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Baytril and Corn snakes

B

Baby's Mama

New member
My corn snake died this weekend. The vet had put her on a course of baytril and metronizodal for a black spot that was located at the base of her tail behind her cloaca. She shed and pooed and was doing great. I took her in for a recheck and the vet felt that she should continue with the meds until her next shed on the baytril and metronizodal. She then took a turn for the worse 2 weeks ago. She was lethargic and wouldn't eat her eyes hazed over and she was having a difficult time with her shed. Then she started to shed profusely to the point that she was raw. Her environment was perfect clean aspen 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit as recommended by the vet. I was also giving her Gatorade/water mixture.

I read online that baytril is basically a neurotoxin. Is this what killed my snake?
 
No, probably not. Baytril is a commonly used veterinary antibiotic & I have read of its use for snakes before.
 
Good point about the temps. I'm not so sure about the Baytril, unless, as you say, it was dosed wrong. But any antibiotic can be toxic if too much is given to the patient, whether the patient is a snake or a person.
 
I would suspect dehydration, mostly from the elevated temps. Some meds can be hard on a snake, too, but I have used both of those with no issues.
 
Well I got to the bottom of it. She was on the baytril too long. The vet should have discontinued the prescription when she saw that she was thriving. I spoke to another vet who said that extended use of baytril or any antibiotic for that matter will cause cutaneous problems. There is nothing I can do about this now. We all did the best we could and we thought we were doing the right thing at the time. It's unfortunate, but it happens.
 
Baby's Mama said:
Well I got to the bottom of it. She was on the baytril too long. The vet should have discontinued the prescription when she saw that she was thriving. I spoke to another vet who said that extended use of baytril or any antibiotic for that matter will cause cutaneous problems. There is nothing I can do about this now. We all did the best we could and we thought we were doing the right thing at the time. It's unfortunate, but it happens.
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Very true! As a vet tech I am glad that you aren't upset with the vet. That is why they call it "practicing medicine". My vet uses Baytril all the time on snakes and other reptiles/birds/rodents. Not familiar with metronidazole in snakes. Sorry to hear about your snake though. It sounds like you did do the best you could at the time.
 
You didn't mention what the dose of Baytril was and the exact length of time your snake was on it. You also didn't mention if you were giving it by mouth or by injection. Without that information, I can't tell you if that is the cause of any problems. I just looked at the information on Baytril and their studies showed no ill effects in dogs dosed at 52mg/kg daily for 13 weeks. Usual dosage is 2.5 mg/kg for any animal, including snakes. The metronidazole shouldn't have caused any problems either.

However, what I CAN say is that extended temperatures of 90-100 F is lethal to corn snakes. Some can tolerate it in the low 90's F for a couple of hours, but much longer or higher and it will kill them.
 
Susan said:
However, what I CAN say is that extended temperatures of 90-100 F is lethal to corn snakes. Some can tolerate it in the low 90's F for a couple of hours, but much longer or higher and it will kill them.
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I agree here. High temps and dehydration may have been contributing factors.
 
Hydration is vital in any sick animal. That is probably why the vet also told you to do the Gatorade and water, hopefully by tube feeding. I also agree that the temps were unfortunately too hot for a corn.
 
Drizzt80 said:
From my understanding, Baytril pounds the kidneys. Hydration is vital to treatments with Baytril.

D80
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Yes...to my knowledge that is correct. High temps combined with baytril equals a strong likelihood of dehydration which then complicates everything else.
 
Lavman breeder said:
Yes, Probably so. The wrong dosage of Baytril will kill a snake. That is also pretty warm.
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Baytril is a good antibiotic but will be toxic even with a slight over dose according in comparison to the animal’s body weight. Neglecting to effectively heat the animal the antibiotic will crystallize. When heat is re-applied the crystallization will become liquid causing the overdose.
The internal anatomy and biochemistry all relies on external heat for anything to function.
 
Snakes Incorporated said:
Baytril is a good antibiotic but will be toxic even with a slight over dose according in comparison to the animal’s body weight. Neglecting to effectively heat the animal the antibiotic will crystallize. When heat is re-applied the crystallization will become liquid causing the overdose.
The internal anatomy and biochemistry all relies on external heat for anything to function.
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What? Baytril crystallizes when water is removed (hence the need to watch the snake's hydration), but is perfectly find at room temperature. The issue with the heat is having it too high. A temperature range of 90° - 100°F (32.2° - 37.8°C) will kill a corn snake, having nothing at all to do with the Baytril.
 
Susan said:
What? Baytril crystallizes when water is removed ....
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I was treating a leopard tortoise for pneumonia a couple of months ago. The vet explained that Baytril crystallizes in the system if continues heat is not maintained.
I was informed that if the temperature fluctuated the animal would die. I followed the instructions and all is dandy.
 
Snakes Incorporated said:
I was treating a leopard tortoise for pneumonia a couple of months ago. The vet explained that Baytril crystallizes in the system if continues heat is not maintained.
I was informed that if the temperature fluctuated the animal would die. I followed the instructions and all is dandy.
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I can find no reference in any of my reptile medicine library nor from the manufacturer of Baytril or any internet source to substantiate that claim by your vet. Considering that all reptiles should be kept at certain temperatures anyway, especially when they have pneumonia (too low of a temp is the #1 reason a reptile gets pneumonia in the first place), that may have just been a way your vet used to make sure you kept the tortoise warm.

Crystallization of Baytril occurs in the kidneys if the animal is not kept well hydrated. If that happens, it will cause kidney damage and failure, which can result in death. Yes, they say not to freeze Baytril, but other than that, temperature would have no effect unless you're thinking of treating a sick reptile with Baytril and in keeping it at temps at or below the coldest brumation level.
 
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