Should I brumate my snake or not?

[Brittany26]

Okay, He is too small to be properly injected with antibiotics because of his size. I've read that oral medication won't do anything. If I take him to the vet it will be oral and nothing will help him. I'm only 14 with only 20 dollars to spare. Vet bills would be well over 50. I paid for his last trip but I can't afford this trip. In my opinion he is doing okay. Until the day he stops eating or stops beig active then I will need to worry more. I have decided to not brumate him based on your help. The temp in his cage is 84 degrees F with his lamp on with a humidity level of 41 (which changes often) Is the temperature in his cage fine? If I need to raise it how would I, since my lamp has been constantly on all day I can't make the temp go any higher. At night time last night his cage with the lamp off was about 68-70 For not brumating him is that temp too low? Keep in mind it's only fall and the temperatures here will get colder. Should I get a night time light for him that is nocturnal to raise temps at night? I will stop feeding him rosy reds and stick to pinkys once a week. Every time I get him out in the winter I will make sure I warmed the desired room up with a heater to make sure he's warm and doesn't get tempted to brumate. I will also make sure to turn his lights of at 8:00-9:00 even though it will get dark at 4:30 in the winter. Another question, what if he stops eating in the fall/winter, signifying that he wants to brumate, do I just turn his temperatures down and let him proceed with brumating? Sorry for all the questions. I just don't want him to die. He's been with me in elementary school, all middle school, and hopefully he will stay with me these next 3 years of high school. I just want him to feel as comfortable as possible. Thank you for any tips, I appreciate it.

[Brittany26]

I would cut out the Rosy's and switch to a more safe fish. Guppies or even fresh tilapia.
Rosy's contain thiaminase which can create neurological issues and death.
Here's a link to the care sheet which goes into more detail about that.
How long as this issue been occurring?
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet

I will ask for guppies at the pet store from now on. Is tilapia sold at grocery stores?
Also, this noise he makes started early 2012 (Janurary) and took him to the vet in February.

[ConcinusMan]

Okay, He is too small to be properly injected with antibiotics because of his size. I've read that oral medication won't do anything.

Injection isn't necessary and can cause problems even in the largest of snakes. Oral works just fine. Oral Baytril suspension(0.4 mL daily) saved Big Bertha's life. (nearly 4ft concinnus)

However, there's no way I could afford it either. The vet bill or the meds. An "angel" stepped forward with the meds and Big Bertha is alive and well more than a year after a significant upper RI. All it took was oral antibiotics. No injections.

All my tilapia comes from grocery stores. The "fresh" unfrozen kind is just tilapia. If its frozen in a package, use caution and make sure the ingredients just say "tilapia fillet, water". No additives "to retain moisture". Any additives are likely to cause renal failure in reptiles.

The better part of a year seems like too long to have a RI. Instead of trying to save this snake I would seriously consider looking into the cause, and correcting that before getting another. Many RI's are caused by unclean conditions, excessive dampness, not enough ventilation, etc. but the #1 cause is....

Keeping your snake too warm (keeping the entire enclosure uniformly warm) and failure to provide a wide enough temperature gradient so the snake can regulate its own temperature. You can literally love your snake to death by keeping it warm all the time.

A place for the snake to bask at 85 is fine. but only if he can retreat to the other end at around 70 degrees. Constant uniform warmth stresses the immune system and will cause RI's from the most common of household bacteria. Once such an infection takes hold it is nearly always fatal (eventually) without antibiotics.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, if you can't afford it, don't try. Let it go, learn, move on, and try again with another snake.

[Brittany26]

Injection isn't necessary and can cause problems even in the largest of snakes. Oral works just fine. Oral Baytril suspension(0.4 mL daily) saved Big Bertha's life. (nearly 4ft concinnus)

However, there's no way I could afford it either. The vet bill or the meds. An "angel" stepped forward with the meds and Big Bertha is alive and well more than a year after a significant upper RI. All it took was oral antibiotics. No injections.

All my tilapia comes from grocery stores. The "fresh" unfrozen kind is just tilapia. If its frozen in a package, use caution and make sure the ingredients just say "tilapia fillet, water". No additives "to retain moisture". Any additives are likely to cause renal failure in reptiles.

Thanks that was helpful. I just don't get it though. The vet prescribed 0.04 ml of baytril to give once a day, over a span of 2 weeks. It did nothing to help my snake that I could see. I also had a lot of trouble suspending the meds in his mouth. I always got some in but sometimes I felt like a little bit came out of the sides of his mouth. I also made him bleed once from opening his mouth which scared me. I feel like it gave him too much stress. If I were to give him more baytril, would it be alright to cover his pinky in it?

[ConcinusMan]

Thanks that was helpful. I just don't get it though. The vet prescribed 0.04 ml of baytril to give once a day, over a span of 2 weeks. It did nothing to help my snake that I could see. I also had a lot of trouble suspending the meds in his mouth. I always got some in but sometimes I felt like a little bit came out of the sides of his mouth. I also made him bleed once from opening his mouth which scared me. I feel like it gave him too much stress. If I were to give him more baytril, would it be alright to cover his pinky in it?

I know, it's not easy. You can try watering it down so it will go through a needle, then inject into a pinky. But if he won't eat it..

Maybe I'm not the right guy to ask because to me it sounds like you should save yourself the trouble and say goodbye.

And BTW, the 0.4 mL was for a very large garter around 4 feet.. dose for a garter is usually much smaller.

[Brittany26]

I know, it's not easy. You can try watering it down so it will go through a needle, then inject into a pinky. But if he won't eat it..

Maybe I'm not the right guy to ask because to me it sounds like you should save yourself the trouble and say goodbye.

And BTW, the 0.4 mL was for a very large garter around 4 feet.. dose for a garter is usually much smaller.

Haha don't worry he will eat it. He can smell frozen pinkys through a sealed freezer bag and will bite the next thing that moves. I will start saving up money to take him to the vets again but my parents are pretty stubborn so I don't know how that will turn out. But if it didn't work last time how will it work this time. Also I used a .04 ml dosage, not .4 ml.