Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well it been about 12 days with a RI. Heat and Humidity hasn't worked so far, so I am going to try tylan. My question is how much do I use. I read .04 cc per Lb. My snake is roughly 4 Lbs. So that would be .16 cc. Correct? Now my syringe holds 3 cc tolal. There is is 4 smaller units (lines) between the 0 and 1/2 cc maker. What do they represent? Should I use just over an 1/8?? Thanks for helping again. I really hate needle, so i'm kind of nervous. Marshall

Sorry to be delivering bad news. TAKE YOUR SNAKE TO THE VET! If you are having to ask questions then you probably aren't even qualified to be giving the snake injections in the first place. Just guessing that Tylan is going to fix the problem isn't really humane to the snake. How would you like a doctor guessing at a medication for you? A culture should be done to determine what the infection is sensitive too and then medication administered accordingly. If the snake has an infection no amount of heat or humidity are going to fix the problem.

Just my two cents!

Al Brown/Brown's Boas

I would take the snake to a vet. I am not a fan of Tylan, perhaps it comes from being a vet tech, but I would want a culture done before treating. Once an antibiotic is given it ruins the ability to do a culture right away if it doesn't work and then you end up having to have the snake off of antibiotics for a period of time before you can find the right one to treat the infection. Sure there are plenty of vets, probably most, that will TRY a broad-spectrum antibiotic off the bat to see if it works, but with the amount of resistance these days I prefer to culture and then treat. There were studies done with Tylan in tortoises with Mycoplasma infections that showed it to be safe, but the dose you will see thrown around in forums is 10x that dose! I don't care how "safe" a medication is supposed to be, I'd be extremely cautious about using a medication at 10x the recommended dose no matter how many people do it. Also, you have to understand that intramuscular injections are not benign and if you do them wrong you can do harm. Perhaps as you get more experience in with herps and treating them you can try Tylan if you please, but do your snake a favor and see a vet now.

www.arav.org/ECOMARAV/TIMSSNET/amm/TNT_MDResults.cfm Those are all the ARAV members in Michigan. Have you tried calling local vets and seeing if they know of a herp vet closeby?

Thanks for the link. This is the first major reptile sickness I have ever dealt with. So far all the vets I have talked to can not help. Monday I will try all the vets in the major cities. Like I said I just want to get my snake back to full health and I don't want to do unneeded things. Thanks to all Marshall

E-mail me
LarryMicklevitz@aol.com
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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

I haven't found a vet in my area that with deal with snakes(Saginaw,MI).. And I was told to inject a rat first, then feed. Believe me I would've took him to a vet by now. Marshall

You can find a list of herp vets on the Michigan Society of Herpetologists website. I live near Flint and I use the Michigan State vet in Lansing.
Michigan society of Herpetologists

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The Voices have won!

jeff pfeifer

First off, the number of cc’s is a volume reading and will not tell you anything about dosage unless you know the concentration in mg/ml of your tylosin solution for injection. I posted the following earlier on this forum, but will post again in response to your question.

Tylan, or tylosin, is a macrolide class antibiotic that is mainly effective against only gram positive bacteria. The vast majority of RI’s in snakes are caused by gram negative bacteria. Tylosin has been used successfully to treat chronic RI in reptiles caused by bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma. Some people confuse Mycoplasma with bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium, which causes tuberculosis, but they are completely different. Tylosin will usually work well only if the causative organism of the RI is Mycoplasma, otherwise it will usually be ineffective in resolving most other types of infections in reptiles. Another plus is that Tylosin is relatively non-toxic and has a wide margin of safety, and I have seen dosage recommendations running from 5 to 50 mg/kg body weight at 48 to 72 hours between dosages. In the 1980’s I used it at 25 mg/kg per day on burmese pythons with no toxic effects, however I would definitely not suggest that dosage as it was not used under controlled conditions. I have not seen any formal clinical studies conducted with tylosin use in reptiles, but Ross, and later Jenkins, have looked at it informally. I would recommend that a vet check this or any other boid showing advanced RI symptoms and allow them to determine if tylosin is the appropriate antibiotic of choice and they can set the proper dosage. Again, other classes of antibiotics will be more effective than tylosin unless the RI is caused by Mycoplasma.

Also, do not inject tylosin into a feeder animal. Tylosin is for injection only and should not be given orally. If the heat and humidity treatment has not helped this RI, it is time to see a vet and have them start an antibiotic regimen if they feel it is needed. If your local vet is not familiar with reptiles, they should have the means to contact a vet more experienced with reptiles and consult with them on the diagnosis and proper antibiotic treatment if required.

Kelly

Has your guy shed yet? I have a snake that has RI symptoms "every time it goes into shed".

I've taken him to a Herp Vet on several occasions, when he's having these symptoms. I've spent close to 1000 dollars on this snake, because of these symptoms. They've done cultures that come back clean. No bacteria at all. They've done blood tests and tested his fecal for parasites. There were no parasites and his blood tests showed nothing. So, he's a healthy snake. At least, they can't find anything wrong with him. He eats well and sheds with no problems. He's been having these symptoms, "every time he goes into shed", for about 6 years now. I still worry when it happens, but I don't take him to the vet anymore for them. I just take him in once a year for a checkup. Every time he's gotten a clean bill of health.

The Vet can't explain it, because the symptoms go away after he sheds. He has only be able to theorize that his nostrils get clogged, from the shed, and/or he get "stressed" during the shed cycle. Once he sheds, his nostrils are clear, and the stress is gone.

BTW I have to drive almost 3 hours, one way, to take my guy to the Vet. It's well worth the drive for that little extra peace of mind.

Yes, he has finally shed. It was a prefect shed. I was hopeing that would clear him up, but it didn't. Monday I will be calling all the vets to get some help. Marshall