Respiratory Infection...Need Help

stevesemerko · 09-10-04, 01:38 PM

My bp has a respiratory infection and I need to know ANY ways I can help get rid of it. I have been calling vets all day but I don't have enough money right now to take her (they are charging me $50 to bring her in for an examination and then the price of meds). What type of medication do you get for a respiratory infection and where could I buy it? I really don't want her to die, I have only had her for a year and she has become one of my favourites. So any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

smeagel · 09-10-04, 02:51 PM

all i can suggest is get in to see a vet as soon as possible.

Artemis · 09-10-04, 03:42 PM

Wow steve, with all those posts under your belt you oughta be savvy enough to know that after that admission, everyones response is going to be "if you cant afford to take it to the vet then you shouldnt have it." Im not going to waste my time blasting you for this.

However, there is some merit to that perspective. No one understands being broke better than me. Time to hit the pawn shop, and then the vet. You cannot get what you need for your snake over the counter. Time to part with something that will bring you the money you need to take care of the animal which is your responsibilty. Pawn shops buy things outright, or will hold your property as collateral and loan you money, which you will pay interest on in order to get your property back. It seems you have a computer. So thats one thing you could use as collateral, and pay the loan back when you do have the money. The snake needs to go to the vet NOW.

Recheck your temps and humidity and have those numbers handy for the vet, it is likely your husbandry is or has become off if the snake has developed a respiratory infection. If your husbandry is correct, then it may be stress from another source. Snakes getting too cold or being stressed out weakens their immune systems, making them susceptible to resp. infections.

While your out at the pawn shop getting money, raise the ambient temp in the cage so 88 to 95 throughout, and other than the water dish, remove anything creating humidity, or holding humidity in. This will help the snake until you get it to the vet, which should be very soon.

This is contagious, so if you have other herps, keep them away, and wash your hands before digging in other cages.

Now go come up with the cash and get to the vet. I dont know where you are at, but they have payday advance loan places also, if you have no pawnable assets. 100 bucks isnt that much to come up with.

Good luck-

Artemis

stevesemerko · 09-14-04, 03:44 PM

I have come up with $150 over the weekend doing work for family so I will be taking her to the vet tommorow. I know if you can't afford to take your animals to the vet then you should give them up, but until KT died I have never needed to go to the vet I would go to him and he would give me the proper meds after examining the snake and show/help me how to administer them. Now, I am not so lucky and I have just recently become unemployed and until I find more steady work I will be doing a lot of work for friends and family to get what I need for my animals. I do however ALWAYS come up with the money to look after my snakes I have kept them successfully in even worse monetary positions than I am in now. I know where to get the money if I need, all I was asking for here is some suggestions to help keep her alive/somewhat healthier for the weekend until I made the money to get her properly looked after.

Steve

Stockwell · 09-14-04, 04:43 PM

Steve just bake the thing for a couple weeks unless it appears to be full blown pneumonia. Most minor RI's can be cleared up with high temps up in the 90 to 100F range. You sure it isn't just pre-shed? How long has the condition been present, any idea what brought it on, and what exactly is the condition.
All this talk about finances, pawn shops and running to a vet and No one has asked, nor have you offered any details as to the symptoms.
I once hibernated a group of Regius during those pioneer years of figuring out how to breed them, before there was CB Regius... I had lots of them with colds,but never lost one, and never made any vet calls either.
Antibiotics can be valuable in extreme cases, but antibiotics come with some danger, not to mention big expense, so my route would be to try high temps first... I cured alot of minor sniffles over the years that way, and still do.

stevesemerko · 09-14-04, 06:26 PM

I am almost positive it isn't pre-shed. I have consulted my BP manual and all the symptoms point to RI. These are the symptoms I have noticed:

- wheezing
- elevated head
- open mouth breathing
- some clicking sounds

She has been like this for a about a month or more. I got one of those human heating pads on the weekend (the ones with the Lo/Med/Hi settings) and I have replaced her other heat pad with it.

justinO · 09-14-04, 09:40 PM

amen Stockwell!
that's all i have to say.

Jessy.

Artemis · 09-14-04, 10:20 PM

I dunno stockwell. This is an advice forum. He said it had a resp infection, so I assume this means he knows the symptoms. They can be treated if caught early enough without vet intervention, true, but im not gonna tell this guy that- what if its too late and the game, and on my advice he tries to treat it at home and it croaks. I dont want my advice to kill someones animal, so I still vote vet. I did mention to raise temps and lower humidity. That will help, and POSSIBLY treat, but without seeing said snake with my own two eyes, I still recommend vet.

A month or more is a pretty long time in my book.

Artemis