Mouth issues: Need recomendations and information

[artgecko]

Hello guys.

I have been having some issues with my CA motley boa's mouth. About 1.5 weeks ago, I noticed a slightly raised lip on one side. I put him in a clean tub on paper towels, cranked the heat up to 95f, and checked out the inside of his mouth. At that time, there were no other symptoms...not runny / thick saliva, no puss, no discoloration, debris, etc. I swabbed his mouth with chlorihexidine (sp?), and let him be. Since then, I've done the same procedure ~3 times (I didn't want to over-stress him), and just yesterday noticed what the problem was. He has a swollen area around a couple teeth in his upper right gum. Still no puss or discoloration, etc. I once again swabbed the area and put him back.

This is the first reptile related health issue I've had in the 10 years I've been keeping... I have been calling vet clinics in my town all morning and even though several say they will "see exotics", they either won't see reptiles, won't see snakes, or will only see them for "wellness exams" (I guess just to take your money even thought they don't know what they are looking at...).

I had one vet talk to me and say that he has only prescribed meds for mouth rot a few times in the past and wouldn't know what to do.. He is going to make some calls for me and see if he can find anyone within an hour or so radius of my town that will see reptiles and has experience with snakes. The only place he knew of off hand is UGA veterinary school (~4 hours away) but he is going to call Auburn and ask them. .. I am just praying that they will take appointments on the weekend if they do, as getting to an appointment on a week day will be tough / impossible.

All that said, it is looking like I will have to take him to someone without a lot of experience (unless he finds someone), which brings me to the point of my post. If any of you have ever dealt with a swollen gum issue before..either broken tooth-related or abscess, etc. Could you please tell me what meds your vet prescribed, if they aspirated the wound, etc.? If they did operate / aspirate, did they render the snake unconscious during the procedure and if so, how did they do this (gas, etc.)? I'd like to know some information going into whatever appointment I can get so that I know if the treatment they prescribe sounds similar to what others have had done, etc.

I know that I should have already established a relationship with a vet prior to an illness, but due to many practices in my town having listings that said they would "see exotics" I didn't think finding one would be a problem. I guess this just goes to show that you can't always trust what places put on their websites.

[bcr229]

Sounds like an infected/abcessed tooth. One of my retics had his face blow up overnight. Prior owner said he was a "pusher" so it was likely infected for a while, and his jaw was infected as well. He ended up in surgery to have the area cleaned out and was on baytril, fortaz, and a painkiller for a month afterward well.

Not all vets describe "exotics" the same way. For some it means birds, or even rabbits and guinea pigs since they're different enough from dogs and cats to require their own specialties.

Also a thought but my vet accepts shipped-in herps for treatment, they get cases sent from all over the country. You may want to weigh the cost of shipping versus driving + time off work and see which is better for you.

[AbsoluteApril]

If any of you have ever dealt with a swollen gum issue before..either broken tooth-related or abscess, etc. Could you please tell me what meds your vet prescribed, if they aspirated the wound, etc.? If they did operate / aspirate, did they render the snake unconscious during the procedure and if so, how did they do this (gas, etc.)? I'd like to know some information going into whatever appointment I can get so that I know if the treatment they prescribe sounds similar to what others have had done, etc.

Back in 2002, I was keeping an adult boa in a tub, he was rubbing like crazy and coupled with too much humidity, he got a really bad nose rub which spread and infected a tooth. My vet did surgery to remove the infected tooth, my boa was put under for the surgery. Vet showed me how to give him a shot and I gave him antibiotic shots over, I think it was 7 days? Might have been 14 days. The vet provided needles prefilled with the correct amount of injectable for each shot. My boa recovered but his nose is misshapen, vet said the bump would probably always be there. I still have this boa and yes, the 'rhino nose' has always stayed the same but otherwise he's doing fine.

Good luck with your boa, I hope you are able to find a good vet soon!

[artgecko]

Thank you both for your input!

I did some more calling, and found a vet clinic that has seen snakes before and when I told the receptionist the problem, she consulted the doc. and told me over the phone that it would probably need an antibiotic shot, possibly aspiration / draining, cleaning and an antibiotic prescription...Sounded like she knew what she was talking about, so I will be traveling ~45 minutes on Saturday to see her.

So far, there is no other visible swelling... I will keep swabbing the area with chlorhex. and keep the temps up / tub clean and dry until I go Saturday. I will give you guys an update on what the vet says. This vet is in Auburn, AL, which is where Auburn university's vet school is.. They do have a clinic, but have very limited hours (9-3pm on weekdays) so if I need further help after this vet sees him, I may try them... I just wish they had more extended hours.

I wish that I could get a pic to show you guys, but he will not tolerate holding still and I have a very crappy cell phone camera.

I absolutely hate restraining him and opening his mouth...He is a little guy (~3 year old CA motley) and his head is only about 2" long... I always feel like I will injure him.

I wish I knew what caused this... I never see him roaming his tub, so I don't think it is pushing (no outside wounds / scrapes either). I do know I was having heating issues on his rack and think the temps got a little too low... I now have it on a new herpstat probe / unit which has solved that problem. None of the other snakes in that rack have had any issues.

Thank you again for your help!

[artgecko]

Update:
Went to the vet today. she took a look at him and said that it was, indeed, an abscess. It was from a gash on his upper right gum. We have no idea how he managed to get a gash there (we feed f/t and he is in a tub with no sharp objects / edges). That said, she swabbed the wound out and gave him a baytril shot. This is to be followed with two additional baytril shots this coming week. She would not send shots home with us, so we have to drive back for both of the other injections.

She did not mention doing any sort of cultures to see what kind of bacteria was at work, etc. She did mention that she has had people come from out of state to see her and specifically mentioned that she had a woman come from FL for her to spay her chameleon... So I figure she must know what she's doing. The practice appears to be very small. I think it was just her and a tech/receptionist today, but they may have more help during the week.

Gambit was a good patient and didn't hiss or strike the whole time, so that's a plus.

Thank you again guys for your help. I will keep you updated on how this goes.