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Got a new ball a few weeks ago. showed up with clicky breathing

reptilebaby

reptilebaby

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Anyway, I got a ball from a guy I always heard was a good guy. When I got the snake I told him that he had noisy breathing. I was told that could sometimes be normal. I didn't really think so, but didn't argue.

I have been checking on all the snakes every couple days when I wash their water bowls out. I am positive that it's a RI, but I was told by him that RI's are very rare in balls, and that it's possible I misdiagnosed the problem.



none of my other balls has ever had a RI before-I got pics of his cage but the snake is hiding in it's cardboard hide box. I was going to attempt to get pics of him tonight.

First he has very clicky breathing
second he has bubbles coming out of his mouth and liquid that puddles on his papers.
He smears his mucus all over the cage. I washed it day before yesterday and the following pics are what was taken of all the mucus that was back on the cage walls this morning.

I have some Baytril that I'm going to treat with. Had planned to take him to the vet and send a copy of the vet report to him, just so he would know that I'm trustworthy and NOT making this up about the infection, but I got the proper dosage for him and I am more worried about getting him better than worrying about a piece of paper from the vet.

This is a side shot of the tank with the mucus coating
picture.php



This is an end of the tank shot.
picture.php


What do you guys think of the info I was given?
And does this look like the tank of a healthy snake? I moved him out of the quarantine rack he was in and put him in this tank.

I really feel like the guy thinks I got him sick, but he was clicking when he arrived.
 
I mistakenly thought he looked a little better the day after I moved him from the rack to this tank and added extra heat, but I was definitely wrong!!
 
reptilebaby said:
I have some Baytril that I'm going to treat with. Had planned to take him to the vet and send a copy of the vet report to him, just so he would know that I'm trustworthy and NOT making this up about the infection, but I got the proper dosage for him and I am more worried about getting him better than worrying about a piece of paper from the vet.
Click to expand...

If he is so sick that he is smearing mucous all over the cage, I'd think about taking him to a vet or at least calling and seeing if the vet thinks he should be seen. You might be doing exactly the right thing, but it doesn't hurt to check.
 
He wanted me to send him back...but I was positive that he would be dead before he got there. He needs heat and care rather than another trip in a fed ex van. I just wanted to make sure he gets better.
I've been talking to a vet tech, and was hoping that I was doing the right thing for him. I'll take him to the vet as soon as I can get a way to get there.
 
RobNJ said:
I think they're fairly common.
Click to expand...

I'm going to second this statement; I'm glad I've never had to deal with an RI BUT frequenting and contributing to a certain ball python forum, I see people's BPs getting RIs all the time. It's treatable, but there is a point of "no reaturn" that you need to acknowledge and act accordingly.

I would definitely take the BP to a vet and ask that the seller reimburse you for the bill [it only seems fair that they pay medical if it is in fact thier fault that the snake has an RI].
 
He won't refund unless I send the snake back. Not even a partial refund.
 
reptilebaby said:
Anyway, I got a ball from a guy I always heard was a good guy. When I got the snake I told him that he had noisy breathing. I was told that could sometimes be normal. I didn't really think so, but didn't argue.
Click to expand...

Clicking breathing can sometimes be normal if the ball has some stuck shed in it's nostrils but should have gone away by now, not escalated into full blown RI. My opinion; your BP came in sick.

I really hope you can cure the poor little thing! Best of luck to you!
 
Says that It's rare to have a ball with a RI. and out of all the snakes he has he says he has NO sick snakes.
All I know is I didn't have any sick snakes before I got this one.
I'll see if I can get an appointment and a ride to the vet. Not many people willing to make a 4 hour drive just for a friend!
I don't have a way to get to a fed ex hub, anyway, but even if I did I wouldn't want to subject him to shipping again. The seller says he cares more about the snake than the money, and if the snake is sick he'd be better off with him basically.
 
I'm going to do my best. This little snake has a BIG temper, even though he's so sick, but I am going to do everything I can to get him well!

Even though I haven't had him long, I'm still attached to him.
I think he came in sick too. He was clicking when we pulled him out of the snake bag.
 
reptilebaby said:
The seller says he cares more about the snake than the money, and if the snake is sick he'd be better off with him basically.
Click to expand...

Obviously he doesn't care about the snake more than the money because anyone in their right mind would know that shipping a reptile as sick as that carries the possibility of killing them.
 
Just my opinion. The discussion part with the RI and so on is appropriate for here. But there is significant discussion by you about what your seller says he will or will not do.
I do not think it is fair to him to have that discussion here, I think it might be more appropriate to take it to the BOI where he at least could have his say. I'm not saying he is right or wrong, I'm just saying that if you are getting into the transaction part, maybe it would be better to discuss it on the BOI.
 
I didn't want to have to post his name.
He says he didn't know it was sick. I can't say he knew or not.

Either way, this guy'll get the care he needs, and will grow up to be a healthy guy. He is a very pretty guy, just very sick.
 
reptilebaby said:
He wanted me to send him back...but I was positive that he would be dead before he got there. He needs heat and care rather than another trip in a fed ex van. I just wanted to make sure he gets better.
I've been talking to a vet tech, and was hoping that I was doing the right thing for him. I'll take him to the vet as soon as I can get a way to get there.
Click to expand...
He won't refund unless I send the snake back. Not even a partial refund.
Click to expand...
The seller wanted you to send the snake back, you declined.....that pretty much relieves him of responsibility. I'm not saying you made the wrong choice - since I haven't inspected the animals - but you made the choice.

HighVoltageRoyals said:
Obviously he doesn't care about the snake more than the money because anyone in their right mind would know that shipping a reptile as sick as that carries the possibility of killing them.
Click to expand...
I don't agree with you. If a snake I sold arrived with an RI, and I asked for the snake to be returned, it would be for these reasons - 1) so my customer wouldn't have to worry about the snake dying, or potentially infecting their other snakes; 2) so I can pursue treatment as I see fit, with my own vet - who I know and trust; 3) So the neither the customer or I would have to deal with the repercussions, added expense, and ill feelings of leaving a sick snake in their care.
 
What had me upset was the way he seemed to think couldn't recognize a RI. Or that the vet I've used wasn't up to scratch.
When I contacted him to tell him about the RI, I had no intention of asking for a refund or sending him back. I just wanted to let him know that the noisy breathing had turned into an infection.
 
Yes. And I am sure I made the right choice for this little guy.
Click to expand...
That's fine - I've made the same choice myself - but my point was that you declined the seller's offer to make it right. In so doing, you accepted full responsibility for that snake; and, IMO, you waived any claim to a refund (including partial).

Having had the snake for a few weeks, and considering that it was only clicking on arrival, you share in a portion of the blame for its current condition. You've watched it progress, without action. You didn't really give a timeline of your communications with the seller; but THAT really is beyond the scope of this forum.
 
reptilebaby said:
What had me upset was the way he seemed to think couldn't recognize a RI. Or that the vet I've used wasn't up to scratch.
When I contacted him to tell him about the RI, I had no intention of asking for a refund or sending him back. I just wanted to let him know that the noisy breathing had turned into an infection.
Click to expand...

I think that a lot of people misdiagnose things as RIs. I've stated it on this site time and time again - RI is a highly overused term. Of course, not addressing the symptoms quickly and correctly often results in an RI...but that doesn't necessarily have to happen.


You're upset because you feel he didn't seem to think much of your vet....you might have the best vet in the world, BUT IF THE SNAKE DOESN"T GET THERE, WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO? You don't have a way to get a sick snake to the vet - you should have sent it back when you were given the opportunity. You don't have a way to get to FedEx - guess what - they do pickups. On top of everything else, you're saying that you've got meds on hand, and are thinking about treating it. Why didn't you start thinking about it when you noticed the bubbles and drool, rather than letting the snake progress to the point of smearing mucous all over the place?
 
hhmoore said:
I don't agree with you. If a snake I sold arrived with an RI, and I asked for the snake to be returned, it would be for these reasons - 1) so my customer wouldn't have to worry about the snake dying, or potentially infecting their other snakes; 2) so I can pursue treatment as I see fit, with my own vet - who I know and trust; 3) So the neither the customer or I would have to deal with the repercussions, added expense, and ill feelings of leaving a sick snake in their care.
Click to expand...

Good point. Although I think if the snake died in transit because of stress or not getting treated for the ailment it had, then both parties would still feel some sort of resentment because a snake would be dead. But if it's early enough in the stages of RI that it could survive shipment, than it seems like the best option (but that's if both parties think it could survive shipment). As for contamination of an existing collection, that is of course, top priority; but when the buyer has humongous handicaps in getting a snake to a vet or shipped back to a seller like OP does, they should practice an extreme QT procedure.

I guess it's a double sided coin and really depends on the situation, but I can see where it would benefit the seller in getting the snake shipped back to them (you listed very good reasons that in my early morning fog seemed to escape me).

hhmoore said:
You're upset because you feel he didn't seem to think much of your vet....you might have the best vet in the world, BUT IF THE SNAKE DOESN"T GET THERE, WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO? You don't have a way to get a sick snake to the vet - you should have sent it back when you were given the opportunity. You don't have a way to get to FedEx - guess what - they do pickups. On top of everything else, you're saying that you've got meds on hand, and are thinking about treating it. Why didn't you start thinking about it when you noticed the bubbles and drool, rather than letting the snake progress to the point of smearing mucous all over the place?
Click to expand...

x2

I don't know if I'm going to get bashed for this (and I really hope I don't) but if you can't physically take your snakes to a herp vet to get treated when something goes wrong with it [via your own transport, a friend or families support or other way], why do you own them?

I get that BPs are pretty hardy and good "beginner" snakes but when they do get sick, you always need a plan. It's cruel to not seek vet help when you know for a fact that your snake is sick (this goes for all animals, not just snakes) and according to you, you had more than enough time to get that snake to a vet before things got worse.

I personally could never own a living thing knowing that it would be almost impossible for me to take it to a vet when it got sick because we all hope it doesn't ever have to happen but reality is, it does and I would feel absolutely terrible if I knew an animal's worsening illness or death was in part by my hand because of my own inability to get that animal the care it needed.
 
I generally COULD get to a the vet in an emergency, but our vehicle is down. :(
My husband would just have to take off whatever day we needed to go since it's a 4 hour each way trip for us.

I did find a friend who might be going down that way. He could take him for me. He said he'll let me know tomorrow, and the vet told me when I called him, to just keep him warm till I could get there. I literally just noticed the bubbles a few days ago? Not sure exactly when. He spends alot of time in his hide and I don't generally disturb them when they are in the hides.
Have had a lot of stuff going on, so please forgive me if I don't remember exactly when I noticed it. I had to get a scale so we could weigh him and make sure that I had the weight right. So, that's why I didn't treat immediately. I really want to wait util I go to the vet to treat, but I thought it'd be better for him if I went ahead and treated.
 
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