i went back and was prescribed amikacin injections of 0.01 every 48 hours. it's been a week and a half and there is still visible mucas.
i took her off the aspen bedding thinking she might be allergic to it. raised her temps slightly as prescribed to 80f on the low and upper 80's on high. still no results.
she has always eaten well, even to this day. she ate 2 fuzzies last friday. she is slightly lethargic. some days she seems to be more active than others.
i try to take care of my critters to the best of my abilities, but i'm frustrated here. i've already spent several times what i paid for her in vet bills with no results. he is talking about bringing her back in and doing a culture. i don't know if i'm willing to spend another $165 with no guaranteed results and failure so far to cure.
any advice???? please and thank you!
jonathan

"In for a dime, in for a dollar" In other words, spend the money. You clearly care about the animal, the vet seems compatent, those treatments should have worked.

Evaluate all aspects of husbandry and consider any thing that might be irritating the snakes respiratory tract. Also, if your enclosure is large enough use a heat pad or tape to offer a hot spot of >85 degrees so that the snake can really get its body temp up if it wants to. Our bodies generate heat and we get a fever in the face of some infections. Allow the snake to give itself a "fever". When I see snakes out in cold weather basking in the sun they often are working on digesting a receint meal, or are healing some obvious wounds. Those w/o obvious wounds or meals I suspect are working on a gut full of parasites or some other illness.

Go the extra mile and good luck.

thanks for the feedback. i am using heat tape on a rheostat under their cages, so she has a nice basking spot. i honestly don't think anything is bothering her from an inhalation perspective. all my snakes are in the same setups and are thriving.
at least there is one positive feedback, from you, concerning the meds. i was begining to wonder.
i'll probably end up taking her back in if it doesn't clear up. the vet advised waiting another week or so before i bring her back in. looks like she's going to get the dollar and mile out of me. lol

jonathan

I agree with John, I would check my husbandry and I bet you find a problem such as fluctuating temps or too high humidity. But in the faceof all that failing the only way to really know what will work is to run the culture, with the two drugs you have used it should have gotten the bug, unless it is a gram negative infection of some type.

good Luck,

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

thanks for the feedback john. i'm not sure what a gram negative infection is, but i'll do some research and mention it to the vet when i take her back in.
as for the husbandry, i'm really not sure what could be causing it there. i have her in a home made enclosure made out of melamine with a sliding plexiglass front. in the rear are two 3" by 9" vents. i have a medium sized water bowl, but i don't think that should raise the humidity too much with 2 vents. i'm using heat tape on a rheostat placed under the cage. i have digital thermometers in the cage. the low side stays about mid 70's. the basking spot usually runs in the upper 80's to 90. i know it's warm for pits but that temp is directly on the wood. the heat disipates some in the aspen chips, plus i've raised it slightly as prescribed. please tell me if you know of anything i'm doing wrong, or might try differently. thanks...
jonathan

Hi there!

I have a bullsnake that when through an ordeal with a RI not too long ago, I bought him in Feb of this year and he arrived at my door with the RI - I spent 8 months getting him tested and did all kinds of treatments, finally when things were looking bleak, he was perscribed a medicine called Gentocin, which cleared it all up within a week, ask your vet if this is available, it's great stuff!

unfortunately with the RI's sometimes you have to go through trial and error with meds and tests ....believe me , I know how it can add up! 8 months of vet bills = $$$$$$$

Hopefully you'll get it knocked out soon! Keep us posted!
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--SneakySnakesINC--

1.0 Northern Pine Snake (Oshy)
1.0 Bull Snake (Irwin)
0.1 Ball Python (Nagini)
0.1 Yellow Rat Snake (Ember)
1.0 Albino Black Rat Snake (Vegas)
1.1 Oriental Fire Bellied Toads (Spot and Dott)

2.0 Equines (Sherlock the draft and Cleatis the donkey)
4.0 Felines (Caesar Ray, Pharoh, Phoenix, Boomer)
1.0 WC boyfriend (Ryan)

hello,
thanks for the feedback. 8 months! wow! i guess you feel my pain. at least you baby's r.i. cleared up after that length of time. i was begining to lose hope.i will ask the vet about the meds you suggested. i hoping and praying that it clears up. i feel like such a bad "father", when i've done everything i can think of for her.
it looks like you have a nice little "family" going on. i've downsized considerably in the past couple of months. between working full time and going to school 2 part time there just wasn't enough time for everything. i am down to a manageable # of critters now.

1.1 deppei jani (northern mexican pines)
1.1 bulls (one hypo one hybino)
1.1 white sided brooksi kings (one axanthic one het)
1.0 bearded dragon (sunkist tiger striped)
0.0 wc girlfriend (still hunting) lol

thanks again for the feedback. later...

jonathan