Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi..I have a 6yr old albino burmese python i have had since she was 6mos. She had a resp.infection when she was 2 and we treated it with baytril and she came along great. Today I found her blowing bubbles not acting good. I called the vet that does reptiles and she is on maternity leave,the next closest vet as far as i can see is 2hrs away. So I called a friend's vet in NC(I am in Ohio)and he gave me the dosage of baytril and I got it from my local vet. I gave her 2.2cc SQ. She is 22lbs. When I put in fresh hotter water this morning she immediately held her head over it breathing the steam then when it was cooler she got in and has been soaking ever since. The temp in there is about 85 and I have added a big pan of hot water that i keep changing in the bottom of her pen. She can go down there but I think she is too sick to right now. What do you use for a water dish that is big enough for them to soak in but not go everywhere? I used a dishpan and it went everywhere..she usually just has a big water dish that i fill with hot water everyday. She never gets in it. When she was 2 she did the same thing ..soaked..but she was a lot smaller. What is reccommended now for a heat source and for humidity? I am living in an old one room schoolhouse and just keep it around 80 to 85 and keep the teakettle going. She is in a 5fthighby4ftwide pen and normally she climbs up and down and just has a blast. She last ate 3wks ago a large rat. I have been feeding her guinea pigs but gave most of them away so went back to rats. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks Rachel and Tinkerbell

hmm, it sounds like a 2 hour drive is a small price to pay for qualified herp help. For some over the net advice in addition to seeking vet help, I'd mention that almost all upper resp problems are husbandry related; especially when recurrent. Also, isn't 22 lbs quite small for a 6 year old Burmese python? I"d seek advice on your feeding schedule as a rat every 3-4 weeks isn't suffecient.

I know that it is husbandtry related and I am sorry for it but am trying hard to learn. I probably should not have her and will never get a burmese or big snake again if anything happens to her without having the proper money to provide her with vet care,supper dupper housing with fancy heating units, humidity guages etc. But I do have her and I love her. I use her for Candy Cane Christian Therapeutic Ranch,in our program where we go to handicapped camps, etc. We do not let the children near her head just in case. She has always been wonderful and seems to very much enjoy it. We do let the children handle the ball pythons. They are great therapy. I do tell everyone that they should not get a burmese..they are wild animals and can be unpredictable. She is small as she does have a deformity of the spine that she was born with. I got her from a breeder who could'nt care less. She was very small when I got her. I have been feeding her a large Guinea Pig at least every 2wks. This was the first rat i have given her in ions. I have more guinea pigs now but she was shedding and would not eat. I am going to go back to feeding her guinea pigs. I had 80 at one time and she was getting one every time she teased for a while,but i was told that if i fed 1 every week she would just get too fat not grow longer. I'm not sure what to say she seems a lot better today..will continue with the baytril. I'm sure everyone with snakes is not rich and I cannot afford a trip to columbus. The last time she was sick was 4yrs ago so i don't know how you can call this reccurent.I did take her to a vet that time she kept her did the same thing i'm doing now and charged me over $300. I can get small animal baytril for $1cc from my local vet and the herp vets get as much as $20cc.That is outrageous! If vets could be more realistic, but like most they are out to make a buck..I know there is high insurerance rates and whatnot but i still think they could come down a lot. The local vet here charges $15 for an office call. He says he's out to make a living ..not a killing. Thanks for answering and I'm gonna go take care of her now and get to my other animals.

GOod luck with your burm. Just a thought but be carefull when taking your snake out for therepy. It's a great idea and I hope you continue, but cold conditions are often the cause for upper resp.... just make sure you keep the burm good and warm

In response to your other comments;
As per your burm getting obese, you need not worry about this when it is young and growning. I'd return to that once/week schedule until she's a much more normal size. It's another topic of discussion, but do a search if need be in the future as to the signs of obesity in snakes.

The big and fancy is not always needed to meet the minimal requirments. However the minimal requirements of temperature, diet, humidity, space and cleanliness must be met. If not it is grounds for animal abuse and the burm should be given up. This is not opinion but law.

A two hour drive to Columbus is a tank of gas; something that I did not think of as a huge cost in my previous post.

As per vet fees I was unaware that you were griping about that as well. Just remember that opinion is like everything else, and you get what you pay for. With that said, I realize that pet owners can go through financial hardship. Take advantage of the cheap vet as much as you can. He asks for it by setting his prices so low.

As for vet's making a killing. That's another story. I;ve run and managed a clinic for 4 years, and now am a key technologist in an emergency vet clinic. Sounds big doesn't it huh? Well, the average vet visit in Edmonton is $45 and here at the emerg it's $83-129. I get paid as much as is available after business expenses. Guess what I drive? A crappy two-tone (red and flaked off red) 91 barely running not so grand-prix. I also dry-wall houses during the day to barely support my wife and son. If you think vet's are to blame for your financial situation your barking up the wrong tree maam. If you think I"m wrong go try paying for 8 years of education to be a vet, then half a million for a small practice, and then see where you'll be.

ps, my herp collection and cat are not in museum piece cages but are VERY well cared for. If I couldn't, I"d have not obtained them.