Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I picked these girls up from the Expo this weekend. Two out of five have an RI Is this normal for those girls to be getting an RI? They hatched from Africa, and possibly never got any heat to them yet. Is there a chance the RI will go away since they are all now in a really warm place?

here are a few pictures of some of the girls.

Probably the best thing to do is to get them nice and warm.
Then keep an eye on them. If they start looking worse, or not
improving, take them immediately to you vet.

Buying imported babies is not necessarily a bad thing to do,
but sometimes they aren't in the best of shape. I like the
blushing on the one in your pics...looks nice.

Good luck!
Chris Simone
www.SimoneReptiles.com

on the level of RI. Is it severe or minor. I would get them to a vet ASAP. But in the interim, increase the heat of their enclosure. A low of 82 (cool end) or so 24X7.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

thanks for the replies. I JUST got them in today from Ian G. at the Expo. Some one has told me maybe there RI isn't really an RI. Maybe because of there first shed, they may make some weezing popping sounds. So far, they are very healthy.
Check out the cool patterns on these two girls. The first picture is a female that has a cool stripe coming the middle of her head to her eye.

here is another female. They look a like don't they?

By putting there temps at 90 at the hot side, and 85 at the cool side, is that ok too? I'm giving them VERY little water due to there possible RI's. I really don't want to hurt them.

...getting them warmer...more like HIGH 80's at "cool" end and closer to 95 at warm end...this is known as "thermotherapy"(TT)...the one baby in the lower pic has retained its first shed around the head and neck...which includes the skin in the nostrils...this compounds the difficulty of moving air (breathing)...it is best to remove this skin before it hardens and "marries" to the underlying skin...BUT this is a delicate process requiring fine-tip forceps...AFTER moisturizing first with some olive oil...

...before doing any of this, a warm (NOT HOT!!) bath for about 15 minutes will allow the neonates to rehydrate...immediately after the soak attempt removal of the skin...be very careful removing the eye-caps...once the skin is off the head, the neck skin is much easier to remove...I suggest the aid of an individual experienced in retained-shed removal...

...the "thermo-therapy" may not be effective if the babies are already producing secretions...in that case, immediate injectable antibiotic treatment is indicated COUPLED WITH T.T....babies can't tolerate these RTI's nearly as long as larger specimens can...it's something you really have to jump on...meticulous antibiotic dose-preparation is required...

...good luck and keep us updated...

Scott J. Michaels DVM
Serpent City

...yes there can be sounds resulting from the retained skin, so this is probably the situation...if you can remove the skin it should be of great help to the neonates...still go with the quick soak to fully rehydrate and the TT is highly advisable to prevent progression of any latent (sub-clinical) RTI...sjm

SJM,
I will bathe them ASAP. So far only two of them has the sign RI, but I will treat the rest like they have the same thing. JUST in case they do have RI's. I do have injections, but I don't have small enough needles at this time to inject any antibiotics. But I will keep a VERY close eye on all of them for the next few weeks. I'm preying that all of them will do just fine.

Thanks for the adise. I will keep you up to date on how they are doing.