[Eyes/Mouth] swollen tooth emergency? or not

[Iceman2197]

ICEMAN IS AWAY AND MAMA HAS A QUESTION?

My 6'2" or so male Red Tailed Boa has a swollen mouth on the left side.
I think it is probably an infected tooth and our local vet is gone until
monday because of the holidays. Is this something that can wait that
long until it is seen? If it can, Is there something that I can do or should
do between now and then? He is quite fiesty right now but luckily he was
not with a female. If this is something that cannot wait please respond soon
because I have to find a vet up North and we are talking 2-4 hrs
and the holidays. Thanks.

P.S. Don't know how to post a picture.

[MLynch]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

The first thing that comes to mind is swab with a 2% Chlorhexidine solution (Nolvasan, or Virosan are some brand names for it). This will help disinfect the area and help prevent further infection from occurring. I'm not saying there is an infection at this point, but if its the mouth and there is swelling that's usually an inidcator that an infection is present or on the way. ...Of course I'm not a vet, so take that for what it's worth.

I'd also raise the temps in the cage so that the ambient temp is around 88 degrees.

If you don't have Chlorhexidine you can use diluted betadine or peroxide. Just don't use the peroxide on a constant basis. I'd use it once, and then use the Chlorhexidine or betadine solutions after that.

If you can't get your boa's mouth open because it's feisty, or in pain, apply the solution externally to the side of the mouth that is swollen. If you can see pink gums when applying then that's even better. Some of the disinfectant will get inside and start doing some good. I'd do this twice a day until you can get to the vet.

...but like I said: I'm not a vet, so take this for what it's worth.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Boa Amarali]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

Mike covered it, Spray some Nolvasan ,Virosan, which are the same as
chlorhexidine diacetate you can also use chlorhexidine gluconate.

Also substitute diluted betadine or peroxide as Mike said plus raise those temps.
Peroxide(H2O2) isn't very good but better than nothing

Is there any white plaque or some kind of puss looking stuff present ?
If so you have a Boa with stomatitus.
This means he'll need Antibiotic treatment

First you just need to clean the area as stated and a vet will prescribe
Antibiotic injections to treat your Boa.

[Iceman2197]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

have plenty of the chlorhexidine solution and you can tell its the gum thats swollen. I did not notice any pus or white plaque. I have read that peroxide is a big no-no unless thats all you have and don't continue it. It will sting the gums and cause pain. I have been thru the RI thing with one of my babies I ordered about a year ago. Did the whole vet and shots and worry routin. Hopefully this is not to bad but he is a big snake. Will get some help later and do as you guys suggested. Then its to the vet on Monday. thanks for responding.

[Kaiyudsai]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

I would suggest Betadine rather than Nolvasan...Nolvasan... that's more for disinfecting surfaces and can irritate the mucosa....

[MLynch]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

Chlorhexidine is also used in disinfecting wounds, both oral and epidermal.

I use it for spot cleaning my cages, as well as cleaning water bowls (of course I should add here that every other day I use anibacterial soap to scrub down the bowls too). Chlorhexidine is also more effective in killing bacteria than povidone-iodine (betadine) and has residual effects lasting up to 6 hours.

...Interesting. I'll have to look into mucosa irritaions and Chlorhexidine.

[Iceman2197]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

I'm not a pro when it comes to snakes but I try to read what I can. I would not use something around my snakes without some research first. There is a difference between Chlorhexidine diacetate (which is better) and Chlorhexidine gluconate ( which is cheaper). Some bottles say external use only but others say for use on horses and dogs external cuts and wounds in the mouth. The problem is not enough real research has been documented on reptiles, especially snakes. Even my vet has run into this problem. Luckily she is not to proud to call other more experienced vets and ask questions. I'll ask her about the Chlorhexidine and the mucosa irritation on monday.

Thanks

[Iceman2197]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

Took Hades (my male laddertail) to the vet and it was his teeth like I thought. 4 abscess teeth on the upper left side. He's still swollen after the surgery to cut away all the dead and pussed skin. The vet said this is more common than you realize and it does heal pretty fast. Baytril every other day for 10 days and SDD ( silver something or another ) on the wound twice a day til healed. The SDD is used on all kinds of things. I was even given it for my chemical burn when I was in the military. So the sum of it is it wasn't so bad, he was a pretty good boy at the vets, and I'll be able to keep him around to breed to my female railback.

Now the chlorhexidine situation, the vet said you will only cause mucosa irritation if your mixing it too strong. Its so safe that they are even adding it to dog chews. They even mix it stronger for wounds than for cleaning. The vet uses Virosan (chlorhexidine digluconate). They used to use Nolvasan (chlorhexidine diacetate) but switched. She actually suggested not using Betadine because its too harsh on a snake.

Thanks for all your help.

[MLynch]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

"Silver Sulfadiazine Cream"

My vet prescribed the same thing for scale rot recently. Pretty good stuff! ...And I didn't realize it could be used for oral treatment.

Glad to hear that the surgery went well and your boa's on the mend.

Thanks for the update. And keep us up to date on his progress.

[jhsulliv]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

Thanks for the update.

Chlorhexidine is actually one of the only antiseptics that when diluted properly causes to cytotoxicity (doesn't destroy cells). It's commonly used in dental products like prescription mouthwashes and gels that you put on the teeth for other problems. The only time you don't use it is in the eye! Generally when picking a product for wound care I use one that's directed at that and not one that's made to be a surface cleaner. Nolvasan has a whole product line (but they are expensive) and make everything from ear cleaners and wound cleaners to surface disinfectants. Obviously I'd use the wound cleaner, but we use the ear cleaner at work routinely to clean abrasions since it's always around and already diluted. We use generic chlorhexidine gluconate though for presurgery scrubbing and flushing wounds and holes from extracted teeth. Usually the correct dilution is 1:40, but always check the bottle to be sure.

[Boa Amarali]

Re: swollen tooth emergency? or not

Glad to hear a good update, hopefully he'll be on the mend now