Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well here we are again back to square one. I recently took my big female brongersmai to the vet because she had swelling in her face, gums and neck. Doc gave her an antibiotic shot and a steriod shot.
Immediately her swelling was less... but it has been a few days now, almost a week and the swelling has not gone down any more.
I managed to open her mouth tonight, with one hell of a struggle, and all that is swollen is her right gum. It is also red and puffy like she may have a bad tooth... I am simply guessing here... Perhaps all the swelling is due to a bad tooth and it got infected? It is not abscessed... yet. What would the treatment be for this? Just have the Doc find the bad tooth and put her on antibiotics again? Should she be using Baytril? My regular Doc is off and having a baby and there really no reptile vets anywhere around here. The new Doc is more of an avian vet... personally I think she is full of sh^^... she thought the problem the first time was an allergic reaction to something and I explained to her my care of the snake has been EXACTLY the same from day 1. And Grant VG, I will be showing her the paragraph you sent me.
Any help would be greatyl appreciated.

Hey Amy,
Usually with localized swelling like you described, that is an indication in most situations that the source of the problem is local; and your problem might be at the source of the swelling its self. Some times teeth do become loose in the course of feeding and do not loosen sufficiently and reverse them selves almost stabbing the gum and causing inflamation of the gum and possibly infection.

Since the cause of the infection is idiopathic, meaning that there is no known cause yet ( is there any pus, detritus?), you might want to wait for a better diagnoses from the actual vet, but a follow up treatment of Baytril or similar anibiotic might be useful and warranted in this case. Swelling usually indicates infection or some structural break in the jaw or mandible. See if they can get some thing from the foci of infection and run a test for I.D., of the pathogen. Hope he/she clears up and gets better soon for you. - Angel
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In the theater of my life, this pickle has no goal!!

i was talking to a friend today, and he reccomended a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution in there to bring any and all nasty stuff to the surface, then apply some betadine on there to keep it clean.
obviously this is somewhat of a shot in the dark.
But its really hard not having a proper diagnosis.
i'll see if i can dig up anything in the books regarding teeth, etc..
id stop the baytril injections for the time being personally.
The thing is, the teeth could be fine. just because it is around that area doesn't neccessarily mean its the cause of things. This is where a very good vet comes in handy.
i would consider doing some testing, too many vets (as well as clients) jump at the chance to inject/treat with something rather then doing real testing. Seems like most vets always assume the most general of causes without looking into it much.

anyways,

ill get back to this.

gvg

Hey Amy,
Hydrogen Peroxide and a Betadine solution applied with a Q-tip have worked for me lots, followed with a topical application of an OTC, Neosporin. Try it for 2x a day for a week, and see if there is any improvement. But definately get it checked and tested if possible for possible I.D. of Pseudomonas A.
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In the theater of my life, this pickle has no goal!!

The vet my snake is now seeing is all too anxious to give injections without knowing the cause of the problem. For instance, she said it was probably an allergic reaction to something... and gave the snake an injection of steroids...hhhmmmm... what can I do???
There are no decent vets in the area, or anywhere near here. Perhaps there is one at University of Michigan... but that is 3 hours away...
Seems I know more than my vet and I don't know JACK.... sorry for rambling, just frustrated...