Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone
I have a recently purchased Cribo that I took to the Vet for a checkup. The Vet decided my snake might be WC and decided to deworm it. He administered a sulpha based medication & will repeat this in 2 weeks. Im utterly ignorant regarding herp medicines however I read this evening that Sulpha based meds can be potentially toxic to Drymarchon. If this is the case how would I know? He also said the snake had a minor RI, besides maintaining optimal temps what else can I do?

The RI; if the vet was not concerned enough upon examination to prescribe medications or do any diagnostics, then optimal husbandry is all that you can do, and probably all that is needed.

As per the sulpha drug. Can you let me know the exact labeling? If you have concerns it never helps to call your vet and say "I heard this... is it true?" If the snake is otherwise doing fine, the deworming isn't an emergency and can be held off until Monday when you contact the vet. I have found that alot of fuss about specific drugs over the net is often based on one person's account of what happened to their pet which means it could be something totally unrelated to the drug at the prescribed dose. Doesn't hurt to have your doc re-reference though

Ian

Thanks Ian, I appreciate your input. Id heard it was potentially "Nephrotoxic" to Indigo Snakes. I'll call the Vet tomorrow..........

oops, I re-read my post and realized I wrote "it never helps to call your vet", I meant to say it never hurts... you got the idea though

As you probably know, nephrotoxic means it can damage the kidneys as it passes through. This is generally not a concern with proper dosing in healthy, hydrated animals. Have fun with your new captives, I find this family of snakes fascinating.

Ian