coccidia....drug help

i have a cornsnake that has cryptosporidium, and if its possible i'd like to find the drug "sulphamethazine" and administer it myself,if anyone knows where or how i can buy this please let me know or if you have any other thoughts,please i'd like to hear.i dont want to have to bring this snake to the vet for this...i've seen it done before and its just a shot of liquid down the hatch.i'd hate to have to pay a vet all that $$ for a simple job.

thanks in advance,

jayson rafter

How do you know the animal has Crypto if it hasn't been seen by a veterinarian? It's very dangerous to be administering dosages of medications without being sure what you're medicating for. Not to mention it's illegal, too.

i did bring the snake to the vet(sorry i should have mentioned that)that is how i know what it is.my problem was the price for this!! and the vets here (that are somewhat close) really dont like checking reptiles...(yea this is what they told me,i had to pull legs for them to check it(both vets.)witch is crap!!,i should have had no problems!!but thats a whole other thing.i have gotten other drugs for reptiles through the net.(legally) i just dont want to have to cull an awesome snake because the vets here suck,ya know!! i dont want anything illegal and was not aware of that drug being illegal ??for me to use,but understandable.and from what its looking like,im unfortunately gonna have to put her down... seeing as i cant get help.

thank you for the info.

The drug is expensive...and requires a prescription to purchase, even on line. It's also more than a single "shot of liquid down the hatch" - it is multiple doses over time. Sometimes the vet will provide you with the Albon to administer, after the diagnosis is made...of course, since you left without, you could be charged another office visit if you choose to go back for it - depending on your relationship with your vet (shich doesn't sound good, from the tone of your post).
There is a generic that can be acquired without one, but it isn't in the correct form or concentration to be easily administered to a corn snake....and I won't speak to its effectiveness in your situation.
Crypto is pretty serious stuff...and by the time it's diagnosed it is generally pretty advanced. It's also pretty contagious, so you have to worry about more than just that snake. Good luck with your choices.

Harald explained it very well. I think my comment might have sounded a little smart-ass so I apologise. I want to make sure you're 100% sure the snake has what you're treating it for. I've seen people lose animals over situations like that. The wrong drug to an animal whos immune system is potentially compramised could come down to a very tragic ending. I'd hate for that to happen to you.

also from what i've read,i do know its contagious,the infected snake was taken out of its original cage and put in quarantine tupperware,my question is how contagious is it?? i know it can get in through liquids,stool,and saliva.are there other ways of getting infected like...airborne??

The most common way for it to get passed around within a collection is by keepers, when going from cage to cage.

do mean by me touching them and then going on to the next cage without washing my hands?? everything for this dude is cleaned daily including fresh water.so even though im super-duper carefull theres still a good possibility i could pass this on?...are there any type of warning signs that i should look for in the rest of my collection... and kinda off the subject but i noticed we are both in upstate n.y so you must be close to me.where do you take your stuff and im wondering if we've ever met?

Yes.

I'm not close to you....
*edited to remove name of person who is not close to you either, I just always seem to think he's in Rochester

are there any type of signs?? that i should be looking for in my collection.

thanks the help & knowledge,very much appreciated