Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a boa the has an r.i. she is doing a little open mouth breething and has some bubbles coming out of her mouth. I raised her temps and took her to the vet. He listened to her lungs and said he didnt hear anything. He did say however that she had a ri from the bubbles coming from her mouth and also the excess mucus in her mouth. He gave me injectable antibiotics. He gave me Amakicin and also ceftiofur. The amakicin is every three days and the ceftiofur is every other day. So far I have given 2 shots of the Amakicin and 3 shots of the ceftiofur. My question is how long should it take before I see improvement?

The place I got her from said I can send her back for a full refund, but I really like the snake and if it is a treatable thing, I would rather keep her. She has eaten for me once already. She was a rather expensive snake for me. Anybody with advice or experience with respiratory infections please chime in. Thanks

that can be harmful to your animal if not given in the proper amounts and then still can cause unwanted liver damage. I normally use Tylan or Tylosin (generic tylan) for RI and if that doesnt work then i use Cipro if the animal is eating, if not eating then I would go with Fortaz in oral form if possible.

Can you elaborate a little on how you give these meds. I didnt know i had a choice of oral and injectables. I have heard alot about Tylan. My vet said he has had very good results with ceftiofur. I think it may be new but I am not sure.

Just jack up the temps and slowly cook it out of them.

M/

This is only my opinion, but I personally would never use any aminoglycoside antibiotic, such as amikacin, as a first choice drug for a case of RI. As Locolizard mentioned, the risk of toxicity is not worth it with other antibiotics available that are as effective in most cases, and definitely less toxic. Various cephalosporin antibiotics like ceftazidime (Fortaz), or the ceftiofur that you used, and fluoroquinolones like Cipro, are also broadspectrum and much safer to use. I would try one of them first before using an aminoglycoside if they failed. As far as how long before you see results, it could be anywhere from 7 to 10 days before noticing a significant improvement. Also, if you do use any aminoglycoside such as amikacin, make sure that the dosage never exceeds 2.5 mg/Kg of body weight, and the injections are never given more frequent than every 72 hours. Good luck.

Kelly

np

I think the vet's choice of antibiotics is a good one, but some information from both the post, and from the discussion that took place in the exam room are missing (obviously... I wasn't there).
People can say this drug is better or that, but they all have side-effects. The veterinarian obviously thought that this particular snake was hydrated enough where amikacin would not be a problem.

Best advice is to follow what the vet has to say. If no improvement, return to the vet for a culture and sensitivity (if this was not already done) to find out exactly what antibiotic will be most effective against the pathogens present.

Remember, opinions are like everything else, you get what you pay for.

Ian

ps, you mentioned you really like this snake, and don't want to return it. RI's are very treatable, but make sure you husbandry is optimum. This is imperative for any treatment.