My retic has a swollen mouth...

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

Well the vet looked at my retic Lucy, he said that it's either from trauma or could be a tumor, possibly cancer. He said if it popped up suddenly it's probably trauma and we should watch it closely. If it gets bigger he will try to drain it. But if it's a tumor there's not much we can do about it. I'm also going to use a Reptifogger and use some diluted F10 vapor for 20 minutes per day for a couple weeks to give her a fighting chance while she recovers, I figure it can't hurt. Wish me luck!

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So...he did no actual diagnostics? That is disappointing and must be frustrating. If there is an infection it will need more then what the fogger and diluted F10 is going to provide. If there is no infection, that is just additional stress she doesn't need.

With the severity of this and having popped up right after she slammed her head, I figured he would want to do x-rays to rule out breaks. And all it would have taken is a needle and syringe to see if any liquid could be aspirated. Which in turn (even if hardly anything came out) could have been looked at under the microscope. Sometimes you can see cells that are indicative of cancer. Or other issues.

If this is pus, there will be nothing your vet can "drain" per say, it will need to be surgically removed.

I'm not fussing at you, trust me. I'm just puzzled the vet would send you home without the most basic of diagnostic tests, and therefor missing the chance for some basic treatments depending on the issue.

Not sure I'd be happy with that.

But all that matters is that you are.

Still wishing all the best for the poor, poor girl. My heart goes out to her, that just looks so painful. She has the same name as I do, Lucy..

Kind of surprised how little it sounds like the vet did too. When i took Rosey in for the sinus infection, my vet took a sample of the goo from the lump in her nose and from there Id'd it as a bacterial sinus infection. Also looked inside her mouth to make sure it didnt eat through the flesh into the mouth area i guess. Not exactly sure as I am not a vet but i guess sinus infections can spread into the mouth and bone etc. She said everything looked good for what it was and gave me the month worth of Fortaz shots. She then told me, if i was scared or worried about giving shots, i could bring Rosey in every 3 days with one of the shots and a nurse would give it to her for me but i was fine doing it myself as Rosey is big.

If the vet just looked at it and said 'meh' more or less, i would have asked them if they arent going to do an x-ray or at least take a sample of the lump to see what it was. I think, you need a new vet and a second opinion. Just my opinion.

Wow! I think everything has been said that needs said. I wish you luck and hopefully your retic heals.

Just wanted to give an update on this girl. I removed the coconut husk substrate and replaced it with white butcher paper. Then I fogged with F10. The swelling got a little bit worse and then it 'popped' and drained. And just two days with F10 and it has gone down to where you can hardly see it! Looks like she is on the road to recovery. Here's a video showing my F10 fogging:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0gbSoYh3ds

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

Just wanted to give an update on this girl. I removed the coconut husk substrate and replaced it with white butcher paper. Then I fogged with F10. The swelling got a little bit worse and then it 'popped' and drained. And just two days with F10 and it has gone down to where you can hardly see it! Looks like she is on the road to recovery. Here's a video showing my F10 fogging:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0gbSoYh3ds

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So it sounds like the vet was an idiot, the F10 did nothing and the abscess got so big it finally burst. I still would personally look for a competent vet and get her mouth looked at. But at least the abscess popped an drained, so i guess that is a plus.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

So it sounds like the vet was an idiot, the F10 did nothing and the abscess got so big it finally burst. I still would personally look for a competent vet and get her mouth looked at. But at least the abscess popped an drained, so i guess that is a plus.

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Speaking from experience - if it didn't all drain out the infection will come back and need antibiotics to clear up.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Speaking from experience - if it didn't all drain out the infection will come back and need antibiotics to clear up.

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I agree. I was more just saying at least the pressure from the abscess relieved. Still need to see a vet though and get antibiotics. Heck, I'm pretty paranoid and run my pets to the vet for anything lol. And also would be good to know what actually caused the abscess.

Wouldn't a popped abscess result in a semi-open wound that would be VERY prone to infection?

The thing is, most of the pus forms a semi solid mass. There may be some liquid around it, but whatever drains out of there (esp. on its own) is by far not all that is in there.

Putting F10 fog in there is not getting the meds where it needs to go. First of all, isn't the concentration of the F10 that is sold in the US the wrong one for fogging??

If anything, that should help respiratory issues by getting the sanitizer near the lung tissue.

So, the vet thought it may be a tumor, but now thinks respiratory ?? But it behaves and looks like an abscess? And he did no diagnostics, its all guess work ? No treatment other then send you home to do fogging?

An abscess has to be cleaned out completely and thoroughly. Which in a reptile means excising (draining liquid, scooping solids, flushing thoroughly). After which there should be antibiotic injections, so the meds go where needed. An abscess harbors nasty bacteria.

The fogging is not going to get all the infected necrotic tissue out.

If anything, if you are extremely lucky, the snake will simply survive on her own. Not due to F10. If you are unlucky, that bacteria will keep growing and the infection will turn her septic.

I would find a vet that is willing to actually DO something, instead of risking that snakes life by DIYing her...

But that's just what I would do ;)

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Originally Posted by zina10

The thing is, most of the pus forms a semi solid mass. There may be some liquid around it, but whatever drains out of there (esp. on its own) is by far not all that is in there.

Putting F10 fog in there is not getting the meds where it needs to go. First of all, isn't the concentration of the F10 that is sold in the US the wrong one for fogging??

If anything, that should help respiratory issues by getting the sanitizer near the lung tissue.

So, the vet thought it may be a tumor, but now thinks respiratory ?? But it behaves and looks like an abscess? And he did no diagnostics, its all guess work ? No treatment other then send you home to do fogging?

An abscess has to be cleaned out completely and thoroughly. Which in a reptile means excising (draining liquid, scooping solids, flushing thoroughly). After which there should be antibiotic injections, so the meds go where needed. An abscess harbors nasty bacteria.

The fogging is not going to get all the infected necrotic tissue out.

If anything, if you are extremely lucky, the snake will simply survive on her own. Not due to F10. If you are unlucky, that bacteria will keep growing and the infection will turn her septic.

I would find a vet that is willing to actually DO something, instead of risking that snakes life by DIYing her...

But that's just what I would do ;)

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I would fallow this advice if was me. Just saying......