Quote Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents View Post
My vet was use to retics. He's an exotics vet. He very much liked her quirkiness. He is not however, a vet that will send home syringes and medication... Now do you understand?
If properly treated, he shouldn't have to send you home with anything.

I had to take her back every couple days over the course of treatment for her regularly scheduled injections. Because the affected area in her mouth had caused her trachea to swell and her mouth tissue to discolour. It was looking like a bad RI even though the infection had been caused by the tooth/gum problem.
Stress that was induced by the owner not fully understanding the animal or it's potential problems that frequent this species. You claim your vet is qualified with experience with retics- but his first move wasn't to check out the mouth? I have a hard time believing this, so you induced stress, and went through antibiotic injections designed for an RI without ever testing the bacteria or looking at the mouth/checking out the gums? I'd find a new vet, or a decent retic breeder to look at your animal next time. Your vet should stick to ball pythons and corn snakes.

He was less concerned with the tooth issue, as was I, than the bigger infection in her mouth. The problem tooth could not be seen and we both agreed after the infection was gone to just wait it out without putting her through the stress of X-rays.
You don't need xrays to feel for broken teeth in the gums. You need a $1 pair of tweezers, some time, and a little patience. Retics- who for some reason just love to push in general should always have their gums checked first when any issue is shown related to the mouth. If the tooth is not removed, the problem will persist, and it will get worse. I highly recommend your vet do some reading up on retics and their behavior so he can better diagnose and treat the problem, rather than jumping the gun and assuming RI, mouth rot, or other infection causes.

It did flare up every so often for awhile after that, but only the gum area by the tooth causing the problem would swell. It never did cause another bad infection. It eventually worked itself out.
I would strongly advise you to find a retic breeder local to you, and ask them for a little bit of their time showing you how to properly work the inside of your snakes mouth. It will save you a lot of trouble and money in the long run, or- have your vet do it if you're not comfortable with it. Fact is- someone close to you needs to have this ability and the ability to fix mouth related problems for the health of your animal.

Believe me, i would not be taking a snake for injections if I did not feel it was needed. I have full faith in the exotics vet that I've used exclusively for my herps, and even a couple rescued birds in the last 20 years.
Retics are not ball pythons or corn snakes, just like monitors are not bearded dragons. Just because he's an exotic vet, doesn't mean he is experienced hands on with retics- and they are not like other snakes, or to be treated as such.