# Ball Pythons > General BP's >  help mouth rot

## labelleninirose

hello i'm new here and I think my bp has mouth rot! she is about to shed and I took her out and the end of her mouth seemed pink, when I checked inside her mouth there was a very dark red part....I think it could be mouth rot..here is a pic...I tried calling the closest herp vet but they are closed what shoud I do till monday?

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## llovelace

> the best way i have found  ( from experience )   for mouth rot 
> is  using Q-tips and peroxide.
> 
> using a Q-tip  lightly wet the end with peroxide ( not soaking or dripping wet )
> dont want  to much in the mouth and gently rub the area  that has the infection on it  .
> do this 3 times a week   until mouth rot is gone .
> 
> if infection gets worse  and not better  then a vet trip would be in order .
> 
> ...


Hope this helps  :Smile:

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## labelleninirose

I am so worried...does it look like mouth rot to any of you? I'm new to pythons and I got mine in december. she just got over a bad case of worms and now this! I couldnt get hold of the vet because they closed at 5pm...I dont want to lose her.

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## JeffJ

you may need a second person to help i know my BP constrict my wrist every time i grab him by the head to check his mouth. natural reaction

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## JeffJ

> I am so worried...does it look like mouth rot to any of you? I'm new to pythons and I got mine in december. she just got over a bad case of worms and now this! I couldnt get hold of the vet because they closed at 5pm...I dont want to lose her.


that picture is wayyy to unfocused form e to even give you a definitive answer...

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## labelleninirose

I just used some peroxide and I rubbed sligthly and a piece of flesh sort of came off...I think it's really mouth rot...im going to call monday morning for the closest appointement, it looks like its hurting her! it bled a little too!

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## labelleninirose

another thing, she had a rat this week F/t, so she eats so does mean the mouth rot is not to advanced? im going to be taking the first available appointement, ill miss my classes, I cant lose her she is everything to me...anyone have any suggestions that can help me out for the weekend?

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## JeffJ

mouthrot is extremely painfull to the snake and if untreated can actually initate there whole face and such to rot. 

a vet visit looks to be in order. she will be ok untill monday i prosume try to clean it once aday... she wont like it thats for sure.  its not to advanced yet if she is eating.

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## labelleninirose

sorry my camera sucks so pictures are not great.

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## JeffJ

that does look like mouth rot.

any blackness or stuff that looks like cottage cheese in the mouth?

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## labelleninirose

please tell there is a good chance she survives...I am so worried ....

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## JeffJ

she will be just fine, i recommend seeing a vet rather then treating it your self. as it can get worse.

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## labelleninirose

I havnt seen any black stuff...just near  the nose is where she is irritated. she looks really lethargic all of a sudden!

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## labelleninirose

oh yes no worries! ill miss all the time in the world she is going to a vet next week! she ate on tuesday but Im not sure if the irritation was ther or not. should I bump up the heat?

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## JeffJ

> oh yes no worries! ill miss all the time in the world she is going to a vet next week! she ate on tuesday but Im not sure if the irritation was ther or not. should I bump up the heat?


no, the only real recommendation for mouth rot is if you catch it early enough and are capable is self treatment by cleansing the wound daily with diluted peroxide. however if its bleeding i think a vet visit is called for.

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## labelleninirose

yeah it bleeded a little....and like I said a small piece of flesh came off. so is there really a good chance she survives? im still going to keep on the peroxide swabbing everyday..like 2-3 times daily. and monday im calling the vet and hope to get an appointement before friday. i just want her to survive.

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## DZBReptiles

Really to hard to tell from the photos. Mouth rot is usually caused by stress and dirty cage conditions/nasty water or a lodged piece of substrate in the mouth. You said she ate on Tuesday. Do you feed live or F/T? It is not uncommon for animals to injure their mouths while feeding. I have seen them slam the side of a tub so hard the lower jaw swelled up. I have also had them hit the end of the feeding tongs. Either way I would do a good cage cleaning and replace the substrate with paper towel. Clean and refill the water bowl. Try and let him or her have some alone time. The less you mess/stress him the better. The peroxide once or twice a day should be more then enough to stave off any infection until and most importantly you get him to the vet. Good luck and don't worry. Jeff

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## labelleninirose

ill give you my setup
40 gal breeder
subtrate is repti carpet
has a hide on the warm side and cool side
2 water bowl with fresh water each day
warm side is 90-92 f
cool side is 77 f
I have a UTH on the warm side
also have branchs and fake plants

she eats frozen thawed
I just cleaned her tank on tuesday when I fed her

humidity is alway around 50%

what am i doing wrong  :Sad: 

she seems lethargic...and I promise she is going to the vet! ill borrow money if I have too but she is going!

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## Kaorte

your cool side is pretty low, should be more around 80-85*F. I would personally ditch that carpet and go with aspen, paper towels or newspaper

Why on earth do you need two water bowls? lol

You said she seems lethargic, what is she normally like?

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## labelleninirose

well I dont know why I have 2 water bowls...i just left it like that. why ditch the carpet? whats wrong with it?

she is usually a little more active than she is now...but again she is going to shed real soon!

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## Kaorte

> well I dont know why I have 2 water bowls...i just left it like that. why ditch the carpet? whats wrong with it?
> 
> she is usually a little more active than she is now...but again she is going to shed real soon!


reptile carpets are notorius for being hard to clean and leaving a lot of bacteria behind even after you scrub them. Its best to just get rid of it  :Very Happy: 

When is she normally active?

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## labelleninirose

oooooo Ill get some aspen then! im not crazy on paper towel! she was normally active at night but not all the time...now she is sprawled out on one of her hides instead of in it....she is going to shed soon like I said, blue eyes. so what could of caused the mouth rot? and since I found it out this week shoudl she really be okay when I go to the vet??? I'm very worried about this because I had a pac man I got from the petstore that started mouth rot and he died this was a while back...I took him to the vet and nothing worked...this is why im scared she is going to die.

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## Kaorte

> oooooo Ill get some aspen then! im not crazy on paper towel! she was normally active at night but not all the time...now she is sprawled out on one of her hides instead of in it....she is going to shed soon like I said, blue eyes. so what could of caused the mouth rot? and since I found it out this week shoudl she really be okay when I go to the vet??? I'm very worried about this because I had a pac man I got from the petstore that started mouth rot and he died this was a while back...I took him to the vet and nothing worked...this is why im scared she is going to die.


Get her to the vet Monday, she will be fine. She is probably a little stressed from you poking around in her mouth while she is in shed. Right now, just keep your humidity at about 60 so she can have a complete shed.

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## labelleninirose

she has an apppointement for monday at 1pm ill keep you guys posted!

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## labelleninirose

well finaly I could not go monday because of a snowstorm that closed the highway. so I went yesterday(tuesday) yep she does have a case of mouth rot and is not on baytril for 14 days. oral baytril. I also have to clean her mouth as many times I can in a day with Chlorexidine atleast 2-3 times daily. the vet said it could take a long time to recover...I am really hopping the meds will work. I am worried. I wanted to know because I forgot to ask should I do a full cleaning of the cage since she has an infection?

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## JeffJ

I dont know if its a must but i would clean everything. 

Mouth rot is hard to shake it can be a long proses so good luck  :Smile:  keep on a schedule for cleansing and your BP should be well in no time.

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## labelleninirose

yeah she already seems a little better  :Smile:  I think the chlorhexide is doing a great job with keeping any new signs from apearing, and the baytril must be working as well. she is on a heavy dose of baytril just to make sure to kill it. I think I found this at the right time. last night she drank some water so she is not making her self starve or thirsty. I bumped up her temps as well. I will be doing a full clean on saturday. right now I want to help her fight this!

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## JeffJ

> yeah she already seems a little better  I think the chlorhexide is doing a great job with keeping any new signs from apearing, and the baytril must be working as well. she is on a heavy dose of baytril just to make sure to kill it. I think I found this at the right time. last night she drank some water so she is not making her self starve or thirsty. I bumped up her temps as well. I will be doing a full clean on saturday. right now I want to help her fight this!


you caught it at a good time. advanced mouth rot can be quite hard to get rid of and can cause some rather bad deformities and can impact the quality of life of the snake even after it has been cured of the mouth rot.

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## mainbutter

Just wanted to wish you and your snake good luck on getting it all cleared up!

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## labelleninirose

I have a question, I just read that giving baytril oraly is bad  :Sad:  because there metabolism is slow. but the vet gave me oral baytril because she did not want me to hurt the snake with the shots and cause an absece or something. shoudl I call back and demand some injectable baytril?

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