Broken Jaw??!!! I really hope not! 8(

I need help. My BP kirrah just ate a mouse ass backwards. After finishing I went to put the lid on his enclosure and he struck twice, and on the second strike hit the top of the lid and it looked as if his teeth got struck momentarily; he pulled back, and now his bottom jaw looks smashed in on the left side. He continuously rubs his bottom jaw on his substrate. WTF??? This was my first BP ever and I am very stressed and worried. I can't believe he even struck :confused:

Their jaws pretty much disconnect in order to eat, they yawn and rub after their meals to realign their jaws. Nothing to worry about, he is just realigning his jaw. Just leave him alone :)

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Their jaws pretty much disconnect in order to eat, they yawn and rub after their meals to realign their jaws. Nothing to worry about, he is just realigning his jaw. Just leave him alone :)

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I really appreciate your optimism, however I have a really bad feeling. 8( It looks like there is blood when he lifts his head. You can see it in the slit of his bottom jaw; don't know if there's a name for that or not. I have never experienced anything like this before. In fact, Kirrah is my most docile BP, and it is shocking to me that he would even act out aggressively. I am sick with worry. 8(

Are you sure it's not blood from his prey? I wouldn't worry because some of mine look seriously mangled after eating and go back to normal once they realign. I would seriously wait a little while before trying anything since he just ate, give him time to realign and relax then worry.

Gray is very right; snakes disconnect their jaws before they swallow down a meal. The jaw is connected to the skull by an extremely stretchy ligament that allows them to stretch their mouth so wide. Your snake will realign his jaw back in place -- most do this by yawning.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Gray is very right; snakes disconnect their jaws before they swallow down a meal. The jaw is connected to the skull by an extremely stretchy ligament that allows them to stretch their mouth so wide. Your snake will realign his jaw back in place -- most do this by yawning.

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I wouldn't worry so much if it weren't for the fact that I observed him realigning after feeding, and the unsightly manner his jaw took on after striking the mesh lid was awefully disturbing. I will not disturb him, and will continue to observe him from a distance, and keep posted. I appreciate any advice/comments.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Gray is very right; snakes disconnect their jaws before they swallow down a meal. The jaw is connected to the skull by an extremely stretchy ligament that allows them to stretch their mouth so wide. Your snake will realign his jaw back in place -- most do this by yawning.

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I just witnessed him take a drink of water, which is a little encouraging. :)

My female ball python has struck, side of tank, hot coffee mug twice in a row, once she struck at me but got a mouth full of carpet her teeth got hung up for a little but she unstuck herself. Like everyone else said their Jaws break apart to eat, might just dislocated it, strained a tendon if anything should heal fine on its own, I would say if it causes problems with next feeding take to a vet

The lower jaw separates at the front, not the hinges.
If it looks odd the next morning, I would recommend a vet visit. I wouldn't recommend waiting until the next feeding, because if something is broken, treating is sooner is likely to result in a better outcome.

You'd be surprised how resilient their little mouths are. one of my girls is always striking at her enclosure when someone gets too close, and one time she struck and I THINK the same thing happened to her that has happened with your snake. it appeared that one half of the her lower jaw had been kinda folded in. i kept an eye on her for a couple of days, but one day it had just been back to normal..

I had assumed that one of her teeth might have gotten caught on another tooth when she had struck, kinda like velcro, making it folded backwards.

Haven't had any problems since and she feeds like she'll never eat again.

http://www.rcreptiles.com/blog/index...to_swallow_suc
check out the last picture on the page; shows the bottom jaw pretty well and how flexible it can be

My first BP struck the side of her tub once and it seriously looked like she broke her face. One side of her mouth (at the front corner) was all mushed in and it looked horrible! I was so scared!

Turns out...she'd just snagged herself on her own teeth. (Suck one side of your bottom lip into your mouth and bite down on it....kinda like that) It took a couple of hours for her to get it all sorted out, but afterward, she was completely fine.

I accidentally put 's rat in with my shedding mojave. It was striking at even the heat from my face. It hit the tub when I ducked hard enough to it looks like caves his lower jaw in. He got the rat soon after but let go of it just before it died. Do you think it will get better ,and more importantly what do I do if it does not?

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Originally Posted by BigDogDughman

I accidentally put 's rat in with my shedding mojave. It was striking at even the heat from my face. It hit the tub when I ducked hard enough to it looks like caves his lower jaw in. He got the rat soon after but let go of it just before it died. Do you think it will get better ,and more importantly what do I do if it does not?

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Hopefully it just popped it out of socket. It should be able to yawn it back into place but I'm going purely by mental picture of how bad it is. Pictures?

I'm sure it will be fine , I've seen that happen a few times over the years


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Thanks to this thread I checked his mouth again, and found his lower (lip?) Was stuck on a tooth. I freed his "lip" and his jaw went back to normal. I'll keep a close eye on him for any infection or rot. Thanks again for the knowledge.