Mouth infection not improving...

[d_virginiana]

This isn't really urgent so I figured I'd post it in the general talk section...

I think it was a little over a week ago that I posted about my 4-5 month old baby Sithis having a mouth infection. It seemed to be causing him respiratory distress at first, but that stopped abruptly after he shed. I've been treating with betadine until about three days ago when our CVS finally got a new shipment of hibiclens in; now I'm using that. Been treating once or twice a day since I noticed the swelling.
I can get new pics up by tomorrow, but it looks pretty much like it did in the first thread except the swelling on the affected side of the mouth is pronounced enough that you can see it bulging the labial scales out.
No discharge, and he's as active and tongue-flicking like normal. Still eating like crazy as well. Should I feed less often until this clears up? Also, how often should I treat with the hibiclens?

Basically just wondering if there's anything else I can do... Harley had a similar infection last year (luckily over my Christmas break when I could treat her) and it took over a month for her to get back to normal.

[Stefan-A]

I'm moving this to Urgent Care, anyway. The section should really be named "Health Issues" or something along those lines.

To answer the question: Sounds like a job for antibiotics. Skin cleansers are probably a waste of time, unless we are talking about minor wounds that haven't yet been infected.

[d_virginiana]

Darn... I was hoping it would still be in the realm of something hibiclens or betadine could get rid of, since there is no tissue discoloration or discharge, just swelling.

I can get him to a vet if absolutely necessary, since I'm now in an area with exotics vets, but the bills are insane just for the vet to take a look, not even including medication. Money is already pretty tight right now, and a vet bill is something I'd really rather not have to figure out how to pay for. Is there a general go-to antibiotic that I could order online and apply myself?

[Stefan-A]

That, I do not know.

[thamneil]

Nothing that you could get without the help of a vet. There is a herbal product called Reptaid that a few of my friends have used as a general cure all. I doubt it would help your situation much.

[guidofatherof5]

I make this suggestion because this is the procedure my Vet. uses with these lip infections.
He takes a sterile needle and pokes the infected area a number of times causing it to bleed.
I've used the same procedure now for years with great success. Treating with diluted hibiclens after that for a week or so. I use diabetic syringes for my source of sterile needles. Cheap to buy and I simple fill a sharps container with the used ones.

This procedure does cause some bleeding and I'm sure the snake feels some discomfort/pain but left unattended this can become a life threatening infection.

[d_virginiana]

Yikes... I may just call an exotics vet then. I would feel comfortable doing this on one of my older snakes, but Sithis is so tiny and not very calm when being handled to begin with, I'm afraid I would slip up and make things worse. Going to check around online for a good one and call tomorrow.

Something I just thought of last night that I thought might have something to do with this... The other night he somehow managed to bite onto the glue (silicon?) in the corner of the tank during feeding. He was stuck on it for almost two minutes, since I couldn't really do anything to get him off without hurting him.
I thought his mouth was looking a little better until this happened, then it started looking worse again. Do you think part of this could be an injury from that?

Here's a picture so you can see how it's looking now. He's not acting sick at all, so I'm hoping this is something he can beat if I get him checked out by a vet.
042.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

They do look on the minor side. No idea where the infection came from.
I hope it works out well. Keep us posted please.

[d_virginiana]

That's good at least... I'd rather over-react to something in the early stages than wait too late.
On the bright side, I found an exotics vet that looks very trustworthy. They cater solely to exotics, and even offer services for fish, amphibians, and inverts. It's good to know there's somewhere I could take any of my animals.

[paulh]

A number of years ago, Dr. Richard Reed recommended at a symposium to try daily treatment with Polysporin as a shotgun treatment for mouth infections. It doesn't work with some pathogens, but it did clear up a mouth infection in one of my ball pythons. Polysporin is an over the counter first aid cream available in many drug stores.

Slightly elevated temperatures may help. And many cases of mouth infection have flagellate protozoan infections, too. A vet should treat that with the proper antibiotics. Good luck.