Respiratory Infection Update.

I decided to make a new thread this is an update from this post:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...fection+update

Some good news i took Meaty "my normal" into the vets yesterday for a culture to figure out exactly what is going on. Not the cheapest procedure $165 for a culture and sensitivity test plus vet fees $45 but hopefully this will solve everything and get my animals on the correct medication.

I initially was going to culture honey "my lesser" also because she has a different strand of reparatory infection or pneumonia but my vet told me she didn't have enough saliva in her mouth to get an accurate culture. Does this sound right to you? She is clearing up though but still has slight congestion in her chest but doing much better than two weeks ago. Should i just wait to see if the congestion gets better/worse before i go ahead with the culture or should i head back to the vet to get the culture asap? In your experience how long after being off treatments does the congestion clear up?

Time will tell i guess and i hope everything is solved within the next month I will let you know what the vet prescribes next.

Hope everything goes well man. RI Is always a pain, and finding a good vet that really knows how to treat it is the symptoms is the only way around it. If money isnt and issue, do what you have to do, and get it taken care of. My bumblebee got an RI in october of last year, and it took him about a month or so to clear up, and that was from the beginning of treatment with batryll, until I didn't hear any more wheezing or see any bubbles. It takes some time, you just have to work with it a little. Hope that helps a little. And an animal with RI that has too little saliva in its mouth? I had the exact opposite experience. My bee's mouth was constantly full of saliva, so much that it was bubbling out of his nostrils.

Yeah she was at the saliva coming out of her mouth and nose at one point i would say she was at her worse about a month ago. They have been fighting the RI for about 3 months now. Im glad your bumblebee pulled through! Thank you for the support i do hope they completely heal up.

Originally Posted by btbutler

finding a good vet that really knows how to treat it is the symptoms is the only way around it.

This may be seen as a small point, but treating the symptoms can be done by anybody...and won't do a whole lot to improve the situation. The reason for going to a vet is for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
As far as the "saliva" comments, bubbling secretions are not always a part of the deal....nor are they required to obtain a sample for c&s.

Any updates Kyle

The culture came in on sat. and the my vet and the owner of the practice are "looking into it" im more than frustrated... The only information they have gave me thus far is its immune to all the standard meds ie amikacin baytril fortaz I remember vibramycin being mentioned in our conversation but im not sure.. Can i take my results to another vet beause this is ridiculous i shouldn't have to wait more than a couple days for them to give me an outcome. Its tough watching these guys deteriorate like this and not being able to do anything about it..

It seems you don't understand what is involved in this process, Kyle.
The sample is taken, swabbed on culture plates, then incubated...it has to grow before the next step can occur. Then, they apply antibiotics to the growing bacteria, in order to find the sensitivity (what will kill the bacteria). When the bacteria is resistant, they have to continue testing to find something that is effective. Unfortunately, this takes time; so, no, taking your results to a different vet will not help. Your vet, most likely, has sent the samples to a lab, and is playing the waiting game as well. When the lab sorts out what antibiotic, or combination of antibiotics, will be effective, they will forward that information to your vet...then they will prescribe treatment.
Did they say what bacteria were identified?

To my understandings the results are back from the lab and the testing is done. I guess communication is the problem all i need is some reinsurance on the progress of the process. Thank you for your advice always appreciated hhmoore I just need to take a big breath and wait. It just seems when i call there office im given the runaround they tell me the vet is in surgery and will get back to me by the end of the day. I have been told this the last 3 days i have called. I guess its just out of my hands atm and i have to be patient.

Communication problems are a different thing - but they are sometimes unavoidable.
I may have misunderstood, but I was under the impression that they haven't got a clear answer for you - the "looking into it" and "thus far is its immune to all the standard meds" sure made it sound that way (to me).

Resistant strains suck....but they're becoming more prevalent (in part due to people not completing treatment, or just using random antibiotics and hoping they work). Hopefully they'll come up with a combination that works, and your other snakes don't become effected (or infected, if you prefer that usage).

I got a call back from my vet "few" and there working with there distributor to try and find the medicine i need. I guess the drugs there looking at aren't very common and can be expensive. So i just need to hang tight but i feel allot better that they have contacted me and are working on it.