Sick RTB?

[Reme&Matt]

As I was looking at Magdalena yesterday-through the glass of her cage- I noticed on the right side of her mouth there is discoloration- like a red brown- and 3 little puffed up scales-if that's even possible- Anyway, I called the vet, seeing if they could come to our house so I don't have to upset my RTB, since, she maybe pregnant. Is there anyone who can give me some advise...I know this appointment will proably be expensive- I heard people saying put neosporin on it? Do you think it's that simple? Suggestion PLEASE!

[Ranger]

I wouldn't use neosporin (or any topical agent) near the mouth. Vet is the best bet.

[Reme&Matt]

I talked to a vet- she said I can use betadine. I'm going to try that. The problem with our area is there are no vets who specialize in reptiles. We would ahve to travel hours.

[VoodooChile]

Can you post some pics? Is it inside the mouth? Have you opened her mouth to check to see if any substrate or anything is caught?

[Reme&Matt]

Open her mouth...no, she's not the friendliest snake of them all. I can see the disoloration just around the mouth. I suppose I can have my husband try to open her mouth, probably won't be succesful-either that or he's gonna have a couple eaxtra holes in 'em I will try to get pics up. Not likley, but I will try.

[VoodooChile]

If you can restrain her gently, and he can sort of pry the mouth open, you can see if she's got anything stuck in there.
Sounds like it could be a snout rub or possible mouth rot, which can be treated with a 50/50 of listerine/water swabbed on the affected area with a moist Q tip..Snout rub if serious can be treated with betadine or neosporin. However if there is a peice of substrate or something jammed in there, its going to have to be pulled out before it will do any good

[Reme&Matt]

Thank you! That is verry helpful! I love this website

[Reme&Matt]

Also VooDoo Chile, if we try to get her mouth open, do you think she will start wrapping around us? Just like I said before-She isn't a small snake and she gets real nervouse if more than one person is around her.

If I did take her to the vet-would they slightly sedate her?

[BWSmith]

I would not risk veterinary treatment on a gravid snake unless absolutely necessary. A little swelling could be a cut in the mouth from a rat claw or an infected tooth. Or it could be a SQ parasite or serious infection. But it sounds minor, and I would leave it alone for a while and see if it gets worse before screwing with a gravid snake. Snakes are tough creatures that get by quite well without our help. Generally, they get over little things like that on their own or with very little intervention. But a good macro shot of the affected area would help with a preliminary diagnosis (only a vet with snake in hand can make a definite diagnosis). If it is an infection, a little chlorhexidine scrub on a q-tip does wonders, next more aggressive step would be Baytril Otic (enroflaxin/silver sulfad-somethingrather ). And of course, the last resort would be Amikacin (or Enroflaxin 22 if you are worried about boxing the kidneys).

But I would just clean it until you can get a more definitive answer. Random treatments based on assumptions and vague descriptions are generally not a good idea.

[BWSmith]

Originally Posted by Reme&Matt

If I did take her to the vet-would they slightly sedate her?

Snakes are generally not sedated for nonsurgical procedures. Snakes have very primitive circulatory systems and are not easy to anesthetize. Forget the movies, animals are rarey "tranqued" for treatments.