King has mouth rot, and RI?? I hope not..

[Muze]

The head swelling and noises seem like a possible RI. I'd definitely take him to a vet a.s.a.p.

[CoolioTiffany]

The head swelling and noises seem like a possible RI. I'd definitely take him to a vet a.s.a.p.

Well I'm working on it.. just gotta see if I have enough money to afford the vet bill.. how much money does it usually take to get antibiotics for a minor respiratory infection? I dunno if it's nothing minor.. but it's not REALLY bad.

[CoolioTiffany]

Well, I'm almost positive he has it. These are the symptoms I've noticed so far in my King snake:
-back of the head by the jaw bones (cheeks?) seem a little swelled (that's what my sister told me).
-tiny popping noises when he exhales (you can't really hear them unless it's really silent in the room).
-sneezing (a good 3-4 times).
-checked the mouth, and saw some bubbles in the throat (I'll check again later to be sure).
-when I opened the mouth, I saw a few strings of mucus but they broke after I opened the mouth a little bit more.

I haven't seen any wheezing or open mouth breathing. Yet. But I'm keeping an eye on him. I raised his temps a bit (got a new bulb, 75 watt basking bulb) so help a little bit, but still unsure that he positively has RI. I'm expecting a call from the vet soon about this, and I may have to take him in so the vet could check him out. All I want to know is that if you think there's a high or low chance he has RI. I'm guessing high. This all happened when I was handling, so after he sneezed and popped a little I opened him up and saw bubbles and strings of mucus (on the second time I opened his mouth up).

[wilomn]

Gotta have pics to be of any help.

[rabernet]

Well I'm working on it.. just gotta see if I have enough money to afford the vet bill.. how much money does it usually take to get antibiotics for a minor respiratory infection? I dunno if it's nothing minor.. but it's not REALLY bad.

I've merged your two threads, since they're both the same topic.

A minor RI, left untreated can lead to a more serious RI, and if that's untreated - death.

Will your mother help you with the vet visit? Since none of us can see your snake, and none of us are veterinarians, the most any of us can advise is that you NEED to get your snake seen and get put on an appropriate course of medication.

[CoolioTiffany]

I've merged your two threads, since they're both the same topic.

A minor RI, left untreated can lead to a more serious RI, and if that's untreated - death.

Will your mother help you with the vet visit? Since none of us can see your snake, and none of us are veterinarians, the most any of us can advise is that you NEED to get your snake seen and get put on an appropriate course of medication.

She said she would help me. What's the best I can do right now for my snake? I raised the temps.. so.. what else do I have to do to help fight off the infection until I see a vet?

[Dumples]

Raise the humidity up really high too. I wont suggest any real treatment since I'm not a vet. The possible good news is that the popping noise and extra saliva is just a side effect of the mouth rot and sores rather than an RI, but could easily become an RI if the mouth rot or sores are not treated. All the saliva is a response to the sore mouth and the extra sometimes gets breathed into the lungs and creates the popping noise. The high humidity will sometimes help them get it out when they are doing the sneezing thing. Still go see the vet for sure though and get it all treated as soon as possible.

Mark