Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Luthien has really bad mouth rot, I guess. She's our female, the oldest and largest. I noticed a bump outside of her mouth yesterday, but the vet said it's lining the inside of her gums. He gave us CHX mouthwash, an antibiotic and told us to pop the bubbles of puss daily, and to prepare ourselves for the worst. Has anyone had this happen ever? Have they come back from it?
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April
1.0 Mali Uromastyx- Embrodak,
0.1 Saharan Uromastyx- Scheherazade
2.1 Mountain Horned Dragon- Beren, Luthien and Tinuviel
3.0.5 Hermit Crabs- Violet, Polly, Jennifer, Trogdor, Hedwig, Penelope and Sinistra
1.1 Five lined Skink- Leela and Fry
1.0 Bettas-Nuala

I have encountered this in the past. It is often from poor sanitation (dirty water dish) but can also be from airborne pathogens. The puss pocket needs to be opened and scraped clean. The puss isn't normal puss like you or I would get but rather is a hard cheesy type of substance.

The mouthwash will be very hard to use with a MHD and sometimes this condition is from systemic infection, i.e., carried through the blood stream. If you treat the mouth but not the source her chance is not good. If you can convince your vet to put her on oral antibiotics she has a good chance of recovery. Some animals don't pull through it as well as others and seem to have recurrences even after successful treatment while others clear up and never seem to be bothered again.

I am surprised that your vet didn’t scrape the pocket clean for you. Some vets will only do this as a surgical procedure but I have cleaned these myself and although it’s a real job it can be done at home. You have to be very careful and thorough and make sure you keep everything very clean. I use alcohol to clean the tools and make sure you wash really well after handling anything.

I really doubt her odds are good without the oral antibiotics though so I would give the vet a call to see what he says.
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

groups.yahoo.com/group/agamid/join
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We've got .1 cc baytril for her, every other day. He did pop the puss pockets as a surgical procedure. He said it most likely started before we got her, which is upsetting because she's already seen this vet before, and it wasn't caught. On the bright side, her activity is normal. She's the most active, ornery female we've got(she's the boss of the cage, but she's never been aggressive. It's almost like a wolf pack). With school out for my boyfriend, and winding down for me, we'll have lots of time on our hands to take care of her.
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April
1.0 Mali Uromastyx- Embrodak,
0.1 Saharan Uromastyx- Scheherazade
2.1 Mountain Horned Dragon- Beren, Luthien and Tinuviel
3.0.5 Hermit Crabs- Violet, Polly, Jennifer, Trogdor, Hedwig, Penelope and Sinistra
1.1 Five lined Skink- Leela and Fry
1.0 Bettas-Nuala

It is possible that it may have started before you got her but without the swelling or any other visable symptom your vet really couldn't have caught it. I don't always defend the vets but I know this is a tough thing to catch. It's not like the lizards can tell us how they feel, darn!

Anyway, sounds like he has you going in the right direction and as long as she is eating well and is alert her odds are good. I did lose one female in which this kept recuring. I am guessing the bacteria must have been resistant to the Baytril. I have a male that cleaned up fine and although there is a scar tissure lump in his jaw he has never shown signs of recurance.
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

groups.yahoo.com/group/agamid/join
(click the link to join the agamid group on yahoo)

How long did it take puss pockets in your dragons to regenerate after popping? The vet said it would likely be daily, but it's been 48 hours and we aren't seeing any yellow. She is still remaining an active little girl, so we're optimistic about all this. I think we'll take them out in their outdoor pen today for some fresh air.
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April
1.0 Mali Uromastyx- Embrodak,
0.1 Saharan Uromastyx- Scheherazade
2.1 Mountain Horned Dragon- Beren, Luthien and Tinuviel
3.0.5 Hermit Crabs- Violet, Polly, Jennifer, Trogdor, Hedwig, Penelope and Sinistra
1.1 Five lined Skink- Leela and Fry
1.0 Bettas-Nuala

I think that if he got it cleaned out thoroughly and she is on antibiotics you shouldn't see it fill again. It's more a matter of the hole healing and filling back in with healthy flesh.

It sounds to me like she is responding well. Just make sure you complete the treatment and as long as the water is kept clean you shouldn't have any problems.
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

groups.yahoo.com/group/agamid/join
(click the link to join the agamid group on yahoo)

Erowen had that abscess at her eye
the Dr kept her in house for a day, did the surgery to clean it out, gave her 2 mega doses of Abt in the Vet Hosp, then had me treat with topical for 2 weeks
she is fine
this WAS a pseudamonas infection
The scraping it out is agressive, but required as far as I can see (I used to be a Wound Care Nurse for People, and I know a little about wounds)
If you can afford it, I would most definatly call the Vet back and let him/her know you want to be as agressive as you can safely be to clear this up, even if it involves medication

They might be mroe receptive to that
Good Luck
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Elizabeth (ecb)

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