NEED HeLP

jgriffin2423 · 05-15-20, 09:23 PM

I hope this is in the right spot. I sighned up because i have tried everyting i can think of. i have a 12 year old female boa and she caught an ri that i didnt catch soon enough , turned into mouth rot. i brought her to 2 vets near me since this started. the 1st vet gave her shots and oral rinse. everything cleared up and she started eating again but she has a persistant weeze. and she started blowing bubbles and having excessive saliva. i brought her back to the vet, they said she looks good but gave her another round of shots. it didnt get much better so i decided to go to 2nd vet for 2nd opinion. they did a swab and gave her a clean bill of health but said i could bring her to get mri / ct whatever, they took months to get back the swab results and things sounded funny to me. it took me over a dozen calls just to get a hold of the actual vet tech and he finally gave me the clean bill answer but i cant be sure he didnt just wanna get rid of me. seems odd it took so long then they got bacteria results back but had to wait on viral, eventually got viral back now say we can do blood sample. not sure y we didnt do it all at once. due to covid there not taking in animals at this time and i cant seem to find any real reptile specialist in my area. i need someone who i know knows there stuff and can help me get my girl back to where she should be. i can tell shes irritated, un comfortable , and i dont knwo were else to turn.

chairman · 05-20-20, 02:15 PM

Generally, treatment for a RI includes: a)vet visit with swab to identify pathogen; b)medication from vet to kill the specific pathogen; c)obsessive cleaning of the cage with a dilute solution of chlorhexidine, F-10SC, or a similar animal-safe cleanser; d)raising the temperature of the basking spot or hot side of the enclosure by 5-10 degrees F.

The reason for the swab is so they treat for the right kind of bacteria. No sense using a medication designed to kill a bacteria that your snake isn't infected with.

If the snake is eating and defecating normally, and hasn't lost any weight, then I'd sterilize the enclosure as best I could and give the snake access to a little more heat (make sure the cool side stays where it is supposed to be). Let the snake regulate its own temps, give itself a "fever" so to speak, and let the immune system do what it is designed to do. If things don't resolve in two weeks then I'd go to a third vet or back to vet #1 for treatment.

chairman · 05-20-20, 02:19 PM

And since I just thought of it, research the symptoms of inclusion body disease. Your snake probably doesn't have it but if the RI just refuses to go away then you can get the snake tested for IBD. A positive result would force you to make some tough decisions but a negative result can allow you to sharpen your focus on other causes of RI.

BlackKing Nacho · 05-21-20, 08:32 PM

i would try lowering the humidity a bit and like chairman said; upping the heat A TAD thus drying out the air a bit. its helped me before with ri's. if he bubbling hes not fine. dont care what vet says or test shows.