Ibd?

[unknownclown]

OK I got home yesterday after spending the last of my money on the treatment for a sick boa I rescued sunday, only to find my bp acting funny. She was in the middle of a shed so I kinda blamed it on that although I never seen her act like this. She is pretty much cruisin around staring at the top of the cage bumping into things like she is blind or something. I picked her up and she peed all over, ew blech! I helped her outta her shed since it started flaking off while checking her out and I was hoping after I got the eyecaps off the problem would be fixed, figuring that she was acing this way cause she couldnt see with old eyecaps. She seems very weak she can still correct herself but it takes a minute :( .

She has the propper temps and humidity I just dont know what to do aside from isolate her. Does this sound like IBD or could it be something else? Pleease say something else since it looks like IBD is fatal no matter what treatment you give :(

Im still reading up on it thru internet searches if anyone can offer anything useful I would be ever so thankful :dumb:

[unknownclown]

Here is a pic of her she has been perfectly healthy up to this point aside from a bit of a picky eater....

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1365ball_pythons_001.jpg

Shes the smaller one in the lower part of the pic.

I didnt isolate since they were both in the same cage when I had bought them.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/136514sm.jpg

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/136513sm.jpg

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/136512_sm.jpg

[tHeGiNo]

Well it is really hard to say, IBD cases are few and far in between. Also, if one bp has it the other would too, it is highly contageous. If you suspect a problem, I would recommend a vet check. Be sure to notify your vet it is a possible IBD case so they can take the necessary precautions. For starters I would definitely separate the two.

[unknownclown]

woops! I meant I didnt isolate them when I bought them they are deffinately separated now.

I would love to take her to the vet unfortunately I spent all my money on the rescue boa and I cant afford another trip to the vet until next friday (payday) any suggestions on what to do until then?

[Jeff_Favelle]

As Corey said in a previous post, IBD is NOT common.

Also, its a sure quick death in pythons. In boas, it can linger for awhile, but in pythons, its results in speedy death.

If it is IBD, there is nothing that even a super-vet can do. If it isn't, check your husbandry first.

[BoidKeeper]

Jeff's right if it's IBD you'll know in a month cause your BP's will be dead.
Good luck,
Trevor

[unknownclown]

well I broke down using the last of my money and took them to the vet. I say them because I figured I may as well take both BPs since they were in the same enclosure. Now I may not have enough money to get to work next week but at least Ive had my animals looked at and hopefully the female will come out of it now that she has begun treatment. Shes pretty far gone so Im going to try not to get my hopes too high. :(

Oh and you all were right, the diagnosis was 3 different types of protozoans plus a nice bacterial infection.

I guess this is where I thank ***** for the wonderfull animals they provide, give those on staff vetrinarians a raise they are doing a wonderful job :grumps: and with that said Ill begin kickin my own behind for ever walking into that godforsaken place and pray they go bankrupt.

[lilyskip]

I'm really sorry to hear that. ****** is a crapshoot...ya never know. Leave your behind alone--it's not your fault. Good luck with your female...!

[ReptiZone]

Well I am just gona say a few thing cause I had the same problem a few years back.

I would go to the store on BUSY day and star the manager straight in the eyes and say these are the animals I got _____ time ago, and your store said they were vet checked by your on staff vet.

either you pick up the vet bill or I am suing for fawls advertisment.
if it dosent work you will drive all of there coustomers away....he he he he revenge is sweet.LOL

[Colonel SB]

I hope your BP is okay...Best of luck at the vet.

[Wrath]

My BP only peed on me one time. And that was when I took her to the vet and she stayed overnight for deworming. I guess they pumped her up full of liquid medecine or something. I was pretty concerned, but she has never ever done anything like that again.

Poor baby, I'm sure she wasn't feeling so hot after her treatment. How is she doing now that it's been a few days?

[Jeff_Favelle]

Unknownclown, my hats off to you man! You are one DEDICATED keeper! Our hobby needs thousands more people just like you!

Having said that, this is EXACTLY why we stress buying CB DIRECTLY from the BREEDER! So you pay $30 more for a snake? Look at what your vet bills are costing you. CB is cheaper and easier in the long run 100% of the time. No kidding. And this isn't a rant on you. You are doing your best. You just didn't know any better. And that's the purpose of my rant. If ONE new-bee buys a CB animal because of reading what has happened to you, then it will be worth it.

I hope everything turns out. Don't give up. They are amazingly resiliant animals if you let them be! :D

[Linds]

Just a reminder to everyone, please leave names of stores, etc. out of posts. sSnakeSs.com doesn't need to worry about being threatened with lawsuits ;)

[unknownclown]

Thanks everyone for your concerns. You know Im very disgusted with this whole situation. My heart is goin out to this little darlin and yet Im kicking myself in the butt.

You see a couple of months ago I bought a baby boa from the same place and took it and my other boa to the vet to have sexed and checked out. When the guy heard where I got it from he mumbled shook his head and did a check for internal parasites. The new one was full of of protozoans and nasty stuff while my other one, Hugs had just a small count. I was rather ticked and in all honesty already tapped for money and shouldnt have bought it in the first place. So I took it back to the place I got it and told them about what was found they just asked for the reciept I gave it to them and he went in the back after a few minutes came back and refunded my money. I didnt ask to return the snake but considering the circumstances I accepetd my money.

well when I got home I started to treat the boa as well as my 2 BPs since the guy told me that he could almost gaurantee they would have it too being from the same place. The boa took her meds liks a champ but the 2 BPs aparently spat it out since I didnt get the tube far enough down thier throats. Basically I was scared of hurting them since they are so small and wouldnt hold still and was hoping that at least some had made it down. So I guess I am to blame in this as well. I had the cure right there in thier mouths and yet I fell short in administering it. :( One way or the other Ill deffinately chalk this up to a learning experience hopefully not at the expense of a dear pet.

Thank you Jeff for the kind words :) You know I took off home on my lunch break to check on her and she just looked rotten I decided to take her to the vet right then. So I called in and I got the tone from my boss that she was rather ticked that I would take the time from work to run a snake of all things to the vet. I asked her what she would do if it were her dog.... I know its not the same but in alot of ways it is.

Oh and Jeff I dont plan on ever giving up ;)

Sorry again Linds

[lilyskip]

Listen, it's not your fault. You did everything you possibly could have done to help your snakes. You definitely did way more than I would have even thought about doing. That counts for a lot.

[unknownclown]

Well I woke up early this morning worried about her. She seems a little stronger but not too much. :) At least she isnt floppy and listless like yesterday. Shes still struggling though to keep her head straight and goin in circles but as we all know healing takes time.

Oh and thanks lilyskip :) but I do believe this was a group effort of the darned place that sold her to me and inadvertedly me and the vet, I shoulda asked him to show me the propper way to administer the meds or maybe he shoulda offered up the info to me. All in all Ive pummeled myself about it enough, now its on to fixing the problem instead of dwelling on it ;)

[lilyskip]

No prob. And I agree...it was their responsibility to give you the technique with the meds. Good luck with everything...glad that she's improving!

[unknownclown]

Well after a month almost of her flopping around and the male following soon after. I had to give up and put my babies down Friday. :(
I treated them for the protozoans and the bacterial infections and worms (just incase) and it didnt seem to make a difference. They were just getting weaker and worse. I was told to raise the temps and give them meds every day with no signs of improvement. It got to the point where the reptile specialist called Florida where they can test for IBD and consulted someone there. They told him ( I was standing right there durring the conversation) that it sounded alot like IBD but the only thing was that they were so weak they wouldnt make it there alive. The test are also very expensive supposedly, I didnt ask how much, which didnt help since Ive poured quite a bit into these 2 already for the weekly vet trips. I just couldnt see putting up more money just to have it verified that they would die when it was so obvious anyway.

The specialist told me not to bring them anymore incase any of the other animals caught it because it was highly contagious. And to go down to where I had bought them and chew them out for selling such unhealthy animals without even checking them out first before letting the public buy them. So thats what I did... I got my money back on the 2, but that realy doesnt make everything all right does it? :(

[BurmBaroness]

Man, I'm really sorry to hear about all this. You have my deepest sympathies, and I commend you for the sacrifices you made for your animals...........peace

[mango]

so sorry to hear that. at least they had someone that cared enough to try to save them. props to you for trying so hard.

[TheRedDragon]

Oh that poor baby :( I'm glad to hear that she's on her way to recovery though, and good for you for being so dedicated to your snakes' health.

[Darlene]

Oh my gosh that's sad. Big hugs for trying so hard !!

[lilyskip]

i'm sorry...you are still *super snakekeeper* though!

[sapphire_moon]

I'm sorry to hear that.......I'm glad that those snakes had a wonderful home and a loving owner while they were on this earth......I don't know if anyone has said it but the herp world needs more dedicated people like you......

[Linds]

So sorry to hear of your loss :( However, if you can scrounge up enough money its all worht it to get one tested if you keep any other boids. Boas may carry it for years before showing any symptoms, unlike pythons that die shortly after they are affected. It is highly contagious, its good assurance for the rest of your collection, and any possible newcomers.

[eyespy]

I am very deeply sorry for your loss in spite of all your efforts at treatment.

Were they my pets, I'd be going through the blue pages in my phone book and checking with the health department to see if the store in question has been recently inspected.

Protozoans are waterborne as well as following the fecal/oral route of transmission and can spread from cage to cage very easily, it sounds like the place is long overdue for inspection.