Possible RI

[keeper]

About three weeks ago i noticed my female jungle had a slightly swollen mouth but when she moved her mouth looked normal again so i wasn't too concerned.

Tonight on checking the snakes i noticed she was blowing bubbles out of her mouth, gaping, and a slight bubbly hiss, still her normal snappy self though when she got taken out of the tank to be moved.

She has only been in the collection around seven months and was bought from a reputable breeder, as all of the collection has been, she has been quarantined away from the other reptiles.

There is no vet open tonight as its 1am here and this was noticed at 11pm and the only option would have been a useless 24hr vet. I am hoping when i call the vet in the morning that they will say to bring her in.

In the meantime i would like to hear all your advice from anyone who has experienced this before as i have never had a sick snake in my 5+yrs of owing them, so haven't had any experience with what will happen at the vets, recovery time for the snake, and how AntiB's will need to be administered.

 

[Khagan]

I think all you can do till tomorrow is bump the heat up a little and remove the water to keep humidity low.

 

[lroy_83]

ive only been a smake owner for abour 5 mnths ive got no idea m8 but it dnt sound healthy how lng since u fed it?

 

[mysnakesau]

Can I ask what temps you have her enclosure at? Crank her heat up and put a hide box over her heat. Until you get her to the vet, heat is the other important factor in reversing or stalling the symptoms of RI.

 

[keeper]

Just an update the vet has said it was a respiratory infection she had 1 injection wednesday. Then i have to give her another on sat then tuesday. She was in a bank enclosure with 3 other snakes which are all fine. She loosened her vent in her original tank so put her in temporary tank until i got around to fixing it which must have gotten a bit colder than the rest so lesson learnt dont put off just do it. so $153 later i learnt a valuable lesson

 

[mysnakesau]

Everyone is noticing how cold it is and RI is just as easy to keep out, as it is for you to not get the flu.

But you're right there, Keeper. If a snake gets sick, checking your husbandry has to be the first thing you do. Poor husbandry doesn't always mean neglect. It just means you have missed something and you need to fix it in attempt to prevent it happening again.

Its been cold this winter. Everyone seems to be having trouble keeping their animals warm. I have heat on mine, above and below, and hides in both ends of their enclosures and I have even downsized the size of the boxes so that they can coil up nice and tight which is another way they help themselves maintain warmth.