Advice on Respiratory Infection

[Andy_G]

Originally Posted by Neon Aurora

I'm not closed off to new ideas. I can admit to being wrong. So you think keeping a desert species at 60% humidity is not going to cause health problems?

I guess the reason I question the need for a culture is because I don't even do a culture on myself when a bacterial RI is suspected. I had pneumonia and got broad spectrum antibiotics, no culture. The only time a vet wanted to do a culture was on a friend's cat who had an infection that just would not clear.

I can request a culture, if that is really the standard. I just thought it was pretty standard to do antibiotics when RI was suspected. That is what I have heard most of the time, what vets have told me, and what I did for my conda who is healthy now.

Taking her to the vet later today.

It's good that you're open minded because that's how we all learn. I can understand your hesitation based on what you've been told and what you've experienced. Could you imagine though how much quicker, easier, and less expensive it would have been for your friend to treat their cat if a culture was done before treatment commenced? That's a great example of the "pants before underwear" statement that I made.

Is there a chance that your snake may be entering a shed cycle? Sometimes infrequent breathing noises that loosely resemble RI can occur before or during a shed cycle.

Originally Posted by MDT

Andy, you know I get my info from Google and Dr. Oz
(thanks for the kind words)

Neon, glad you're taking her to vet. Hopefully, they'll be clinically investigative and try to diagnose the illness. Keep us updated. We wish your animal all the best.

Ha! Before I became a licensed optician, I used to be a licensed MLT and worked in the microbiology department and I dealt a lot with differential diagnosis techniques in order to aid MD's to prescribe correct treatment. Just calling it as I see it.

[Neon Aurora]

Well in the case of the cat, she had a pseudomonas infection that was untreatable anyways. But I see your point.

I'll ask my vet today about doing a culture. It would probably help anyways, because if humidity does not cause RIs than the rosy must have got it from my conda. If I culture this one, I'll know what it is. If it's not bacterial, then I'll probably need my conda treated again.

She is probably due for a shed, but I don't think that's it. It sounds and feels like congestion. I took her out yesterday to double check and I felt her exhale when I heard it. It sounded and felt to my hand really stuffed up and like she had to breathe forcefully to push the air through. But the culture will tell for sure.

Oh, could someone answer my other question? Will keeping a desert species at 60% humidity cause health problems?

[Neon Aurora]

Culture done. =) Hopefully it's worth it, because it was not cheap. Probably won't have results until next week, so for now I am just keeping her warm and dry.

[MDT]

Originally Posted by Neon Aurora

Culture done. =) Hopefully it's worth it, because it was not cheap. Probably won't have results until next week, so for now I am just keeping her warm and dry.

As a well known reptile vet (Dr. Doug Mader) once said:
Good medicine is not cheap, and cheap medicine is not good.

You're doing the right thing. Let us know how your snake does!

[ClockwerkBonnet]

Originally Posted by MDT

As a well known reptile vet (Dr. Doug Mader) once said:
Good medicine is not cheap, and cheap medicine is not good.

You're doing the right thing. Let us know how your snake does!

Oh my word, I've heard of Doug Mader! In fact, I used to read some articles from him on magazines.

[Neon Aurora]

I will definitely keep everyone updated.

She was a bit of stinker at the vet. She has this strange habit of activating her feeding response when her head comes into contact with bare skin. I don't think they believed me when I told them and one of the techs got latched onto right away, haha. I only handle her with thin gloves and long sleeves because even a thin layer of clothing is enough to convince her that my arms and hands are not food...

[chairman]

On the F10 fogging approach, that is an old school treatment for RIs. The only thing that "treatment" demonstrates is that F10 is a very safe cleanser.

You've had solid advice from people who know what they're talking about in terms of the necessity of proper diagnosis and genuine medical treatment, I thought I'd just chime in on the F10 as a reliable/safe cleaner bit.

[Neon Aurora]

I think if I were to do any inhaled treatment, it would be nebulized antiobiotics from the vet. But my vet told me that nebulized antibioitcs is not very effective because reptiles tend to wall off bacterial infections. But we will see what the right course is when the culture comes back!

In the meantime, I've managed to get her humidity down to 45% ish. Whether or not that causes respiratory infections, 45% is a more appropriate level for this species.

[MDT]

N.A., look up the theory of "spontaneous generation". That is essentially what you're looking at to ascribe humidity as the *cause* of RI.

To say that inappropriate husbandry (wrong temps/humidity/etc) may favor the growth of pathogenic organisms (if present) would be appropriate. The snake's own immune system is designed to function fairly well in environments they are native to. If I tried to keep my carpet pythons at the same temp as my indigo snakes, I am altering their ability to most effectively resist infection.

Just like you, you aren't gonna get the flu just from being in the cold rain. Someone's gotta give it to you first.

[Neon Aurora]

Well, that's not really ever what I thought... There are plenty of normal pathogens already present in the respiratory system that can proliferate and cause an infection given the right conditions. Personally, I don't see how humidity is not a contributing factor. People who had tuberculosis often moved to drier climates.

I have a degree in biology, so I'm really not clueless here and definitely do not think spontaneous generation is a thing.

[MDT]

Originally Posted by Neon Aurora

I don't see how humidity is not a contributing factor.

We can agree on this.

[Neon Aurora]

Well, culture came back negative... Vet is calling me back tomorrow for a quote on doing a trachea wash and another culture. That is kind of disappointing.

[MDT]

NA....culture negative for bacteria? Or did vet do fungal and viral cultures too? Tracheal aspirate is best source (lower respiratory tract)... did they just swab the glottis first go around?

Sorry your answer is delayed :/

[Neon Aurora]

It's just a bacterial culture for now, and nothing grew. I should have just started with the trachea wash. Kicking myself. Yes, the first was just a glottis swab.

[Neon Aurora]

Well I got the trachea wash and culture scheduled. I couldn't get an appointment until next week, though.