Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today was a sad day ( another sad day ). I lost another one of my female brbs. The first one i lost was from prehistoric pets, which i only had for about 3 months, it died later of a resp. infection. It was kept with the proper care, so im wondering if it was sick when i bought it. When i brought it to the vet they told me the infection was really advanced, and tried to medicate it but sadly i lost it. then 1 month later (today) my 1yr female, died. I saved the body and put it in a zip bag, in the freezer, so i can bring it to the vet and find out whats going on. So i was wondering if the first snake could of had something and passed it on to all my others? the vet told me it was a resp. infection...could it be something else? does anyone think it could of come from the first snake? and are my others in danger of being infected? and is there anything i can do in the future to keep this from happening again...i plan on replacing the 2 females but im going to hold off until i find out exactly whats going on. Ive kept these snakes in perfect health for over a year until this happened and now im apprehensive to get into other snakes like redtails.Im just scared and concerned that this might happen again. If anyone has advice please dont hold back heh. thanks in advance

-Jamie

Jamie,
....It is very possible that the problem came with the newer snake. All snakes, and especially boids should be carefully quarantined before being introduced to a collection. The first few days of quarantine should be directed to detecting and eradicating external parasites. Check all of your collection now for mites. Watch all of your snakes for problems.
....Rather than freezing the dead snake you should have only refrigerated it. A veterinarian can perform a necropsy on a dead snake to attempt to determine the cause of death. Freezing destroys tissue and a necropsy then is likely to not be possible.
Jeff

>>Today was a sad day ( another sad day ). I lost another one of my female brbs. The first one i lost was from prehistoric pets, which i only had for about 3 months, it died later of a resp. infection. It was kept with the proper care, so im wondering if it was sick when i bought it. When i brought it to the vet they told me the infection was really advanced, and tried to medicate it but sadly i lost it. then 1 month later (today) my 1yr female, died. I saved the body and put it in a zip bag, in the freezer, so i can bring it to the vet and find out whats going on. So i was wondering if the first snake could of had something and passed it on to all my others? the vet told me it was a resp. infection...could it be something else? does anyone think it could of come from the first snake? and are my others in danger of being infected? and is there anything i can do in the future to keep this from happening again...i plan on replacing the 2 females but im going to hold off until i find out exactly whats going on. Ive kept these snakes in perfect health for over a year until this happened and now im apprehensive to get into other snakes like redtails.Im just scared and concerned that this might happen again. If anyone has advice please dont hold back heh. thanks in advance
>>
>>
>> -Jamie

Ah ok thanks. How long are you supposed to quarintine the new animal? because mine didnt show any signs of illness until about 2 1/2- 3 months later. All my snakes were fine until that one got sick. I also have another one that got sick but i think i got it early enough to treat it. This one is breathing slow and heavy so I think its a resp. infection. Ill be sure to keep an eye one all my others. Is there any advice on caring for an ill snake? should I raise humidity? i also have some medication left over from my other snake so ill give it that. well ill keep everyone posted heh. keep your fingers crossed! thanks jeff

Jamie,
....I think a quarantine of several months is a good idea. Most importantly is making sure the new animal does not have parasites and not allowing them to be transmitted to other snakes. What were you using to treat the respiratory infection? I have had good results with Amikacin injections. Some other people report good results with Baytril and Tylan injections. In my experience most other medications have limited success in treating respiratory infections in snakes unlesss a culture and sensitivity is done and the best antibiotic selected based on the results.
Jeff

>>Ah ok thanks. How long are you supposed to quarintine the new animal? because mine didnt show any signs of illness until about 2 1/2- 3 months later. All my snakes were fine until that one got sick. I also have another one that got sick but i think i got it early enough to treat it. This one is breathing slow and heavy so I think its a resp. infection. Ill be sure to keep an eye one all my others. Is there any advice on caring for an ill snake? should I raise humidity? i also have some medication left over from my other snake so ill give it that. well ill keep everyone posted heh. keep your fingers crossed! thanks jeff

Jeff...the meds are baytril
Im definitly going to be more careful in the future. so does 3 months sound good for a quarintine? anyways i sure hope he makes it through. After i get this cleared up...i have to go shopping for snakes again. but yeah, ill for sure be more careful this time.

p.s I was also wondering where i cant get some really nice red brbs, if anyone has any info please share! In your guys' opinion, which look better, the really deep red ones or the bright orange ones? ive also seen some really high yellow ones, are those rare? so, yeah, if anyone knows a breeder, who has some really nice babies for sale in the california area ( doesnt have to be restricted to ca, its just more convienient for me )just let me know

-Jamie