BTS has an abscess - best treatment?

She's always had a tiny bump on her jaw for as long as we can remember, but all of a sudden it got HUGE! We used a needle to drain it tonight and it was all pus. Looks infected to me, based on what came out of there. We cleaned it out as best we could but it looks like it will need drained again. We used hydrogen peroxide on it and then I put some ointment that I have for birds and reptiles for cuts and whatnot - it's aloe-based with a numbing agent. What would be the best course of action from here? We've moved her onto plain white paper and cleaned everything. Do we just keep draining and sanitizing until the infection clears up? That's how I've always handled this sort of thing - on humans or animals - but it's so near her mouth I don't want her to lose her appetite and I certainly don't want to do the wrong thing. What could have caused this?

Here's a photo:

http://i.imgur.com/n0DdrxN.jpg?1

I'd say a vet visit is in order ASAP. Simply draining and cleaning won't get rid of the problem. They'll probably put her on a course of antibiotics to clear up any infection that may be present.

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Originally Posted by MootWorm

I'd say a vet visit is in order ASAP. Simply draining and cleaning won't get rid of the problem. They'll probably put her on a course of antibiotics to clear up any infection that may be present.

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^^I second this. Reptile pus is usually semi-solid not liquid. I got in an imported Irian Blue tongue back in the 90s and it had an abscess in it's mouth. It was semi-solid and yellow. The vet cleaned it and had me give her antibiotic shots. It's strange that it was liquid. Definitely should see a Reptile vet.

The problem with abscess is that even if the pus is removed entirely and cleaned (also I would not use peroxide as it slows down the growth of health tissue but rather Betadine) it is likely to form again which is why antibiotics are often prescribe as well.

I went to the vet when one of my boas had an abscess. Hers was liquid also but that's because I caught it early. The vet said for reptiles it's normally semi solid. You should go to the vet to get some medication, and they'll probably want to make sure it's fully cleaned out/drained because otherwise it'll just keep coming back

Yeah all of this was what I already knew. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

Yeah all of this was what I already knew. Thanks.

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Okay...
I was prescribed neo-poly bacitracin opthalmic ointment, which I had to fill the abscess hole 3-4 times a day for 3 weeks.
If it comes back I would make a vet visit