Swollen face? Help!

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Originally Posted by Coleslaw007

Thanks.
The RI seems the most likely. His mouth appeared *maybe* slightly mucusy, not what I would expect in an RI but possibly more than normal, though it could've been me holding his head causing his saliva to be more visible, it didn't look too abnormal. I'd think that was the most likely. There's no way he could've gotten broken bones.


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An abscessed tooth is possible but if the swelling/water retention extends down the entire body, I doubt that's the cause. It wouldn't spread like that so quickly. For an abscess to get to that point, it would already have caused sepsis.

From what I remember, there wasn't a ton of mucus in the other cases I read about (a whole 2 of them) but when cultures were done, there was a definite RI. It's in the way the body reacts to the bacteria and instead of forming the classic symptoms of wheezing, bubbling, mucus, etc., the body swells as they retain water and there might be a little bit of mucus or none at all. Either way, hope your vet can get him in tomorrow and get this sorted out. Doesn't look comfy at all... :(

That's why I was thinking the RI sounded more likely, the full body swelling. I haven't heard any wheezing or whistling. My vet has been great at squeezing in emergencies before and they've seen this snake before when I first got him.

I told my boss my dog's face was swollen. I worry they wouldn't care as much if I said my snake unfortunately. I'll let you guys know what I find out.

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What do u feed your snake on ?? Any possibility of substrate getting stuck in its mouth?? Also if u see your vet ask if they have ceftazadine (fortaz) it's an injection every 3 days for 10 injections works really well if it's a RI or mouth rott ... Keep us posted

With a bacterial RI you want to jack both humidity and temps, lowering the humidity will make it worse.

95 hot spot and water bowl over the heat source works real well.

Everyone is on newspaper so I don't think that could be related.

I'm waiting at the vet now so I'll have them culture for RI. It's weird, his face isn't nearly as swollen this morning, if at all, but his body still seems kind of squishy. I'm greeting him thoroughly checked no matter what cuz that was weird and scary.

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My first thought would be some sort of tooth issue. Another thought, is he due to shed? I remember reading a thread, I believe it was a GTP though. Super swollen puffy face. Day or two go by, back to normal, then shed. Good luck, I hope he's ok. Keep us updated please.

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The vet thinks RI is most likely, he had a fair bit of mucus and nothing else seemed abnormal. They did a trachea swab and they're culturing it, we should know by Wed. Til then I'll just keep him separate in a qt tub and warm. He IS getting ready to shed but I'd much rather be safe than sorry since cultures take time and I hate kicking myself later. Although that vet visit was financially ouchy. :( I DO love my vet though, he was telling me about how he once got chased around a room by a cobra lol.

dealing with one with the same problem. Mine was a scratch from a rat in the roof of the mouth..Mine is on antibiotics and super sterile tubs. I've only seen this one other time and it made a full recovery. This time seems to be a little harder to get over it.

There does look like something is a miss. I hope the best for you and your snake!

I had a similar infection show up, but wasnt RI, was from biting bedding. Antibiotics and cage cleaning is a good thing (and don't forget to change out the water bowl), but if you start seeing any recurrence be sure to ask the vet to check for something more. In my case it was a battle with a couple separate rounds of antibiotics and a mouth cleanse.... but the snake is good now. Did your vet suggest any sort of sterilizing/cleansing rinse? It wouldn't help with a RI, but if were a tooth abscess or other physical wound, it could help. Just a thought since it doesn't sound like it is 100% certain to be a RI.
BTW, the culture swabs and xrays showed nothing on mine even though there was a definite problem.
Best of luck to you and your snake!