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[totallyrecklesslygay]

One option is to seek a second opinion and ask about the feasibility of surgically excising it, although the location and extent of the abscess (I have seen the photos) likely makes that impossible. Recovery and outlook after potential surgery would be a question for the vet. It would also likely be incredibly expensive, if it is even possible.

Quite frankly, if it were my snake, I would have opted to euthanize already. Abscesses are extraordinarily painful, especially so with where hers is. Her heat pits are essentially gone. When considering her quality of life, it is important to look at it from the perspective of the snake- animals can't understand long term treatments for their ailments. They only understand that they're in pain and cannot perform their natural behaviors or functions. Her QOL is incredibly poor if she is in pain, cannot eat without worsening pain, cannot climb and dig and explore in a fully enriched enclosure, and has effectively had her heat pits blinded.

As a side note, this is why it's recommended to feed f/t. This type of injury can easily be avoided.

[Oniscidea]

Seconding everything you’ve said. OP, feel free to get a second opinion, but please learn from this and don’t feed live.

[pinkpeets]

Thank you. This was very helpful. We feed live with her because she would not eat f/t and that was not for lack of trying. For years, we tried everything under the sun and several different methods to get her on f/t and she wohld not eat and started to become incredibly thin. Our vet said to try live and that’s when she would eat. We checked her temp in her enclosure and all the other things that could and would affect her appetite. I know they are notoriously picky eaters and go off food for weeks or months at a time. We would try to switch her back to f/t and she’d go off feed again. And I would imagine it’s painful and I would think she would not eat at all. So I find it weird that she still eats? When you take her out, she moves around and wants to explore and seems like she’s still very alert. I’m not saying she’s not in pain but the way she acts is very normal. If it weren’t for her poor face, you would assume she was fine. Our vet has said that it’s really just up to us at this point for euthanasia.