hhmoore
tired & cranky shadow
You've spelled it 3 different ways, and I still can't figure out what type of scope you are referring to...regardless, it sounds like the vet may have been trying to make up for lack of reptile experience by doing whatever test seemed like it might show something.
If you did research and didn't find anything about cultures being part of treatment, well - your research sucked. As I explained in my last post, culture and sensitivity is how they find out what the pathogen is, and what works best against it. Yes, it is possible to treat with a broad spectrum and hope it does the job; but the better approach is to know what you are treating and use the proper medications. The test takes time, though; and in many (if not most) cases, treatment would be started as soon as the samples were taken. I understand how that could be misconstrued as the testing not being necessary - especially if no change in treatment is required - but if the pathogen isn't the "usual suspect", and Baytril turns out to be ineffective, you will have given antibiotics unnecessarily (putting the snake at risk for resistant strains), you will be a couple weeks into the process with no clue what drug you need to use, and the snake could have deteriorated significantly. It is better to do the culture before starting antibiotics, for the sake of accurate results.
On the positive side, 2 of the more common pathogens found in a snake's respiratory tract are pseudomonas and proteus (I know they have new names now - I never bothered replacing them in my memory banks)...which are generally fairly responsive to Baytril.
You stated that you didn't think he would have given you antibiotics without the xray - that really doesn't make a lot of sense, since you said the xray didn't show anything. Think about it....if there is nothing there, what are you treating?
I don't mean to sound harsh, but your last few responses show why you shouldn't have extra antibiotics "just in case". Chalk it up to inexperience, which isn't actually a bad thing; but you need to have more of a clue, and better judgement if you are going to decide to medicate your own animals. Remember what I said earlier about most so-called RIs starting as symptoms of husbandry problems? At the first sign of things being amiss, a keeper should be reviewing all aspects of husbandry and making appropriate corrections - thereby resolving the source of the issue and -usually- preventing things from worsening. Of course, part of that is having the knowledge and experience to know what changes to make: increasing temperatures is a no brainer; but the decision to raise or lower humidity shouldn't be a generic answer that can be told on a forum without the right background information. Making sure the enclosure is disinfected and kept extra clean should be a no brainer, as well; but the decision on whether it would be more appropriate to switch substrates requires a bit more thought. What is easiest (and/or cheapest) for us may not be the best choice for the health of the animals...and, again, having all the details and a strong knowledge base is the difference between making an informed decision or taking random opinions based on whatever.
Sorry if it seems I am venting at you, or lecturing you - this is just an all too common scenario; and, every once in a while, these things need to be said.
