Trip to the vet

[Bear-Cat]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place. Took our snake to the vet today because she's breathing through the side of her mouth. As soon as I noticed this strange behavior, I decided we should call a vet that does exotics. Happy to find one only 30 minutes away. She wasn't too happy to be there and get weighed. She struck the nurse and kept popping out of the tray. She does indeed have an infection, her breathing clicks and her mouth was bleeding slightly. Luckily we have antibiotics to give her. We are injecting her food with it, as she hasn't lost her appetite! I just hope we caught it early enough and that she will be okay. I don't know what could have caused this infection, as we haven't changed anything we are doing.

[kibakiba]

Substrate could have poked her mouth. Is she in a tank with another garter?

[Invisible Snake]

I hope she gets better.

[Bear-Cat]

Substrate could have poked her mouth. Is she in a tank with another garter?
No, she's an only snake :P.

[kibakiba]

If you have a substrate that has any sharp edges, I could see it causing an infection. Even if it's not sharp, if it got stuck in her mouth somehow... I've had it happen with carefresh.

[mikem]

Glad you got your garter to the vet! Keep us updated.

[Bear-Cat]

If you have a substrate that has any sharp edges, I could see it causing an infection. Even if it's not sharp, if it got stuck in her mouth somehow... I've had it happen with carefresh.
Oh man, yeah I can see that happening. I take her out of the tank to feed her now, as she loves to drag the worm around and I was getting worried about her eating substrate.

[ProXimuS]

Glad you've got an answer! Hope she get's better soon:)

[guidofatherof5]

Glad to hear she's getting some treatment. What of she being treated with?

[Bear-Cat]

Glad to hear she's getting some treatment. What of she being treated with?
She is being treated with Baytril. 0.03 cc every other day. The vet told us Baytril is a widely used reptile antibiotic.

[guidofatherof5]

Good old Baytril.
Enrofloxacin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrofloxacin)

[Bear-Cat]

Good old Baytril.
Enrofloxacin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrofloxacin)
awesome! Sounds like a pretty versitile drug! Thank you for the link :D

[EasternGirl]

I am a bit confused...is it a mouth infection or respiratory infection...or both? Sounds like a little of both. If the mouth was infected from substrate...definitely start feeding her away from the substrate...she could also ingest some and get an intestinal blockage which is very dangerous. Glad you took her to the vet! Sounds like she will be on the mend soon. Keep us posted. :) My eastern female has chronic respiratory infections that can usually be kept at bay by increasing the heat and humidity in her tank. I have to watch carefully that she doesn't get too cold or dehydrated. If it's a respiratory infection...increasing the heat and humidity a bit can help along with the antibiotics. If you have any questions...I'm here to help!

[Bear-Cat]

I am a bit confused...is it a mouth infection or respiratory infection...or both? Sounds like a little of both. If the mouth was infected from substrate...definitely start feeding her away from the substrate...she could also ingest some and get an intestinal blockage which is very dangerous. Glad you took her to the vet! Sounds like she will be on the mend soon. Keep us posted. :) My eastern female has chronic respiratory infections that can usually be kept at bay by increasing the heat and humidity in her tank. I have to watch carefully that she doesn't get too cold or dehydrated. If it's a respiratory infection...increasing the heat and humidity a bit can help along with the antibiotics. If you have any questions...I'm here to help!
The vet said it was a mouth infection (the bleeding) and if she DOES have a resp. infection, the antibiotics will take care of it too. Considering our house is chilly, she's got a nice light directly on top of her cage and a nice heating pad, so heat isn't an issue. She of course has a cooler side to go to if she gets too warm. And I don't think she's impacted because she poops a lot still and the vets checked her out. I will keep everyone posted, thanks so much guys~ :D

[kueluck]

I'm happy to hear that you saw this in time. Good to know you are watchin' her closely to see things like this. You make for a good keeper of the garter. :)

[Mommy2many]

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Bear-Cat]

I'm happy to hear that you saw this in time. Good to know you are watchin' her closely to see things like this. You make for a good keeper of the garter. :)
She's too sweet and cute to just ignore. <3 She's growing more and more on me :P

[Bear-Cat]

She seems to be doing much better and is enjoying her worms every other day. She doesn't seem to be breathing out of her mouth as much anymore and she doesn't seem to be in as much pain as she was. I tried to handle her yesterday and she was flailing around like she didn't want to be picked up though.