2 year old BP bit by rat on jaw please help

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Originally Posted by Badgemash

Was the black coloring just the eco earth then? It could be that the jaw muscles were damaged, or that swelling from the trauma is preventing him from closing his mouth, or there is an access forming from either the bite or the injection afterward, or some other thing. I agree with Inarikins, keep him off the eco earth for now, in this case it's humidity retaining abilities are working against you since that also makes a nice environment for bacteria.

I applaud your dedication to your snake and your unwillingness to put a dollar value on his wellbeing, but I too am questioning why the vet costs are so high. My most expensive vet visit for a snake (at the exotic specialist vet) was $130 after tax, which included a physical exam, fecal exam, a dose of panacure, and two weeks worth syringes pre-loaded with baytril to inject her with. So $130 for a single injection (that doesn't appear to have helped) is causing some alarm bells to go off in my head.

If you get some one who can help I'd like to see some shots of the inside of his mouth, and an update of the jaw now that the eco earth is off if you can. I hope he's doing well today.

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I'm sorry I meant I'm NOT going to put a price on Pete's life. Idc how much it costs me I'm not
going to just let him suffer, die or put him to sleep. The entire tank is immaculate and he is super active. I opened his mouth today again no redness or anything. The jaw seem to be slowly going back in place? Not
Sure I will snap some pictures tonight so we can relate to the ones from yesterday. The black packing you see in the side of his mouth is the Eco earth substrate. I removed every spec from his mouth last night. Thank you all again for the help!

[IMG]http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...B8E7A67ECE.png[/IMG]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Badgemash

Was the black coloring just the eco earth then? It could be that the jaw muscles were damaged, or that swelling from the trauma is preventing him from closing his mouth, or there is an access forming from either the bite or the injection afterward, or some other thing. I agree with Inarikins, keep him off the eco earth for now, in this case it's humidity retaining abilities are working against you since that also makes a nice environment for bacteria.

I applaud your dedication to your snake and your unwillingness to put a dollar value on his wellbeing, but I too am questioning why the vet costs are so high. My most expensive vet visit for a snake (at the exotic specialist vet) was $130 after tax, which included a physical exam, fecal exam, a dose of panacure, and two weeks worth syringes pre-loaded with baytril to inject her with. So $130 for a single injection (that doesn't appear to have helped) is causing some alarm bells to go off in my head.

If you get some one who can help I'd like to see some shots of the inside of his mouth, and an update of the jaw now that the eco earth is off if you can. I hope he's doing well today.

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Here is the pic of me opening his mouth poor lighting I know it's just difficult to do both at once when 2 of my roommates are deathly afraid of snakes.

Ok we need someone better with mouth anatomy to chime in, because I've never seen the trachea sitting at that angle before, maybe it's normal to displace like that (I do not have the experience to say with certainty, maybe he's just sitting funny and moves more than I thought or something?) but it looks quite alarming to me.

And I knew what you meant dollar-wise, I just don't want to see you get ripped off when you're trying to do the right thing.

In bigger snakes that swallow things bigger than just rabbits (I watched Crocodile Hunter obsessively when I was little) I've seen the windpipe even flop out of the mouth. When snakes' mouths are closed, the trachea lines up with their nostrils so it makes sense that if he can't breathe through his nose because he can't close his mouth, his trachea would be looser in his mouth so he can breathe more easily.

[QUOTE=WillNemeth90;2206799][IMG]http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...B8E7A67ECE.png[/IMG]



I am no expert but from that picture the trachea looks to be dislocated.:confusd:

Does he any trouble breathing?

I don't believe so? He seems to be breathing and acting normal - maybe I was pushing it when I was holding his mouth open with the q-tip? And he jaw is starting to slowly move back into place! :) will be taking him to vet tomorrow just to be 120%

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Originally Posted by WillNemeth90

I don't believe so? He seems to be breathing and acting normal - maybe I was pushing it when I was holding his mouth open with the q-tip? And he jaw is starting to slowly move back into place! :) will be taking him to vet tomorrow just to be 120%

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I will be sure to ask him about the trachea as well

Any news? :confusd:

yes! Any news or updates?

Poor guy. Hope he gets better.