Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in the process of getting a vet appt. but I am wondering if any of you have seen this. The left upper jaw (rows of teeth) seems to be extremely swollen. She has no trouble eating. I am hoping some one has seen this and might be able to help me out so I can just get antibiotics (I work at a vet hospital we just don’t do exotics). Thanks in advance.

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Dave
Phila, PA

www.DNReptiles.com
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I'm no expert but it looks to be and infection (abcess?). Probably due to whatever caused the red spot(open sore?) at the front of the mouth. I would take it to the vets reguardless. Good luck.

Quig

I agree with Quig. If the vet is unable to determine what caused the sore, make sure they do an x-ray. I had a snake get a sliver from it's substrate in it's mouth and it looked almost identical to your pictures. Fortunately, the swelling also helped push the sliver out and the snake healed without need of either a vet or antibiotics.

An abscessed tooth could also be to blame. I'm not exactly sure how the vet would handle that scenario, though. Removal of the tooth would help, along with a course of antibiotics. However, balls have pretty small teeth and extraction without breaking the tooth could prove to be very difficult (and hence, expensive).

Hopefully, we are just over-thinking the issue and the vet is able to give you a relatively easy (and safe) answer. Let us know how it turns out.

infected tooth would be my guess.
But speaking as a vet employee, you will probably not be able to get medication from them just over the counter. Most vets are leary of prescribing meds without seeing a patient, and in some places I beleive it is illegal. Also, if they don't deal with exotics they may not know the dosage for a reptile. I think your better off going to the vet anyway. That looks pretty bad.

I see a goofed up tooth right in that Red spot. It should come right out with little effort. Once thats done, you'd have to get all the cheese and gunk out. Within hours you should see a vast improvement. Follow up with a broad spectrum Anti-Biotic course and you should be good to go.
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South Central Herpetological

It sure looks like a tooth problem of some kind. I would take a swab dipped in betadyne to that area (use something to keep mouth open like a tongue depressor wrapped in vet wrap) and see what comes out. Just swab and clean away anything that comes out easily. Usually you can uncover the culprit tooth that is causing the problems. Use tweezers to pull it out. Then I would start the snake on antibiotic therapy with Baytril. It should only take a short time to cure, maybe 10 days of treatment.
Good Luck!

Susan
SSNAKES Reptiles

http://www.sandfiredragonranch.com/tools/drug_calculator.htm

It does look like something trapped in there causing the swelling and infection. Probably a tooth.

You can poke around some, try to pull out the object. Once it is out, healing can be quite fast. It won't heal, only get more infected, if you don't get in there.

Careful though, with a hole there, and so much swollen tissue, you can expose the jaw bone very easily. You can feel it very easy at the hole with a tweezer, don't try to pull the jaw bone out : )

Keep it clean, and this is a perfect example of where some Virosan/Chlorhexidine Gluconate will really come in handy. You can rinse the area, three times a day if you want, it will keep the area clean and fresh, allow for healing, and the Virosan won't cause harm or irritation in the mouth.

Your best bet is to have someone familiar help you with it first hand, whether it be another experienced keeper or a vet.

Best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

I just had to pop in and say THANK YOU for taking such excellent descriptive photos!!!

It is so rare that such good clear photos are posted to ask a question like this - makes it a relief to see!

Between what you have already stated - that you are taking the snake to a vet - and the replies you have already received, I am confident you have all the information to do what is right for your snake.

I wish you both the best of luck in recovering from this!

~Rebecca
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1.0.0 Dumeril's Boa '04
1.3.1 Ball Pythons
[1.0.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1.0 '03? 50% PH VPI Axanthic (Marian), PROVEN female]
[0.1.0 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1.0 '08 VPI line Axanthic (Jane)]
[0.0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs: Brandy & Mara)

Thank you for your post . I sent the pics over to the vet yesterday an i am awaiting a response. The vet i work for doesnt see exotics but i am hoping i can do some testing or get a culture or at least bloods before i go to penn. Penn is THE practive around these parts but are sooooooo expensive its insane. Anyhow thank you again!
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Dave
Phila, PA

www.DNReptiles.com
Myspace/DNReptiles
Photobucket Album