Mouth rot

[Jono]

Two of my neos have developed mouth rot, possibly from bad fruitfly cultures or crickets. Needless to say I've chucked all the feeders and bought more.

I took them to the Vet yesterday and was given a dilute solution of antibiotics (Baytril I think, to be honest I forgot to ask) to be given orally for 10 days.

Now my question is he did not drain the sizable cyst that has developed on the side of the ones mouth. He is very experience with dwarfs though so I did not query this at the time. However, now that I have done some reading it seems like most people suggest that this should be done daily so I want to get some opinions.

They are all around 3grams so possibly the size would be a factor for him not doing so.

 

[draetish]

I would call the vet and ask him if you should bring them back in to drain the cyst.

 

[Carlton]

The problem is, abscesses in herps are not filled with the more liquid type of infectious material that drains or gets reabsorbed easily on its own. It tends to be more solid and doesn't break down with meds alone. The vet will probably have to open the cyst/abscess and clean it out physically, apply topical antiseptic, as well as give the oral antibiotic.

 

[ChamOh]

i'm curious how bad feeders cause mouth rot?

 

[Jono]

Just a follow up on this : 10 days on Baytril and the cysts are completely gone. I was going to post some before and after pics but can't seem to find the before which is a pity. Hopefully they'll turn up.

So to answer my own question : No it's not always necessary to drain cysts. In retrospect I've avoided any scarring or complications that could have arisen from an open wound, not to mention all the stress it would have caused little Rex from being handled like that daily.


As for bad feeders, there is no source of fruit flies locally so I caught wild flies to start my cultures. These were probably the origin of the harmful bacteria.

 

[draetish]

Thanks for the update and sharing this, it's a great learning experience. So glad it all worked out.

 

[Carlton]

Just a follow up on this : 10 days on Baytril and the cysts are completely gone. I was going to post some before and after pics but can't seem to find the before which is a pity. Hopefully they'll turn up.

So to answer my own question : No it's not always necessary to drain cysts. In retrospect I've avoided any scarring or complications that could have arisen from an open wound, not to mention all the stress it would have caused little Rex from being handled like that daily.

I am very glad to hear they are better. But, a warning...mouth rot is very very stubborn and can recur. Watch for the cysts reforming. I've seen this several times with temporal gland infections. I hope it doesn't! I've also read that increasing the amount of citrus in your feeder gutloads can help prevent it.

 

[Jono]

Thanks will def give that a go.