Does this look like mouth rot? (pics)

It looks like an abscess to me. Hope he gets better.

I would probably think of returning the snake, if it is not something curable.. you say you don't want another pet male, and breeding him might be too stressful.. personally, if I sold the snake, I would encourage the person who bought it to return it for a full refund.

Alright, the vet says that it's a bacterial abscess that was caught early and has not reached the bone. It seems that yesterday was the the final stage and it ruptured sometime before I got him to the vet today, so it was much smaller when he examined it. He cleaned out the pocket of necrotic tissue and pus. We're starting some oral antimicrobial rinse and he expects it to be cleared within a week.


The vet also said that it could be recent in origin, with major swelling happening in the last day or two. Those of us who've dealt with cat bites can appreciate how quickly they can build right before they rupture.

I am much relieved and I'm sure the seller is too. :-)

Glad to hear it was something so treatable :)


Do these things pop up in snakes often? Because I'm still giving mine oral baytril and wonder about maybe scraping the gum and triggering something like this - though I assume the baytril would also fix it at the same time.


dr del