Mouth infection not improving...

[ConcinusMan]

They do look on the minor side.

I agree. Doesn't look too bad. Probably not life threatening at this point. If the snake isn't feeling enough discomfort to go off food, that's good too. The gum tissue showing is a pinkish color, not red. Also good.

When I've dealt with this situation, it's not uncommon for it to appear to be healing, then swell up again. This injury might be caused by broken/loose teeth. I use the hibiclens after meals and /or twice a day. But you gotta use a q-tip or folded piece of tissue (forming a corner or edge) completely saturated and sort of roll it upward so it gets under the "lip". It's a long process, and an uphill battle, and isn't always successful.

I really don't think any vet can administer antibiotics due to his size. (a 3.5+ foot, 200 gram snake only takes 0.4ml when it's baytril suspension and all dosages are administered in ml per kilogram of body weight) It would take such a minute amount to overdose a snake that small. It's very difficult to get the correct dosage. He's just so tiny.

[d_virginiana]

If it didn't begin as a tooth injury I believe it was certainly made worse by him biting onto the silicon then panicking.

Last year I used betadine to medicate a similar infection in Harley (she was about the same age too). It took over a month and she still has some residual scarring. I think I'm going to try the technique Steve suggested with the needle, continue with the hibiclens, and see if I can speed up the healing process.

Not only has he not gone off food, he's still coming out to beg. I take that as a good sign.

[ConcinusMan]

Just for future reference, if your snake bites you or an object and gets stuck, keep in mind that the teeth curve backwards like fish hooks. Don't pull the snake back as this could break teeth. Pushing the object toward the snakes throat can release the teeth. If the snake has got a hold of your hand, you need to move the snakes head forward (nose direction) to release the teeth.

If you're going to try the needle thing, be careful that you don't go too deep, and use an extremely sharp, fine needle. The finest gage insulin syringe you can get should work well.

[d_virginiana]

Normally I can get him to release pretty quick when he's bitten my finger, but with the silicone I couldn't really reach him well. I just put my hand behind him to keep him from jerking backwards...

I picked up some 33 gauge insulin lancets today. They're the smallest needles I could find. Going to give it a try later. I've been working on keeping him completely still while I put the hibiclens on his lips. I do worry about him hurting his neck when he tries to pull his head out of my grip though.

[guidofatherof5]

Normally I can get him to release pretty quick when he's bitten my finger, but with the silicone I couldn't really reach him well. I just put my hand behind him to keep him from jerking backwards...

I picked up some 33 gauge insulin lancets today. They're the smallest needles I could find. Going to give it a try later. I've been working on keeping him completely still while I put the hibiclens on his lips. I do worry about him hurting his neck when he tries to pull his head out of my grip though.

Shouldn't worry too much about that. They are pretty tough.

[ConcinusMan]

Yes, their spines are designed to take a lot of abuse.

[d_virginiana]

Okay, so I tried the needle treatment.

I barely touched his mouth with it a couple times, and nothing was happening. Then between one second and the next, I noticed a piece of tissue hanging out of his mouth. VERY small, like what happens when you cut the gum right above your teeth on a sharp potato chip or something.
I'd put up a picture, but there's no way it would show up.
Anyway, there was never any blood at any point, which kind of surprised me. It definitely stung because he started trying to jerk away when it happened. Anyway, after seeing that, I was afraid to do anything else. I treated both sides of his mouth in hibiclens and gently squeezed the more swollen side of his lip a little. The fact that a whole piece of tissue came loose like that, makes me wonder if that had something to do with the infection? Like maybe the tissue was weakened a little?
Before I started, I did notice that the edge of the mouth was starting to look red more than pink.


Even after I let him go, he was content to crawl around on my hand and still tongue flicking. He just opened his mouth up a little to readjust and that was it. If anything changes, I'll put up more pictures. Otherwise, unless someone has another suggestion, I'm going to continue treating with Hibiclens twice daily (maybe three times until I'm sure that piece of skin isn't loose anymore).

What is a good temp to keep him at? I can rearrange my tanks a little to bump it if that would help. Right now, his probably stays about 75.

[d_virginiana]

I just went up and checked on him again. There doesn't look to be any excess swelling caused by the needle, and it's been about two hours. I feel better now since it doesn't seem like I've done any more damage by trying this at least.

[d_virginiana]

As of tonight, I can see a definite improvement in Sithis' mouth. There is still some swelling, but I can tell it has gone down. It really looks like the needle treatment helped.
Not going to dance for joy just yet, but it's looking good.