Swollen Lower Jaw or am I paranoid?

[jclaiborne]

Hey Everyone,

I was changing out the water in Clyde's cage after work today and I noticed what looked like a little bulge on the side of his lower jaw, I pulled him out and snapped a few pics to post up, he doesn't pull away when I touch it, his mood is the same, we opened up his mouth and it all looks pink (I don't see any yellow, oozing, or black) but I wanted to get some opinions on here. Should I take him to vet to get checked out or am I just paranoid? Thanks!

[Fatal_S]

It does appear to be swollen - possibly the start of an abscess? I had a skink with an abscess a few years back - the vet lanced it, drained it, and then we used antibiotics. Cleared up very nicely.

Obviously though, it could be something else. I've only dealt with one abscess, so I'm not much help. It would be a vet-visit thing for me. Best of luck with him

[jclaiborne]

It does appear to be swollen - possibly the start of an abscess? I had a skink with an abscess a few years back - the vet lanced it, drained it, and then we used antibiotics. Cleared up very nicely.

Obviously though, it could be something else. I've only dealt with one abscess, so I'm not much help. It would be a vet-visit thing for me. Best of luck with him

Thanks! I am looking up reviews of reptile vets in my area, trying to find a good one...I would rather catch it early and treat it vs wait for it to get worse.

[Susann]

That's good thinking; that jaw is definitely swollen. Let us know what you find out.

[El Lobo]

It does look like the start of an abscess. It needs to be vet checked if so, as it can lead to gum and tooth root problems.

[jclaiborne]

I contacted LLL and asked them if they knew of a local repitle vet they trusted and they put me in contact with a vet they use, I called on Friday and he was out of the office and they told me I could call back this week and they could get me in. I am going to make an appt for him to get checked out. I will post updates after he is seen. Thanks everyone.

[jclaiborne]

So we just got back from the vet and he said that, it looks like the lower swollen part could be some scar tissue, but there is also a slight infection( he said inside his mouth is just slightly pinker on that side then rest of his mouth). He said that the infection likely came along when he had mites because mites can weaken the immune system and if there was trauma to his jaw at some point in his life then it can get infected easier. He put him on 0.2cc of baytril every other day for 1 month, with a followup in 3 weeks.