nagging RI and no vet

[wendybird]

my newly aquired jungle carpet python arrived with a minor respiratory infection - wheezing but no saliva or mucous, even when i opened her mouth for a look. she is a 1 1/2 yrs old, a little over 4ft. anyhow, this wheezing has been going on for nearly a month now, its not getting worse- still no mucous, but its not clearing up either. i put her in a smaller cage - 20 gal. aquarium, and wrapped insulation aroung 3 sides, her ambient is 85 and basking 95, these are on thermostats and stay very steady. but i feel like i am cooking her because she is always pressed against her water bowl in the cool end. also: ahe eats like a garbage disposal and has shed twice since i got her with no probs. i have been handling her but not very much because i dont want to stress her out. my biggest problem is i havent been able to find a herp vet in my area. she probly need antibiotics, but no one knows how to inject snakes or what to give them ***my local vet, who claims to specialize in snakes told me to give her a heat rock and take a way her water???????? lower the humidity, maybe, but take away her water, is there factual basis in this??????? i ma definatly not giving her a heat rock - she has a cobra mat. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] sorry for the long post, thanks for your help.
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[Dr.Oviparous]

I don't think taking away the water is the answer. I can see if it is for humidity reasons, but it really doesn't give off that much humidity, especially on the cool end. one thing I would say is you could raise the ambient to about 87-89, if you're sure it's a RI. I would not raise the basking any higher though. -Juggalo
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[wendybird]

thanks! no, the humidity isnt the problem, i had trouble keeping it high enough (no prob w/shed though) and it is actually pretty dry in there (60% right now) i had her at higher temps for about a week and a half, but no results and i was worried i was cooking her, sh3 seems like she is always trying to cool off. BTW arent heat rocks pretty bad advice from a vet? that kindof worried me, more than the water thing. thanx again.
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[cb76]

forget that nerd with the heat rock garb!

when you notice this noise, are you handling at the time??? you know they breathe heavier because their lungs are being coiled around our arms n stuff forcing an exhale.

believe it or not, some people mestake that as weezing, and or a hiss.

i have a female boa, who is a fat 8.5 ft and wheezes ever since she was a neo. no sign of resp- i know my husbandry is correct- but still has a weez. thats why i named her wheezy.

when a snake has a severe resp, you do actually lower the humidity and raise the heat up a bit. but your vet sounds a lil' stupid. i wouldnt do that now or get the rock at all.

see what your heat and humidity measurments are at, and not just the floor. but the whole tank!! floor heat is nothing if the air is cold.

make sure your tank is in a stable area (no high winds, excessive heat or cold, etc...)

good luck, i hope you find out what the prob (if any) is!


[addsig]

YES heatrocks are bad for the snake or any reptile for that matter. they can cause thermal burns on them. Don't use one of them. Sounds like moronic advice from the vet. Now if the snake has an RI.. WHY didn't the vet put it on an antibiotic at all exactly ?
Go back to the vet and tell them you need BAYTRIL injectable for the RI for the snake. Then ask someone here like Juliussqueezer or Impermanentrage on the exact dosing for such. BTW..The injection is not that hard to figure out to give and IF the vet is indeed experienced with snakes , should know how to do such. Sounds like the vet is not experienced with reptiles in the least.
Raise the temps in the cage for an RI and lower the huimidity is what I do for it. Not sure on how high to go with a carpet though. others will be along that do though. Good luck with him and there is a site to get the info on a vet in your area that does herps.. I just don't have it marked but someone will be along to give that to you also.

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OH and on the water bowl.. Take away the bowl big enough for soaking BUt leave a water bowl in the cage for drinking from.
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[Dr.Oviparous]

for a 6.5 pound 4.5' (about) BCI with a RI I was givin a Rx of 50cc injectable baytrill once a day, for one week. (also raised temps 87-90, and humidity 45-50) -Juggalo
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	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[wendybird]

heat rock - i have no reason to get one A) potentially dangerous and cant be accuratly regulated by a thermostat (i love my thermostats!) B) doesnt need one, has a heat mat for belly heat as well as a basking spot higher up in her "tree" (protected by screen)
also, there are three thermometers on her cage and a good digital probe which i move around all the time ambient temps are 85, i have the thermostat probe in the middle of the cage and it is set at 85, there is no place in the cage colder than that, up top near the light it gets uyp to 100 F depending on how close she wants to get, she has lots of choices, the mat on the bottom is on a dimmer switch and stays between 90-95 F i took out the big dish (she wasnt soaking anyway) and gave her a smaller one.
yes, my vet is an idiot, he said he wouldnt accept the liability of injecting snakes, he said he would give me the drugs i needed (baytril? right? ) but i have never done this befor and wont risk it etc etc.... thanks for all the great advice, hopefully this is just the way she is, she wheezes the most when she is climbing up my arm or i am trying to get her out of the cage, not worse/not better- maybe just the way she is??? still, i am gong to be careful, again if anyone knows herp vets in central/southern CA let me know thanks! sorry for the long post [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
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Here's a link for a l;isting of herp vets in california [ I found it lol] CALIFORNIA HERP VETS LIST

WOW Jug..Dose every day ? We usually do every other most of the time.
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<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>for a 6.5 pound 4.5' (about) BCI with a RI I was givin a Rx of 50cc injectable baytrill once a day, for one week. (also raised temps 87-90, and humidity 45-50) -Juggalo</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow! That is nearly 17mg/kg body weight!! That's pretty darn high. Most AB's for snakes are usually in the 2.5 - 10mg/kg. I can think of a few that are higher, but probably not more than 5.

That is some pretty agressive antibiotic therapy.

Is injectable Baytril SQ or IM?
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	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[impermanentrage]

The recommended dose for Baytril(enrofloxacin) 5 mg/kg IM either every 72 hrs or every five days depending on the severity. However the Baytril suspension is going to be much different than in a mg form. I am assuming that Jugg's actual dosage for his animal was probably 0.50 ml, and not the aforementioned 50. It seemed rather high to me as well , but i decided to leave it alone since i had more imprtant matters to attend to at the time.


Entropy,
Alex
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