RI Advice

[Mangles]

I purchased a two year old Stimsons last Wednesday from a shop, and that night I noticed it puffing its throat.

Took it out the next morning, although planning to leave it alone for a week, aad it was pufing its throat and making a clicking sound. Knowing this is not good, I immediately phoned the shop and they said to bring it back and they will take it to the vet attached to the store. They are meeting the costs of the vet fees.

The vet said her mouth is fine, but she is in the early stages of RI. She said to give it Bactrim orally once a day and keep the heat up. Also said to give it a few days and try to feed her. The following morning (Good Friday) she was worse with the tongue not coming out properly at first, seemed to be blocked by mucus and saw nose bubbles. Gave her the medication and left her for another 24 hours.

Since then she has improved but only back to her original condition, still inflating her throat and clicking. She only stays in the hot spot and hardly moves around at all. Did see her go and have a drink from the other end of the enclosure, but when she does move she is slow and will often rub her nose. She did feed the other day, although did not strike at the food, just slowly opened her mouth.

Spoke to the vet again this morning who said that eating and drinking is a good sign, and she would prefer to leave her on Bactrim for a few more days before considering changing antibiotics as reptiles take longer to get over these illnesses.

I have read a lot of other posts on this site about RI, and I have never heard of Bactrim. Most say a shot of Baytrl.

Should I leave it for another few daysor go back to the vet now and get her on something else. I don't like to second guess a Vet but am worried about my snake.

[Oliver]

Maybe you should see a different vet if you’re concerned. There is a thread here somewhere about vets that have been recommended by members.
The loss of a snake is not worth the small cost of a visit to the vet. And in a lot of cases - vets know best.

[Pythoninfinite]

Raise the enclosure temps by 3-4 degrees and keep them there for a couple of weeks. If you have already started antibiotics keep using them until the vet suggests otherwise. In many cases a simple increase in temps will bring about a cure for RI as these infections are often a result of chilling in the first place. Most vets don't like picking up where others have left off, especially as you really haven't had sufficient time to allow the first treatment to work - I would expect that most RIs would take at least a few days to noticeably clear up, and at least another week to be fully clear of the infection. if you are concerned about the medication, ask your vet to swab and get a sensitivity test done to see what would be most effective on the germ involved.

Good luck. Jamie.

[hugsta]

Make sure your snake is kept in temps around the 32-33 deg c mark, this will help fight off the infection. Most herp vets prescribe Baytril, but it is injected into the snake every 2 or 3 days depending on severity. It normally takes a week or two to clear up. I have not used Bactrim, so can't help you there, but it may have been prescribed as it is orally administered. Giving snakes injections can easily cause damage if you don't know what you are doing. So give your snake at least a week of treatment before getting too worried.