Helenthereef

Thanks Rich. It will take 2 - 3 weeks to get results, so I just have to hope he keeps eating and doesn't succumb by then. There's also no guarantee that we'll be able to get more advanced antibiotics in country even after that.

At the moment I'm pinning my hopes on native vigour and basic nursing. I'm going to keep giving him 30 minute steam baths and take him out every evening in the hopes of encouraging him to expel the mucus from his lungs, on the principle that in humans pneumonia is fatal mostly in sedentary invalids.

I've just read that it's possible that RI's may occur more in snakes kept in tubs than in those in larger enclosures, as those who move around more obviously use their lungs more. I don't think this has been proven, but it makes sense to me, and as he's currently in a smaller quarantine tub instead of his normal larger enclosure, I want to make him move around every day while we fight this.

He's survived this for 2 months, so he was obviously pretty strong to begin with, and I'm hoping this will continue to work in his favour. So far the other 4 seem fine, so I'm also concentrating on quarantine and enclosure sterilisation. What fun!