Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi i have a snake with a URI who (after a week) is showing no signs of improvement. I had to pull him out of brumation early because of this. after a three day multi phase warm up I upped the temps to 88 on the warm side. reduced size of water bowl with no good news to show. he has refused food(offered twice) usually a very hardy eater. Im ready to take him to the vet(so heres my question) I live in bfe and the vets dont have any reptile care experience. How do i explain to them how to treat my snake with the correct antibiotics and doses. closest reptile vet is over 3 hours away. if i have to drive i will! this snake has been a very good pet over the years(05). I used to live in the big city with a good reptile vet nearby, but i havent had a sick snake in over ten years. The only thing i could think of was that during brumation the snake got too much humidity. My others are all fine and i went ahead and pulled them all out just to be sure. My sick Scooter has been in quarantine since i pulled him out. Thanks for any replies.

Here are some antibiotics and dosages that have been very affective in treating upper RI's in snakes.

Actually, heat in the upper 80's or so does definitely help in raising their auto-immune metabolism to help fight the infection off, but lately, the thought of keeping them in very dry air by many vets and other authorities might just be very counter-productive instead of actually helping the healing process along.

Here are some well-known medications and dosages, as well as a link to the question of humidity as well. high humidity and even nebulization could quite possibly help things much more in this case.

Antibiotics
1. Amikacin sulfate (Amiglyde-V). Can administer a loading dose of 5 mg/kg IM and then 2.5-3.0 mg/kg every 72 hours for 5 treatments total. Potentially nephrotoxic so animals should be well hydrated.

2. Ceftazidime (Fortaz). This human cephalosporin drug has proved to provide good broad spectrum activity in a variety of reptiles with the advantages that its half life is long and it kills Pseudomonas. Dose is 20 mg/kg IM or SC Q 72 hours

3. Chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin). A bacteriostatic drug administered either IM or IV at a dose of 30-50 mg/kg/day for 7 to 14 days. Good activity against many gram negative bacteria but a potential human health hazard.

4. Clindamycin. A drug that is effective against anaerobic organisms when used at a dose of 5.0 mg/kg PO Q 24 hours.

5. Enrofloxacin (Baytril). A quinolone compound that appears to be safe and effective in reptiles. May be used IM, SQ and PO at a dose of 5-10 mg/kg/day for 7-21 days. May be diluted with sterile saline since the concentrated form (2.27%) may be irritating.

6. Gentamicin sulfate (Gentocin). A potent aminoglycocide which takes care of most gram negative organisms. Has a smaller therapeutic window than amikacin and may be more nephrotoxic. Animals must be well hydrated. Dosed the same as amikacin.

7. Trimethoprim sulfadiazine (Tribrissen). A good broad spectrum antibiotic. Dose is 15-25 mg/kg/day IM for 7-14 days.

Here is the RI link too.........

RI infections in reptiles

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Is baytril ever efective on RI doug?
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Brian Hettinger
480 Pythons
Contact us

Well, yes and no. It is ALWAYS best to get a "sensitivity culture" done by a vet to see EXACTLY which antibiotic will target the given bacteria the best, or even at ALL, but in many cases, it has worked fine with many before,....but then so do several of the other's in the list I previously posted, it really all depends on exactly what bacteria is the culprit.

Amikacin, and Gentamicin being another two that are good "broad-spectrum" antibiotics used often in reptiles. Keeping the snake well-hydrated, and at the proper dosing is very important though. Many people tend to just guess at things like this if they are not good about "crunching" small weight amounts, and this can often be just as deadly as the problem itself.

Hope this helps, but I still always have to recommend a prfessional be ing involved doing this stuff.

regards, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks alot Doug i very much appreciate this imformation. Now off to the vet i go. Thanks again!!!

Vet visit is scheduled tomorrow. I actually found a vet somewhat close who is comfortable working with snakes with some minor experience. I feel a lot better knowing this now. Now hopefully Scooter makes a fine recovery after the visit. Thanks for caresheet again Doug.

You're welcome!, and I hope all goes well with the snake's speedy recovery.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Being you said that the vet has very limited experience, you really should print the list out I posted, and show him this. This could be very useful to him with the right drug and dosage. If he doesn't perform a sensitivity culture(which he/she SHOULD do), I would probably go with the Gentamicin all thingd being equal. But he might have a better suggestion on it, who knows. I certainly do not claim to be a vet or pharmaceutical expert.

good luck!, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks Doug much appreciative. Yes i printed it out. And I will be sure to tell the vet everything you said as well. I do not feel comfortable doing this myself, the math part i could do, but i CANT do the testing to find out what exactly is causing the problem. Thats where the vet comes in. and thanks for your concern. Oh and thanks for the suggestion about the raising humidity. I did not know they changed the old way about it. so thanks for the heads up! Today he is doing a little better. last night had me worried sick though. he started mouth gaping. today he is not. cant wait til i get him in to the vet and on proper treatment. i know my poor guy is just suffering.

And good luck at the vets!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

One thing I would suggest, is bring the contact information for the more experienced reptile vet you knew in the city. Nothing wrong with asking the new vet to call your old one to consult on the case.
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PHLdyPayne

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Well the vet visit went really well. The vet was way more knowledgeable than i previously thought. He did blood tests and fecal smears and prescribed a shot of antibiotic. He said it was still a mild case of RI. He has already shown signs of improvement. He should be back to really good health by friday if not i go back for a oral dose. total cost was only 33.50. I was quite surprised for the low cost. Thanks for the help!

That's great to hear!. I knew it wouldn't cost that much, so that was money VERY WELL spent in my opinion.

Let us know how things are with the snake later on.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanx Doug, and yes it was money very well spent. Wouldnt have mattered if it was a 100 bucks. Progress is getting a lil better each day. I go for a follow up on monday just to make sure no additional dose is needed.

That is great man!. What did they administer?, and for how long?

good luck with it continuing to get better!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

They administered batryl(spelling) One shot, and the follow up is monday for a oral dose if needed (i highly doubt it but going to take him in just to check) Today was the best day so far. Scooter has been out cruising around his tank and not so much on the hot side. hes staying very hydrated also and tomorrow if cleared by the vet im going to attempt to feed. He seems back to his old self just a lil on the skinny side( he lost 65 grams in two weeks plus 55 day brumation) no breathing problems at all and lots of tongue action again. Thanx again for the help!

Hopefully things will stay going in this direction. Usually, Baytril is given once a day for a regimen of several days, but as long as it is getting better, I suppose that is all that really matters here. Hopefully he/she gives it one more dose for "good measure"..LOL!

The tongue flicking normally is a good sign too!, and if it eats, then that is a REALLY good sign you have the RI taken care of.

Best of luck!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Yes im happy he's getting better so quickly. Im off to the vet now and will return.

.......what the vet did, said, and thinks about the snake's recovery.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

He went with another injection. I go back in Friday for the 3rd one. He said the breathing tones are sounding very well. He was very active with lots of tongue flicking. He said to start offering meals, which im going to wait for him to warm up a lil more then offer a small fuzzy. He said the third injection should be all that is needed. And that my snake is recovering very fast. All were positives so im very happy.

I went to check on scooter after a few hours of him getting settled back in his aquarium. And I see hes not moving at all and i went to pick him up. I couldnt believe it he had passed away just hours after seeing the vet. The vet even checked his weight to calculate the right dose again and the snake seemed just fine for first couple hours. I called the vet(they are closed) so im going to call them first thing in the morning. This is a very sad day for me. Ive only lost one snake due to illness and this was when i was about 6 years old.
Hopefully we can figure out what went wrong.
R.I.P Scooter
He will be sorely missed

Geez,...I am very sad to hear about that bad news. That is always a tough thing to have happen my friend.

best regards, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I took the snake back in today before my evening shift to get an autopsy done to verify the cause of death just to make sure it wasnt the vet's screw up (i doubt it is he was very cautious about the right dose/weight. The only thing the vet thought of other than an errror on his behalf was a second stage allergy. He said its not common but has been known to happen. kinda like poison ivy you cant get the first time but the 2nd time you touch it you can.

But for the limited time i got to have him he was a very good pet. Never bit or acted threatening at all even as a hatchling. just way laid back. and thanks again for your kind words Doug.

Yes, it is very difficult, and many times virtually impossible to tell exactly what causes these things sometimes.

It's just too bad, especially since things initially seemed as though they were getting back on track.

regards, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

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