02/05/2025
Part of being a responsible pet owner imo, and especially with exotics, is getting/giving medical care when needed. In some areas this is definitely easier said than done, and i am privileged to have multiple exotic vets in my area. Not all are specialists, but a few are, and others will see them in a pinch when needed which is better than nothing.
Edith here is my third snake ever. My very first purchased from morphmarket, and she came with her egg and a birth certificate with pictures of her parents. That experience means a lot to me!
Several months ago she began having the tiniest, most subtle pop in her breathing here and there. It wasn't always, and I had to practically hold her up to my ear to hear it. I scheduled her for a culture&sensitivity test with a trachael wash for my peace of mind, the vet couldn't even hear what I noticed, and we assumed she'd be fine. The test came back with heavy bacterial growth a month later, and highly resistant, so we started oral antibiotics - due to limited sensitivity, the best option didn't come in an injectable form.
She never lost her appetite, thankfully, so I was able to time her medication around her meals in order for her to metabolize everything more efficiently. After ~3 months of antibiotics, we redid the C&S test after her last doses and it came back clear (negative) of any unusual bacterial or fungal growth. Yay!
I'm an incredibly paranoid and attentive owner. I will panic over the slightest unusualness in my critters. Oddly and unfortunately, she seems more wheezy and symptomatic now with a negative test than she did originally. So I'm going to observe her for a bit, keep her heat and humidity up, and continue feeding her. But we may consider an xray and/or a second opinion just to be safe. Reptiles can hide illness so well, I don't want to put it off until it's worse and harder to treat.
But the fact it was so subtle and resistant respiratory infection in the first place doesn't make it less stressful, that's for sure.
"Edith" - 0.1 Kingpin "lesser pinstripe" Ball Python
Python Regius
