Jungle/diamond reaction to Baytril? :(

Hi everyone

I have a jungle/diamond cross yearling female who was having trouble getting the last few pieces of shed off her neck when my fiance bought her. We soaked her and helped her get the shed off and she seemed fine. She went into shed again about three weeks later and wouldn't eat for three weeks. She was having trouble shedding again and I noticed she wheezed and had mucus discharge from her nostrils. I upped humidity and heat as my friend suggested I do, but there was no improvement in 4 days so I took her to my herp vet. She had not eaten in three weeks, but was in shed so I figured that was the reason, combined with respiratory infection. He diagnosed her with respiratory infection/pneumonia and put her on Baytril injected every other day. He gave her the first shot there in the office Thursday, but the next day (Friday)she was twitching and had her body all corkscrewed up and was holding her head sideways and lolling about. I got concerned and called the vet back who told me to relax and give her the second dose and watch her. The next day (Saturday) I gave her the second dose as directed, in the evening. The next morning, yesterday, she was dead. I don't think this was IBD because of its fast onset and quick fatality. I feel that it was a reaction to Baytril, as does my friend, another breeder who I trust. I just wanted to put this out there as a warning for anyone else to be careful with Baytril!! If anyone has had similar experiences or has any idea what could have happened other than drug reaction, let me know. I'm very upset about the loss of my little Intrigue, as she was a total sweetheart and very beautiful. Here is a picture of what she was doing when I came home Friday evening:

Very sorry for your loss Kim.

Thanks John...it was baffling and horrible to watch. I feel like I killed her by giving her the meds that were supposed to heal her. Poor little baby.

How much Baytril did you give her?
How high had you raised the temps?
Definitely a shame (but, if she were mine, I'd want to know WHY)

I do want to know, but my vet has not called me back to discuss. Also, she was technically my fiance's snake and he doesn't want to bother with an autopsy. She was 79grams and on 5 units Baytril in an insulin syringe (not sure what an insulin unit vs. a mL is). It is possible the vet made a mistake and dosed out too much drug and it messed up her system, in fact I think this is the most likely cause. If the vet calls back and suggests a necropsy I will get one done.

IIRC, my white lip that was about a KG was on 3 units of Baytril per day for 2 weeks.

Read the instructions on the prescription you got from the vet and compare it to http://www.anapsid.org/resources/rxdose.html

I just got off the phone with my vet and after a LOT of mathematical mumbo jumbo voodoo, she said it's greatly dependant on the strength of the baytril.

So, what does the prescription say about frequency and dosage and what does it say about potency?

GL

(hoping it was diluted, because that seems like a lot for a 79g snake...at least if the "standard"/dog strength was used)

Having previously lost everything to IBDV I would absolutely have a necropsy done. Anything neurological just freaks me out. I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Do you have other snakes in your collection?

Yes, I have 25 other snakes. No one has shown any signs, and the vet ruled out IBDV. She did have pretty bad pneumonia, but was quarantined as soon as she started wheezing. I'm keeping a close eye on everyone else and hoping for the best. She was my fiance's snake and he doesn't want to pay for a necropsy, and the vet didn't think it was necessary. I think it was most likely the stress of a high dose of Baytril combined with bad pneumonia and it was too much for her. She was only 5 ounces.

So, what was the Baytril potency? What does the prescription say?

5 ounces is 140 grams. 79 grams is 2.8 ounces.