Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wanted to let people know that there seems to be a new type of RI up here in the Northeast. I have a male that contracted it in February and went through 3 different series of antibiotics and to no avail. I also have a friend that had the same thing with a few of his snakes and the only cure seems to have been to "toast" the snake. I had spent over $400 on vet bills trying to get this snake better and was almost ready to have him put down when a friend suggested keeping the snake at an ambient tempurature of 96-98 degrees(toasting) for about a month. This seems to be the only cure for this RI and was the same cure used by my friend. Not to say I am suggesting
"toasting" your snake, but if no other cures work and you are at your wits end then it may be worth a try. But make sure that this is done with an accurate thermostat and monitored closely. Always consult a Veternarian first and make sure conventional methods aren't working before trying this.My main reason for this post is just to relay the fact that there may be an unconventional RI floating around and that the normal cures may not be working. My Vet is looking into the specifics about this RI and if it is bacterial or viral and what other options there are for curing it. I will keep you guys posted if he comes up with anything new.

CJinNH

I supply a basking site of 100F (38C) in summer. Cool end at 74F (23C). This is easily achievable in a 4x2x2 foot malamine enclosure using a 250watt ceramic heat emitter.

Nothing wrong with going 'too' hot providing there's a cooler retreat

Your theory is actually based on scientific fact. Nonetheless the outcome is still very interesting. Many microorganisms thrive at specific temperatures. By raising the snakes body temperature you most likely created an environment that the infection could not survive in.

Our human bodies develop fevers as a last resort to fight infection. Raising our internal temperature disrupts the activity of infections that would normally thrive at 98.6 degrees. However prolonged fevers can cause cellualr damage and must be conrolled.
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0.1.1 argentine horn
0.0.2 pixie
1.1.0 fire salamanders
0.1.0 axolotl
0.1.0 golden gecko
0.1.0 skunk gecko
0.0.1 cali king
1.1.0 sumatran blood python
0.1.0 ball python
0.0.1 corn snake (normal)
1.0.0 jungle carpet python
0.0.2 giant black millipdes
0.0.3 dumpys
0.1.0 Argentine B&W
1.0.0 RES
1.0.0 Painted turtle
1.0.0 Hypomelanistic RES

"Toasting" can be rather effective, depending on the temp the organism lives at. Won't really hurt the snake, and water should be supplied. I had a friend who did that about 25 years ago. It was a last resort, but worked.