iHerp Answers: To Treat Or Not

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To Treat Or Not

Posted By:

Miss Andrea

In Relation To:

Sunset [m 08 super hypo hog island]

So, my sunset hog island boa has swelling in his nose. Again.

"Sunset" has been treated for this before. He was on 2 different anti-biotics over a period of over 7 months over a year ago. He had "mouth rot" that was actually an infection going from the roof of his mouth through the top of the nose. It ended up abcessing out the top of his nose and we *thought* that he healed up nicely. All of the sweeling and sore was gone and well healed up.

Now he has the same swelling on his nose. Do I treat with more antibiotics (per vet reccomendation) and take the risk that it may do too much damage to his organs and kill him? Or do I keep him happy and relatively comfortable until he is in pain and put him down?

And that's not even considering the money aspect. I know that last time it was over $900 in bills and drugs after he was "better". I don't know if it's worth it. How much more can we reasonablly put into a pet snake that we have no intentions of ever breeding or selling? I know this is mostly an ethics question, but I'm at a loss. This is tecnically my husband's snake and he understands both sides.


Points:	100
Topics:	General Health , Medications
Tags:	Antibiotics, Boa
Species:	Boas > Large Boas > Boa constrictor imperator
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

9/30/2013 6:49:59 PM

Aimee

Has the infection been cultured? Are you getting the right antibiotic?

Accepted Answer

9/30/2013 9:30:05 PM

Sonja K. Reptiles

Is he still eating? Do you think this is coming on from rubbing his nose? (Hogs can be awful about that.)

If you end up making the decision to not treat with antibiotics from a vet, I have used a natural, herbal, OTC product called Reptaid by Amber Technology that I guess I think would at least be worth a try. I have used it for inflamation in the mouth of my Rubber Boa recent and he's definitely improved, and a friend has been using it to treat for an upper respiratory and is seeing improvement after months of nothing. Like I said, perhaps worth a shot. It comes in two formulas - one for smaller and one for larger reptiles. I believe I paid approx. $20 for it off Amazon.

Assisted Answer

10/1/2013 2:08:46 PM

Cenobite

I've heard of people using Reptaid with success. Worth a shot.

Author Comment

10/1/2013 4:43:30 PM

Miss Andrea

Aimee, I don't think it has been. But we also had a really hard time getting a blood sample.

Sonja, I don't think it's from him rubbing his nose, there isn't currently a sore, it's just swelling.

Assisted Answer

10/1/2013 8:06:26 PM

Aimee

I know the guy who developed Reptaid. He did a lot of beta testing around here several years back. I've heard a lot of success stories, and some where it didn't help (only time I ever used it included) but have never heard that it harmed anything. Might be worth a shot.

Assisted Answer

10/8/2013 7:34:27 PM

bwaffa

These are tough and frustrating cases, but some of my favorite from a clinical standpoint. An often overlooked factor is that recurrence occurs for a reason. We often get tunnel vision on the bacteria. "They're back!" The antibiotics failed. My vet's no good. The bacteria are too persistent... I think the key here should be to step back and try to understand why this is happening again, and your vet's differential list is probably (hopefully) broader than "stomatitis". Is there a shaving lodged up in the roof of his mouth or some other foreign body? Is his nasolacrimal duct occluded? Is there some anatomic or morphologic derangement that is creating a pocket for infection (tumor, granuloma, congenital/anomalous)? Are there husbandry components? Was the previous culture sample appropriate and is there value in re-culturing? There are lots more questions that could be asked... I realize this is just more questions and not answers, but I don't think you're out of options if you want to pursue this medically. I don't have much experience with rept-aid, though I've heard good things about it from people who have used it. So while I don't think there's harm in trying it, I don't think it's a viable alternative to medical therapy if Sunset needs it. Feel free to drop a line if I can be of any help.

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