Got the results from the vet this afternoon about the illness of my baby snow corn Kenisha:she's got salmonella and pseudomonas bacterias!
She is very week,doesn't eat,doesn't climb anymore;I'm VERY worried and scared.I think she's dying! I'm very depressed and sad.Tomorrow I go to the vet and get her the medication the vet prepared for her.I had to weigh her today and the scales not even showed 10gramms!She is 5 month old and looks like a hatchling!
I cleaned and desinfected everything in her terrarium.For the next 10 days I need to stress her every day to give her the medication into her mouth,which is so ****,because how the **** can she get better if I have to stress her all the time?I wish there was another way to make her better!That's all ****,that is.Please excuse my writing but I'm angry and sad.Angry because she got that illness and I didn't get sooner to the vet(I'm a bad snake mum,I am!!) and sad because my Kenisha is probably dying.The last time she ate and kept the food inside was on August 12(two pinkies).I only had her about 5weeks!

I just read about Pseudomonas and that they might not go away with antibiotica.I need to ask the vet about this tomorrow.I don't want her to suffer;should I put her to sleep or would you hang on and fight? On another forum I read about a similar case but with a ball python.The owner was doing everything for weeks but in the end the snake only suffered and died.HELP what would you do? Please I need advise,URGENT!!
Thank you!

Your vet should be able to give you the best course of action, snakes that small are kind of hard to treat. My only advice would be to make sure you wash yourself thoroughly after handling her, and any other surfaces she came in contact with, and make sure there is no direct or indirect contact with the other animals in your collection to avoid spreading bacteria to any other animals or yourself.

D

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There is a fine line between a hobby and a mental illness.

Don't ask us...ask yourself this question. "Do I want to see my friend live a short life happy? Or prolong her death to make her live longer BUT in doing so, making her suffer?"

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~Jason Richardson

Thats too bad Jacky. I agree your vet should be able to recommend the best course of action based on the snake's condition. As for it not getting better because you are having to stress it out by giving meds, don't bet on it. I have an adult corn that was very ill as a hatchling. I had to pry its mouth open and put medication into its stomach every day for 3 months and had to force feed on top of that.
The snake is alive and healthy and one of the most docile I have.
Don't beat yourself up,....you are still basically a beginner and have a lot to learn.
We were all there once.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I'm sorry that you're so upset Jacky. I would say go with your gut on this. Like Merlin said, he pretty much "stressed" his Corn for 3 months and it's great today. I have also done this with Bearded Dragons knocking on deaths door, they have now moved on to happy adoptive homes. I would give your little one a chance but that's me I do have one concern though...salmonella occurs quite regularly in herps but pseudomonas attack very unhealthy animals. I'm just wondering if there might be something else that caused him to become sick enough for the pseudomonas to attack.

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Val
www.reptilerescuerichmond.org

Thanks guys for your help!
I just spoke to the vet and he said I should try it but the chances are very low! But I will give it a try as he suggested.Won't give up!
He said that the pseudomonas occur often in freshly imported animals who's husbandry was very bad! She had them from the start and the vet said I should talk to the pet store about it.It could be that all of them are infected.I'm just glad that I still have her in the quarantaine tank!!!
I should suggest to the pet store not to buy anymore animals from that breeder from where Kenisha is from!the vet also said that if the pet store doesn't know much about keeping snakes and isn't able to monitor each individual carefully,they shouldn't sell reptiles at all! I think he's quite a good vet.
Another thing is that this breeder who sold them infected animals was the most expensive breeder they had so far!From another one they were able to sell the snows for about $ 40 less than Kenisha cost! It's sad that some breeders are just out for the money and don't care about the animal or don't even feed and clean and keep them properly!

Sorry to hear that your corn is doing so poorly.
Your'e not a bad snake-mom. Anybody's animals can get sick!
I would like to say, however, that both salmonella and pseudomonas can be found in the normal flora in the mouths of most reptiles. Pseudomonas are opportunistic bacteria and attack weakened animals. Since you've been really good about the conditions you've kept your snakes in, I think you should still have a stool sample taken of your little one to see what else it might have that has caused it to become so weak and sickly... I'm afraid it probably isn't just these two bacteria.

You should also have stool samples done on all the animals you got from that pet store. The BP I got from that store had mites AND tapeworms.

Giving the medication doesn't have to be terribly stressful on the snake. Just don't try to do it alone. Get your boyfriend to help you. Have the syringe with the right dosis prepared and everything ready before you take the snake out. Grip the snake gently but firmly just behind the head and support it's body well (on a big towel or on your lap.) It helps if you have a small round stick to help get the snake's mouth open. (The side of a wooden handled cotton swab works well.) Press it gently but firmly against the front of her mouth until she opens it. It's important to make sure you have the tip of the syringe far back in the snake's mouth before injecting the liquid! The airway opening to the lungs is at the front of the mouth... you don't want to get any liquid down there! If you insert the syringe in the side of the mouth instead of directly in the front, you can avoid any danger of accidentally injecting the medicine into the airway.

Good luck, I hope the little one gets better... but as soon as she poops, you should take a sample in to the vet and find out what else might be causing her illness.
It's a VERY good thing you've kept her in quarantine... hopefully your other snakes are OK.
But I would get stool samples taken of all of them sooner rather than later. Just tell your vet to give you some SAF containers (one per snake) and keep them at home, so you can fill them immediately when the snakes poop. (I put a sticker on the outside with the name of the snake to make sure that the tests don't get mixed up.

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Andrea

Awww Jacky...that makes me sad....I would fight for her life too....only time will tell....my thoughts and prayers are with you....Lyn

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Warmest Regards from Lyn