Unusual swelling of neck and chin area

[Emily76]

Hello everyone, I’m anxious for some insight on what may be going on with my ball python. I guess I can’t attach photos since I’m a new user, but I have been scouring the internet for a situation similar to mine with no success. My 10 month old female Super Fire started displaying an unusual puffiness and swelling to her chin/throat area. It comes and goes. When it is swollen it looks really awful. She has been a great feeder and I have had her since she was 150 grams; she is now 471 grams.

I have taken her to two vets. The first one barely examined her and was, I think, not properly trained to deal with reptiles. He said he didn’t know what it was, but did not think x-rays, a culture, or blood work would provide any answers, so prescribed injections of Baytril. She was displaying very minimal swelling at the time of the exam. I gave her 4 injections of this every other day as prescribed and after seeing no improvement I decided to take her to another vet for a second opinion. Prior to this I had a look inside her mouth and took some photos. It looks like her glottis is swollen.

She was again not swollen when I took her to the second vet, but I had photos of the swollen glottis as well as photos of her head and neck area when she looked her worst. The second vet performed a more thorough exam and seemed more knowledgeable. She saw nothing in the mouth such as injuries or broken teeth, mucus, bubbles, or anything like that. She acknowledged that it was unusual and also strange that it comes and goes. Her best guess is that there is some sort of internal injury or trauma from a meal or too large of a meal. She said there could have been a scratch while the rodent was going down or something like that. She took her off of the Baytril and prescribed Tazicef injections every three days for a month. She said it would not cause the potential tissue damage that Baytril might and that it was more geared towards reducing inflammation. She suggested daily warm soaks to maintain hydration (which I have been doing) and advised me to feed her very small meals. I fed her a week and a half old rat pink this evening which she took eagerly. I checked on her once she had gotten it down and the area at the base of her head and a couple inches down her neck definitely looks a bit red and inflamed. If she was any other color other than white, I wouldn’t be able to notice this.

I guess I have done/am doing everything I can, but I would love to know if anyone has any experience with anything like this. At this point I’m worried about her regurgitating, but the vet said to feed her and she is definitely hungry. I’m really worried about her and anxious for her to be healthy again.

Thanks for reading. Sorry about the novel.

[Bogertophis]

It's been years but I've actually seen (and had briefly) a snake with an infected glottis...sounds like what you're seeing. The thing about antibiotics like Baytril is
that it's a shot in the dark without doing expensive lab tests; often vets "guess right" & the chosen drug works on whatever the infection is, but when it doesn't
work, it just means another drug might get the job done even if the first one failed. I'll be the first to tell you that all drugs given to snakes aren't "harmless" (as
you know & as your 2nd vet said) but it sounds to me like you should stay with your 2nd vets advice & be patient. Hopefully she'll get over this. I've never (yet)
had to use/give Tazicef, but I'd be following her instructions. It's good your snake has an appetite & she needs to keep her energy (& immune system especially)
functioning.

[Emily76]

Thank you so much for your reply. It’s so frustrating to not be able to help these animals when there is a problem or even at least know if what you’re doing is helping instead of exacerbating the issue. I guess I’m looking for any insight others may have, but just as much, I would like reassurance that I am doing the right things for her. You have helped. So thank you!

[Crowfingers]

Sounds like an infection that gets fought off, but not entirely then returns. Tazicef is a much better drug for this type of thing (baytril is best for antibiotic resistant infections, but can cause the tissue to necrose - in very young mammals it has been shown to effect growth as well but not sure for reptiles). Hope your noodle quickly gets better.

[MattEvans]

Maybe consider skipping a few feedings, if it is a injury or infection the scheduled feedings intervals might be negating/prolonging the healing process. Especially if it's disturbing a healing wound.

[bcr229]

Maybe consider skipping a few feedings, if it is a injury or infection the scheduled feedings intervals might be negating/prolonging the healing process. Especially if it's disturbing a healing wound.

This is a good idea. Since your snake is still pretty young and growing though, it may start looking at your fingers as food if meals get skipped. If that's the case try offering several very small feeders so the inflamed area doesn't get stretched out too much.

[Emily76]

Maybe consider skipping a few feedings, if it is a injury or infection the scheduled feedings intervals might be negating/prolonging the healing process. Especially if it's disturbing a healing wound.

Yes I agree. I did that. She went 19 days without feeding, which really isn’t very long. I took her to the 2nd vet 6 days ago, and she said she would like her to have a small meal within a few days of the visit. I was worried and waited a bit longer than that. She ate a very small rat pup (just starting to color up) eagerly last night. I checked on her this morning and she seemed okay. She was puffy, but has kept it down.

Thank you for your help!