Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a five year old Taiwan with what appears to be signs of mouth rot even though I've never had a problem before. Quit eating, mouth swollen to the point with in the last couple of days where she can't close it. I can not find a vet in my area that will take her or has had any experience. I have raised the cage temp and been rinsing her mouth with a peroxide solution. Has anyone ever treated themselves with anti-biotics? There are farm stores around here I could get meds from but what kind? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I am very worried.

The med's you'll need are prescription. THe farm store won't hav'm for you. Here are some tips in finding a herp vet.

1) When calling around, always ask for a possible referral if they won't see it.

2) Contact a zoo, reptile club, petstore, or other reptile minded people to see what vet they use.

3) Go to www.arav.com for a good listing of herp vets by state (or country if your not in the USA). If still nothing close, there is a link to herpvetconnection which is a client referal based listing.

4)You may also consider contacted your local veterinary college or state veterinary association. They will have a listing as well.
Remember to expect a little bit of a drive since herp vets are obviously not as common as regular vets.

Good luck,
Ian

Thanks for the info, every vet around here laughs when I ask them to see a snake. Even if they would sell me the anti-biotics ( if I knew which ones to use) it would be helpful but they will not do that with out seeing the animal and they won't see the animal. Thanks again, I'll get on that web site.

Every doctor/veterinarian takes an oath to basically, never turn away a patient in need. However, that same oath also says to do no harm. Sometimes this does mean turning away the patient, as they are so unconfident on that species, that any attempt to help it will likely do it no favours. Giving prescriptions to any animal without an exam is huge potential for causing harm as well, thus they again, refuse to help. Frustrating I know, but the nature of being a proffessional I guess. Most metro centers will have a vet or two that will see snakes.

GOod luck

Ian