Nebulization of Sick/New Snakes

[Greg'sGarters]

Not only that, once you start treatment, you need to continue it. Don't just do it once or twice. Do it every day, (if not twice a day) for 10 days in a row.

This is why they tell you not to stop taking antibiotics before they are all gone, and don't skip doses. Because if you don't kill all the bacteria, the resistant ones will have time to pass that resistance onto the next generation, and as you know, a generation for bacteria doesn't take long. Way too many people fail to take all their antibiotics, fail to take them as prescribed, or indiscriminately take other people's antibiotics, and then not even a full course of them. Those are the people you can blame for the resistant strains we're dealing with these days.

I would say that this nebulizer idea is OK but only do it for snakes with minor RI's that have symptoms, and above all, don't stop after a couple of treatments, or just 3 or 4 days. Even if it doesn't seem to be working, I would do it the full 10 days anyway. Don't even start doing it if you're not going to do it every day and follow through for the full course.

Great advice, thanks! Never knew that!

A healthy snake will deal with bacteria on it's own as hydrolytic enzymes get the job done just fine ;]

But this is for snakes that cannot fight off an RI infection on it's own

[ConcinusMan]

There are times when immunity might drop just briefly for unknown reasons or for example, when it happened to one of my snakes, it happened after she got gravid. Can also happen if the immune system is fighting off something that is asymptomatic such as a virus. Once the bacteria get the upper hand, that's it. Doesn't matter if the snake is otherwise healthy, they're going to need some help to tip the balance back where it should be and that's what baytril does. It doesn't kill the bacteria at all. It just keeps it from reproducing at a normal rate, if at all. That allows the snakes immune system to catch up and kick the infection. I'm sure this would do something similar. Keeps the numbers way down, tipping the balance in favor of the snake.

Most cases of RI are just common bacteria that normally wouldn't harm the snake. It's just when something stresses the immune system, the bacteria get the upper hand. In my case, the RI wasn't contagious at all. It was just common bacteria. Completely harmless to a healthy immune system. She just needed the baytril to give her the upper hand on it again. She went on to live just fine and didn't get another RI and none of the other snakes that were housed with her got sick.

I went through something similar myself. I had just gotten over a long and nasty cold and was feeling better. Then all the sudden (like overnight) I came down with pneumonia, was coughing up blood , 104.7 F fever, and I almost died. The bacteria responsible was completely harmless under normal circumstances, and it wasn't contagious. It just got the upper hand because I was fighting off that cold virus.

[Selkielass]

Staph is a normally harmless bacteria carried on peoples skin and noses, but thanks to long term use and misuse of antibiotics and antibacterial solutions highly resistant strains have developed. You can now pick up the MRSA in gyms and s hooks.
You don't cure flesh eating bacteria infections with anti bacterial cleaner, and use of anti bacterial cleaners for too short a period of time or at insufficient concentration has lead to decreased effectiveness of these cleaners.

Mucus protects the lungs. It can also protect bacteria from improperly delivered antibacterial and antibiotic substances. This is risky chemistry.
Discovery Health "Should antibacterial soap be outlawed?"

[Faunaofthenorth]

I can verify that the fogger is a vet approved method of inebulization.... it WILL help to get rid of an RI... I go see a herp vet with a PHD and recently I started to rescue both redbelly and garter snakes from the golf course I work at... we use an evaporation inhibitor on the grass to retain more water and it creates a thick fungas infected fog that seems to destroy the snake populations... every one I have found has saggy eyes, popping and weezing when they breathe... and recently one infection spread most likely from my clothes or me handling them after being exposed to that air...and it got most of my other snakes sick even though they were never in the same room.... it may have just come from the course itself.... or me...
he stated that the fogger is essentially the same and the f10 is an approved chemical in successfully treating RI in reptiles.... if used properly.... he trusted that I knew what I was doing... which I did and I do haha