Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have some bloods on a breeders loan from a friend(mike) whos getting out of the reptile business!!1 Another one of his friends was tring to sell the snakes but could not get what mike wanted for them,so now there in my care. when I picked the bloods up at mikes friends place some of them had respitory infection and severe mouth rott (which the nicest one"Salmon Super stripe" lots his life too)now the tangerine stripe has respitory and is bubbleing out of her mouth I need to know the dosage of amikacin to give the snake the weight is 6 pounds she is currently under heat but needs the shots . how can you prevent this from reoccuring?? their cages are set up with aspen(sometimes newspaper )bedding form-fitting hide spot and water bowl big enough so the animals can fit into it!!Ichange water every 2 days and change bedding when wet or has waste in or on it (I check every day!!!!)please help!!!!!thank you Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong!!!!!

P.S. what is the best De-wormer for a young olive python

Hey,
Sorry to hear that your project has gott'n off to a bad start. Improper husbandry IMO, can lead to a whole host of problems, one of them being mouth rot, and the other RI. To begin with, be sure to keep up with the maintenance of the snakes cage. Fresh water changes and a clean substrate, is a must; news paper being my preferred substrate for adults and even juvies of 3 months to a year old. I only use hides for young animals up to 2 years of age.

Heat and humidity for this species is critical and must be kept at proper levels at all times, deviations from what I consider normal can occur, but only within limits. I use heat panels to heat some cages while my heat racks are heated using 3 inch flex watt, that line the interior of the walls of the racks. All cages with one or two exceptions are monitored for heat at all times, and humidity is gauged visually.

I find that you don't need to have large water bowls for adults and animals aproaching adult hood, but younger charges like them and will soak in them if given the opportunity. As for drug intervention, you really should be taking these guys to a vet to be looked at properly and given the best possible care that only a good experienced reptile doctor can give. But barring that, I will give you a link and a dosing guide for the drug in question, since things seem out of control and I don't personally know what your circumstances are. Good luck!

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.
-Angel
Link

-----
"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.

I know the animals your talking about. From what Micheal told me this problem has been occuring for many months. You DEFINATELY need to take them to a vet immediately! Alot of times theres more to it than just giving them Amikacin, Angel has given you a few guidlines. Most imporantly keep them hydrated, while raising temps and keeping everything sterile. This includes air, make sure that your cages are very well ventalated! And dont use aspen, its probably getting your humidity too high which isn't good for the snake, and newspaper would be a much better solution. Are there any signs of Stomitis (mouth rot), if so it would be advisable to clean infected areas with sterile qtips and hydrogen peroxide. Tho this might be difficult with WC animals. Please keep us updated on their condition, they are some amazing animals, and I would hate to see them go.

Jordan
-----
"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior