R.I. and Mouth rot Help!!

[SnakePower]

Hi there, I have tryed to feed my 3 yr male coastal and he has been refusing food. Anyway today, i thought i'd try live, and he hissed with a gurgle. I have looked at him closely and he is also unable to close his mouth properly. I have turned up his heat, and taken out the water. I have never had this problem before, but I am fairly sure it is RI and mouth rot!
Does anyone know, what the best course of action would be for him??
Thanks in advance,
S.P.

[MrBredli]

Take him to the vet.

[Glimmerman]

Baytril injection and a trip to a good herp vet.

[Surfcop24]

Yep, Gotta agree there..... Easiest way to fix Canker/Mouth Rot is a injection from the Vet....

[Rennie]

Raising temps can help but I think the safest thing is a trip to the vet followed by a series of antibiotics shots unfortunately.

[TrueBlue]

his mouth needs to be cleaned out with peroxide, and wiped down with a mixture of betadine and water, this will cure the cancer, but the RI you will need to take to the vet. It has probally been caused by the stress of the cancer.

[serpenttongue]

For the respiratory infection i would keep the snake at warmer temps for several weeks. The respiratory infection will go away but it will take time, dont expect it to go in a few days. Is there any ballooning of the throat or drool coming from the mouth? These are common signs of a R.I.

As for the mouth rot, the mouth needs to be cleaned, like TB said. Diluted listerine works well against mouth rot and you'll need a second person to hold the mouth open while you swab the infected areas with a cotton swab. Anti biotic powders can be applied following the cleaning. This will most likely need to be done daily. Be aware that mouth rot can quickly spread down the pythons throat and also weakens the jaw bones. Parted lips and swelling of the gums is the usual symptom of mouth rot. I would see a vet for the mouth rot.

[peterescue]

Sorry to jump in here but DO NOT USE PEROXIDE INTERNALLY. It actually kills living skin tissue.
It may be the way it was done but we dont do it anymore. Vets I use dont use peroxide on external wounds either.

[TrueBlue]

Ive seen peroxide used initally with cancer to clean the dead tissue away a numder of times over the years with out any harm at all, in fact it seems to make sure all dead tissue is gone.? Why then do dentist tell patients to dab peroxide on wisdom teeth,(when comming thru), and the sorts if its so bad.??

[craig.a.c]

Take it to vet ASAP. I lost a snake to mouth rot. Tried everything possible for her, injections, antiseptic powder, dilluted listeren and surgery, in the end she did not make it though. Get it to a vet. Good luck.

[congo_python]

Take it to a vet and get it treated simple.

[peterescue]

simple answer Trueblue. It did damage the living tissue and you will have to ask the dentist why they suggested as the did. Perhaps it helps breakdown the skin tissue for the emerging teeth. I can only hypothesize.
I got the same reaction when I told people not to fibreglass turtle shells. Been ok for years but we now know it is bad. A lot of turtles survived but a lot more do now. Things change as new information comes to light.

[SnakePower]

Hi everyone,

Thankyou all for your replys! I would have answered back earlier, but my computer went down. I actually posted originally last night at 2 or 3 am! I was desperate to hear what to do, as I feel sooo bad when one of my herps arn't feeling well, and this really snuck up on me.

Anyway as you have all advised I booked him in for vet visit and antibiotic injection first thing monday morning. Hopefully he will be ok.

Funnily enough, he shed last night, so he appears better, but his mouth is still slightly open, and his throught partially swollen. Holding his head up too. There doesn't look to be any mouth rot, but we will thoraly check him on Monday to be sure!

I will keep him on the heat until then. Thanks again guys!

S.P.

[TrueBlue]

Thats another reason other methods should be considered, antibiotics seem to be handed out left right and center these days and it should only be a last resort, they are not good when used all the time, and I personally would use peroxide in my own mouth, and have done, before I ever considered antibiotics.

[serpenttongue]

Originally Posted by TrueBlue

antibiotics seem to be handed out left right and center these days and it should only be a last resort

Agreed. People seem to think antibiotics are a fix all. They're not. They only give the animal a helping hand, thats all. Whether the animal gets better or not depends on the animals health and strength, not the amount of any medicine it may receive.