While obviously dependent on condition and situation, I have listed below the more common antibiotics, and their classes, that are used in boids to treat the majority of bacterial infections. While culturing and antibiotic susceptibility testing is highly recommended, it is not always possible, or accurate in the identification of the causative organism. Topical treatments of Listerine or other similar bacterialcidal substances are rarely ever effective, and if they are, the infection would have been extremely minor. Most all cases of stomatitis will require antibiotic treatment to resolve and stomatitis will usually respond better to injectable antibiotics as well.
Baytril, or enrofloxacin, is in a relatively newer class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. This class also includes the antibiotic Cipro. They are both used in reptile medicine, with Cipro being slightly superior to Baytril. The main drawback with Baytril is that when using the injectable form, it will sometimes cause tissue damage at the injection site. Cipro is given orally, but there is now an oral form of Baytril as well. The advantage of these antibiotics is that they are relatively safe, and very effective against most gram negative bacteria, and they penetrate tissue well, so they are a good choice for most tissue infections. The oral administration of Cipro has also shown to be very effective against intestinal infections. There are other newer generation fluoroquinolone antibiotics that are broader spectrum, but they are very expensive and haven’t been used with reptiles that I know of.
Amikacin is an injectable aminoglycoside class antibiotic that is mainly effective against gram negative bacteria. It has about the widest spectrum of activity of all the aminoglycosides. It is a potent and very effective antibiotic against most reptile RI’s and stomatitis (mouth rot), but it has the drawback of being toxic, and proper dosing is very important. Overdosing will cause liver and kidney damage, and this can lead to the death of the snake several weeks or sometimes months later. Clean and drinkable water must be available at all times when using aminoglycosides, however artificial hydration has not shown to be needed. I have used it many times in the past and if care is taken, it can be safely used with no problems. Additionally, blood and borneo short-tail pythons are very sensitive to the aminoglycosides, and the dose needs to be halved for these species.
Fortaz, or ceftazidime, is a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic. It’s mainly effective against gram negative bacteria, and many of the more antibiotic resistant forms. It is a safe antibiotic and works well against many RI’s and stomatitis in reptiles, as most of these are caused by gram negative bacteria species. It would also be a good choice for tissue infections. All cephalosporin class antibiotics are usually dosed at 10 mg per pound body weight.
Although expensive, one of the best antibiotics I have seen for the treatment of stomatitis is ceftriaxone or Rocephin. It is another third generation cephalosporin, and has shown to be extremely effective on severe cases of stomatitis. All cephalosporin class antibiotics are usually dosed at 10 mg per pound body weight every 48 hours.
With penicillin class antibiotics there are several issues concerning their use with reptiles. One problem is the limited spectrum of activity, as penicillin will only be effective against a small number of bacterial species that cause illness in reptiles. Another critical point is that bacterial resistance to penicillin develops rapidly, and many species are now resistant to it. Penicillin group antibiotics, including extended spectrum ampicillin and amoxicillin, have short half-lives in the body and must be given daily. Additionally, they require large doses as in 50 mg per kg body weight or more to be effective on even a susceptible organism. One nice thing however is that penicillin is quite non-toxic and has a large margin of safety.
Make sure to keep the snake well hydrated by keeping fresh drinking water available at all times and the cage floor temp in the upper 80’s to 90 day and night and humidity in the 60% to 70% range. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Kelly
