Make sure you look for a reptile experienced Vet.
In the long run, that will save you money. Many people have paid for needless and non working treatment and meds, because the Vets weren't familiar with reptile health care. Then you end up with an animal that is still sick, or even sicker, and an additional fee from another Vet.
If you are lucky and live somewhere where you can pick between reptile experienced Vets, I'd say the ones that are a little outside of a big city are usually a bit more reasonable with rates. Big fancy places that have all the newest equipment will also be more expensive, they have to recoup their cost. Sometimes you get what you pay for, though.
Treatment of abscesses in mammals is pretty straight forward (while extremely gross). With Reptiles it is a bit more complicated. They have mostly "solid" puss. It cannot be drained. It has to be excised thoroughly. Making sure nothing is left behind. After that the wound has to be thoroughly flushed and sanitized. Many vets use a antibiotic wash for that, and in one members case they even left antibiotic beads inside of the wound, so that the meds work time released. On top of that you should get antibiotic shots to help the snake fight any secondary infections. Some Vets will make a culture from the "stuff" that was removed, to make sure that the antibiotics given are the right ones to fight whatever bacteria is involved.
The Vet I used to have (and loved) was very reasonable AND he was wonderful. What I would give to have him nearby still.
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