View Full Version : swelling between eyes and nose
Hello, I have a boa who is just over a year old, and recently she hasn't looked quite right. I thought she looked slightly bug eyed, I posted some pictures but I was assured that she was fine.
I think it is getting slightly worse, it appears as tho she is starting to swell up between her eyes and nose. I will post some pictures.
Thankyou for any advice. I have been monitoring her closely and it hasn't been getting any worse.
stephanbakir
07-08-11, 10:16 PM
Cant tell without pictures. Where did you post them?
Here are some pics.
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/Shadey%20and%20Monique/DSC01882.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/Shadey%20and%20Monique/DSC01881.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/Shadey%20and%20Monique/DSC01880.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/Shadey%20and%20Monique/DSC01881-1.jpg
stephanbakir
07-09-11, 09:43 AM
The big dark spot? Cant really tell. Can you increase the lighting, and try angled shots that show us its shape etc.
Any idea's what would cause this? I know its hard to see, but I'm telling you she is slightly swollen where I drew the arrow to. The shape of her head / face is not quite the same as my other 2 boa's. At first I thought she was perhaps slightly inbred, but now im leaning to believe I may have caused this due to poor husbandry :(
She was in my 4X2X2 melamine box, with my older male boa. The humidity may have been a little low, around 20-30% for the past few months. My older male is fine, happy as can be, it only affected her. (The humidity was good during the winter, but changed when summer time hit, and I didn't correct it untill now)
I have moved her to my rack unit so I can more closely monitor and adjusts temp / humidity levels. Temps are at 80' ambient temp, with about 50-60% humidity.
Could low humidity have caused nasal congestion of some sort? I have been keeping a close eye on it, and it isn't getting worse, atleast not very quickly. A snake vet is a 3+ hr drive away, I was hoping that by isolating her and raising the humidity that she would go back to normal, but its been about a week, and no change.
She seems healthy and happy, never misses a meal, everything seems regular other than the slight swelling I think I am seeing.
Its the bridge of her nose. Between her eyes and mouth.
stephanbakir
07-09-11, 09:55 AM
How does the spot feel to the touch compared to the other side?
It is not one side or the other, its the whole top of her nose, from here nostrils to her eyes.
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01887.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01886.jpg
stephanbakir
07-09-11, 10:01 AM
I can see it now, looks like shes all puffy. Could it be an infection?
I really dont know what it is, I have only had snakes for a year or two and I haven't had any problems untill now.
How would I check?
stephanbakir
07-09-11, 10:14 AM
Does it look like a balloon? feel mushy?(puss)
I would take that snake to the vet.
it feels normal, no puss.
ok I found out how to check for respritory infection, I just fed her last night so I am going to wait a day maybe two, then open her mouth with a q-tip and check for bubbles / signs of infection.
I was looking on you-tube and I noticed a few home treatment methods, for treating mild respiratory infections.. They involve using a reptile fogger, and some steam activated inhalent "Kaz" (used for people) or else F10 (for reptiles?)
It got good reviews
YouTube - ‪Treating Reptile Respiratory Infections‬‏ (http://youtu.be/hNNTrNBCdV0)
She doesn't wheeze for air, there is no clicking of her nostrils when she breaths.. She seems completely fine, as far as breathing goes.
stephanbakir
07-09-11, 12:30 PM
I'm still leaning towards an infection, I'd see a vet for sure.
When looking up respiratory infections none of the symptoms really include swelling.. and that is the only symptom that she is currently showing. Without opening her mouth and inspecting her that is.
thanks for your advice stephan. If nothing changes come monday I will take her in.
I took my jungle carpet in to see my local vet recently, and turned out it was a false alarm. She had a small bump on the side of her neck, the vet wasn't sure what it was. Then it disappeared the very next day!
Because of that, I don't want to jump the gun to early. :(
Lankyrob
07-09-11, 01:38 PM
thanks for your advice stephan. If nothing changes come monday I will take her in.
I took my jungle carpet in to see my local vet recently, and turned out it was a false alarm. She had a small bump on the side of her neck, the vet wasn't sure what it was. Then it disappeared the very next day!
Because of that, I don't want to jump the gun to early. :(
always better to check and not need to than not check and find a very ill snake in the viv one morning.
whoaxmary
07-09-11, 08:09 PM
The early you catch something the better, and you said this had been going on for a while so I don't think you'd be jumping the gun at all getting the snake to a vet asap.
If it's an infection, you will need antibotics, from a vet, not home remedies. :P
shaunyboy
07-09-11, 09:06 PM
it does look like theres fluid or some kind of growth going on there
is there anyway it could have got its head trapped or could have banged it off ?
have you checked for puncture wounds ?
i'm probaly wrong but the older boa may have gave it a defencive nip ?
i have never kept boa's so i'm unsure of their behavoir while sharing a tank
i only suggest it as i know how puffy a carpet bite wound looks on me
its hard to tell from a picture and the swelling could be down to numerous reasons
a trip to the vet should clear up the mystery
i hope you get it sorted out mate
cheers shaun
whoaxmary
07-09-11, 09:52 PM
abcess maybe? with what shauny said that's my best guess. take snakey to the vet.
There are no puncture wounds. About a month or two ago it looked as tho she had "buggy eyes" but I was told I was tripping out.
What can be done about an abcess? I'm guessing they will cut it open?
I will book an apointment on monday for the vet, kinda sucks that to take her to a real reptile vet is almost a 3 hr drive, but thats where I will be heading unless she shows some definate improvement by monday morning.
marionsclan
07-09-11, 10:29 PM
So you're saying this has been going on for about 1 or 2 months and you never saw a puncture wound or any liquid coming out? Could it be possible that the older and I assume bigger boa got her head in his mouth but the punctures being so small that you couldn't see them? They could make her face swell up and eventually cause an infection. But an infection would mean the snake has a fever, right? So is she seeking out the cooler area or drinks water more than usual? Do you feed live or thawed? Could she have bumped her head hard which initially caused the swelling/bug eyes, and now it's going down a bit?
A trip to the vet is definitely in order, but you should try to cover all the questions I've asked because the more info you can give the vet the faster they can narrow down or exclude certain options. Hope you get good news. Keep us up to date.
Yea its been on going for awhile, no punctures, no fluid.. The male snake that was housed with her is quite a bit larger, but I don't think it is possible that he could of bit her without me noticing some punctures as he is quite big.
She has been on the warm side lately. I have never seen my boa's drink they all seem to be pretty sneaky about it.
I feed thawed, and about the only thing she could of bumped her head on would of been the top of her exo-terra hide. I don't think she could reach the top of the enclosure she was in.
marionsclan
07-10-11, 12:20 AM
I feed thawed, and about the only thing she could of bumped her head on would of been the top of her exo-terra hide. I don't think she could reach the top of the enclosure she was in.
Could she have tried and fallen then hit her head? Or bumped it on anything else while trying to avoid the big snake?
Here is a picture taken a few months back, not sure how long ago. http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01764.jpg
I'm sure it is possible that she fell, and hit her head on either the water dish, or a small clay buddah, or her hide...
I don't think that the male boa would do any harm to her. He has been housed with a few before, and they are currently in my living room, I have never seen any aggressive behavior.
This one is back when I thought she had buggy eyes. About 5-6 weeks ago.
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01797.jpg
And then this one that was taken about 2 weeks ago, when I thought she was fine.
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01859.jpg
And a close up
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01858.jpg
I really don't know if I am just weirding myself out or what.. because when I look at those last 2 pictures I posted she looks completely fine to me... and those are quite recent pictures.
She is currently in a bin, with increased temps, and increased humidity. I have it set to 94' on both the warm and cold side, humidity is up to 70%.
I am hoping to riase her temperature and in turn increase her immune system.
My current thoughts are that it was caused by A) too low of humidity and or temp. or B) she bumped her head and it caused an injury / possible infection.
It does look like she is improving.. I will post some more pics this evening.
Thankyou all for your advice and input.
I managed to get some pictures of her with her mouth open.
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01892.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01891.jpg
stephanbakir
07-10-11, 04:44 PM
What are those black spots inside the mouth?
I have no clue, I was kinda wondering that myself..
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01891-1.jpg
marvelfreak
07-10-11, 07:06 PM
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd435/booyah1985/DSC01891-1.jpg
That's where the tongue comes out.:rolleyes:lol
shaunyboy
07-10-11, 07:07 PM
There are no puncture wounds. About a month or two ago it looked as tho she had "buggy eyes" but I was told I was tripping out.
What can be done about an abcess? I'm guessing they will cut it open?
I will book an apointment on monday for the vet, kinda sucks that to take her to a real reptile vet is almost a 3 hr drive, but thats where I will be heading unless she shows some definate improvement by monday morning.
they would most likely treat an abcess with a course of antibiotics
they can also drain an abcess before antibiotic treatment but your boa does not have a lot of swelling
it may just be a self inflicted injury,especially now the swelling appears to be subsiding
her mouth looks healthy
the only way to get answers is a trip to a decent reptile vet
please keep us updated of your boa's progress
cheers shaun
ahh sorry, that is the first time I have opened one of their mouths and it scared me.
thanks for everything you guys.
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