Misaligned jaws..or?

Hello all,

I'm having an issue with my one and only ball python, Gordon. I got him last month at Repticon: Atlanta and he's been doing great -I converted him to f/t, he's gaining weight, he's got a great attitude..etc (he's about 4 months old now).

I'm concerned because the other day I noticed that the teeth/flesh of his upper jaw were protruding out over his lower jaw on one side. He has not been like this for long - I regularly examine all of my animals; plus when I fed him the other day he was not like this. I have not ran into this issue before with any of my boas and I'm rather worried about him. I know it's probably not comfortable for him to snag his teeth on things. I'm also concerned this could lead to mouth rot or some other infection.

:(

http://www.thelogicalchange.com/reptiles/gordon_jaw.jpg

http://www.thelogicalchange.com/rept...ordon_jaw2.jpg

I guess he got his jaw caught on his teeth. He should be able to correct this himself if he yawns, but if he does yawn and nothing happens, just monitor over him closely to see if it's still there or not. If nothing happens after that, I would consider trying to help him get it un-caught.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

I guess he got his jaw caught on his teeth. He should be able to correct this himself if he yawns, but if he does yawn and nothing happens, just monitor over him closely to see if it's still there or not. If nothing happens after that, I would consider trying to help him get it un-caught.

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Thanks for the reply -

I have witnessed him yawn and it did not correct itself. I've gently opened his mouth as well to no avail.

I am watching him closely and he seems to be fine so far. I hope it corrects itself because I'm not sure what else to do.

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Originally Posted by coldblooded

Thanks for the reply -

I have witnessed him yawn and it did not correct itself. I've gently opened his mouth as well to no avail.

I am watching him closely and he seems to be fine so far. I hope it corrects itself because I'm not sure what else to do.

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Yeah I have no been in this situation before, but kind of had something similar happen. All my Ball python did was yawn a few times then the jaw was corrected.

One of my boas had this issue not too long ago. He was a little eager on feeding day and struck out of his cage and snagged a towel that was lying in front of him as soon as I slid the glass open. Of course he immediately freaked out and started trying to tear his jaw free and I ended up having to very carefully cut the few threads his teeth were snagged on.
Anyways, afterward his jaw was all kinds of messed up. He yawned and stretched his jaw quite a few times but I saw no changes at all. I left him alone for a day and it took him a bit over 24 hours to work his jaw back into place again. So I'd say give it a day or two, see how things are going, and if worse comes to worse you might need a trip to the vet to see just what happened.

Perhaps you would find this thread helpful...

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=83383

Thank you for the responses, all.

I checked this morning and it was still the same. :confuzd:

I will keep an eye on him and see if anything changes. It's feeding night so we'll see what happens.

Is it just me that noticed on the second pic it looks as if the bottom lip has been cut off?

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Originally Posted by jere000

Is it just me that noticed on the second pic it looks as if the bottom lip has been cut off?

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It's not cut off, it's been pulled under his upper jaw. I have opened his mouth and the lip is there.

Good news! It corrected itself after he ate tonight. :D

I'm thrilled.

http://www.thelogicalchange.com/reptiles/mrFace.jpg