Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well my BRB went to the vet today. Living in Cleveland I was a little upset i had to wait for the Phizer representative to finish up whatever for almost an hour while my little buddy sat in a cooler.
He has a respitory infection which I believe the causes have been alleviated with the covering of the screen lid with a towel and reflectix around most of the aquarium.
Anyhow, I was given 9 needles and an antibiotic (Baytril) which im going to give .03ml ever other day for the next twenty days. Is this a typical treatment? Do I need to get mucus culture done to make sure this is the correct antibiotic?
The vet also told me to have the aquarium 90 degrees, it is 90 on the side of the aquarium with the heater under it but only about 80 on other side. Which at the moment is where he is hanging out and where i have seen him mostly since I put on the reflectix yesterday. Is 90 a must at all times when a snake is going through a mending process such as this?
Lastly she removed some shed around his nostrils, they were completely skinned over. It looks like this area is very raw, should I put some triple antibiotic cream there?

Thanks,

Lou

Baytril is a commonly prescribed antibiotic. I have no experience so cannot say if the regimen is correct.

IMO 90 is tooooo hot, should never go above 85!!!!

a little triple antibiotic cream on the raw little nose should be fine.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Lou,
...Sorry I did not tell you sooner but my advice for people taking any snake to the vet is to not tell the vet what kind of snake it is. Let the vet tell you what kind of snake it is. If the vet can identify a Rainbow Boa they are WAY more knowledgeable about snakes than the typical vet. That 90 degrees is great for a sick Boa Constrictor or Ball Python but too hot for a Brazilian Rainbow Boa. The two antibiotics that are most commonly used and seem to be most effective in treating bacterial respiratory infections in snakes are Baytril and Amikacin. Some people say you should wait on cultures before using antibiotics but these two both seem to work well on all bacterial respiratory infections I have heard about in snakes. The downside is that both of these antibiotics are hard on snakes (especially little ones). I used to use Amikacin and had excellent shortterm results with it but snakes that went through several rounds of antibiotics over a year or more usually did not live past ten years in my collection. I have never used any antibiotic in a Rainbow Boa smaller than one pound. I also have not used any antibiotics on any snake in many years. I have found that if you get the husbandry right the snakes do not get sick. Wounds at the injection site do sometimes happen with both antibiotics though apparently more commonly with Baytril than Amokacin. Both are tough on kidneys and so you should make sure the snake gets plenty of water during treatment. Compounding this problem is the fact that snakes often quit drinking when they are sick. If you know the strength of the Baytril you were given and the weight of your snake I will see if I can find dosage levels to see if what you have is correct.
...The stuck shed around the nostrils is typical of snakes that are dehydrated and also of snakes with respiratory infections. These two problems often go hand in hand together. Use the antibiotic cream very sparingly around the nostrils so that you do not clog them up with it.
Good luck,
Jeff

>>Well my BRB went to the vet today. Living in Cleveland I was a little upset i had to wait for the Phizer representative to finish up whatever for almost an hour while my little buddy sat in a cooler.
>>He has a respitory infection which I believe the causes have been alleviated with the covering of the screen lid with a towel and reflectix around most of the aquarium.
>>Anyhow, I was given 9 needles and an antibiotic (Baytril) which im going to give .03ml ever other day for the next twenty days. Is this a typical treatment? Do I need to get mucus culture done to make sure this is the correct antibiotic?
>>The vet also told me to have the aquarium 90 degrees, it is 90 on the side of the aquarium with the heater under it but only about 80 on other side. Which at the moment is where he is hanging out and where i have seen him mostly since I put on the reflectix yesterday. Is 90 a must at all times when a snake is going through a mending process such as this?
>>Lastly she removed some shed around his nostrils, they were completely skinned over. It looks like this area is very raw, should I put some triple antibiotic cream there?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Lou

Hi Lou,

Like the other guys said, that is a bit high for a brb as most people here would tell you. Your average veterinarian recieves little if any experience and training with snakes, and reptiles in general. Even those that are specialists in zoo medicine/ exotics won't know everything about every single species, so im not surprised if your vet was a little off on his recommendations.

I hope your lil guys gets better soon!

-Adam