respiratory infection

Helix Newton · 01-13-15, 03:58 PM

Hello!

My BRB had a mild RI recently,I took her to the vet and they gave 5 antibiotic injections which I gave her every 2 day's,she seams better now but I think she still behave differently,she became very shy,barely moves at all..the last 2 days all she did was burry herself into the ground and lay there...currently it's night time here and It looks like she is stargazing. I don't think this is normal. Help please!

Helix Newton · 01-13-15, 03:59 PM

Update,just took a photo of her

Helix Newton · 01-13-15, 04:02 PM

she is still like that and it's been 3min now!

Helix Newton · 01-13-15, 04:07 PM

Ok,it's been 6min now,that's definitely not normal,I think I'm gonna boost up a temperature a bit

current:
25,7 °c
62% Humidity

Rattlehead · 01-13-15, 04:28 PM

Did she just started staring upward, or is this since she got the RI?

Helix Newton · 01-13-15, 04:38 PM

Since she got RI

**millertime89** · 01-13-15, 05:06 PM

It can take a few days after all of the shots for the antibiotics to completely do their job. Give it some time and she'll probably come around. Just keep an eye on here.

Helix Newton · 01-14-15, 07:40 AM

It's already been 2 week now,that's why it worrying me

**millertime89** · 01-14-15, 08:07 AM

Hmm... what type of antibiotics were used? Do you know the name of the drug administered and the amount per injection?

SnoopySnake · 01-14-15, 09:54 AM

If her RI is from the humidity not being high enough I would imagine that needs to be fixed in order for the antibiotics to work.. Not 100% sure though as I haven't dealt with an RI yet.

yeloowtang · 01-14-15, 10:08 AM

like millertime said, any more info regarding the meds ??
from the info you gave, I would guess Baytril (Enrofloxacin) every 48h and with the 5 injections!!!!, I would guess the vet decided to go with the strong dose versus the smaller 10 dose treatment..
if that is the case Baytril is known to have side effects, if the snake is not rapid breathing and sitting with the mouth wide open as if gasping... only thing to do really is wait it out, make sure it has fresh water daily and conditions are perfect..
snakes often shed not long after treatment.

if not suggested by the vet, when an RI is being treated, it's always best to clean/disinfect the cage daily and change water bowls for a clean one with fresh water.
this is to avoid re contamination of the snake, where as is you leave the water there for a week, the snake could keep on getting sick..

best of luck, if it doesn't get better your best option would be another vet check

Helix Newton · 01-14-15, 12:21 PM

Hey,I'm not entirely sure on meds but it was not Baytril,the dosage was half of 0.1ml(forgot how to write that down..so confused right now),I've been changing the water daily,done some UV-C sterilizing, also tomorrow I'm ordering a new terrarium,current one is made from OSB which sucks all the humidity out of air,will probably get in on Saturday.

For now,I have raised the Temp. to 27°C and I am monitoring her regularly,can't do much else till I get the glass terrarium and thermostat,will post an update as soon as I get the new setup,up and running.

If you have any more questions & advice,please ask or tell!

Thank you!

**millertime89** · 01-14-15, 01:49 PM

.05ml sounds right. If she's not having breathing issues and you don't see any snot bubbles around her nose and mouth I would say she's still recovering. Just give her some time.

Snakesitter · 01-14-15, 03:08 PM

More important, did the vet culture the bacteria before proscribing a treatment? If not, they may have applied the wrong medicine to begin with, making the problem worse.

I agree with the disinfection plan, at least for the water bowl. Triple check her enclosure conditions as well, so that you can eliminate whatever caused this originally. Finally, I would suggest a second vet opinion, as RIs can be fast and deadly with this species.

Good luck!

MDT · 01-14-15, 04:07 PM

Snakesitter is 100% correct. If no culture was done, you have zero idea what you were treating. Zero idea if the organism was susceptible to quinolone antibiotics, you don't even know if your animal has a bacterial infection that an antibiotic will fix. If your snake has a viral respiratory infection (antibiotics not gonna work), then your husbandry and a good chicken noodle soup recipe (ok, I'm kidding about the last part) is your only cure for that. If it's fungal, you have a whole other set of issues, and no, antibiotics won't fix that either.

Gotta culture to get a cure....