Mouth infection (?)

I just went to check on Snug, my little normal 2yo boy, and he appears to have some sort of mouth infection. Now I should mention first (before mouth rot is suggested), he has ALWAYS had a problem with his "lower lip." I bred this boy's clutch myself, and from the minute he slithered out of the egg, I noticed a weird misshapen bump - right around where the egg tooth usually is, so I'm guessing it broke while he was emerging.

I have had some issues with the humidity in his tub, since he always re-arranges the furniture & puts the water over the heat strip... I'd pretty much given up keeping things 100% dry, so maybe that caused this flare-up? I will call the vet on Monday, but since it's 3am on a Sat/Sun, I'd like to hear some suggestions in the meantime. He seems otherwise fine, btw, and the inside (what I could see) doesn't look like mouth rot or RI. Oh, and he ate a live mouse about 5 days ago.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/IMG_2860.jpg

The clear "dot" has been there since hatching...
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/IMG_2868.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/IMG_2870.jpg

See how it juts out a bit? It's always a little oddly-shaped, but this is worse than usual.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/IMG_2857.jpg

P.S. Here's how he looks normally, so you can compare the bump/mouth then & now... one more thought, is it possible he injured his mouth (either bitten or smashed) during the last feeding?

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/IMG_0573.jpg

Nobody has any suggestions? C'mon! ;)

Wish I could help you buddy

Thanks... I was hoping for some input, since I am worried about my little guy! He's a real sweetie, and has always been a bit "special needs" (hence the reason I've kept a normal boy this long). Oh well, guess I'll just call the vet tomorrow.

You know what's funny in a sad kind of way? Because of this swelling around the mouth, his tongue is flicking crooked - I couldn't help but giggle at that, lol.

A feed or strike definately could have cause a little swelling. Take some regular listerine and wash that area with it 1x a day. At least every other day. The swelling should go down. If it persists take him to the vet.


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Thank you!! That's exactly what I was looking for - a "home remedy" to try before seeing if a vet visit is needed. :gj:

Hiya,

Can you pull down the lip or open the mouth to check for red/ yellow spots inside or signs of a broken tooth?


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hiya,

Can you pull down the lip or open the mouth to check for red/ yellow spots inside or signs of a broken tooth?

dr del

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Hmm... not sure he'll let me do that, but I'll try!

I would NOT use listerene it contains THYMOL and as with most antiseptics ending in OL it is a derivative of phenol. Reptiles are especially sensitive to phenols much more than mammals. I would avoid using a phenol based anything around them this is where the pine wood chip debate comes from and listerene certainly contains more phenols than pine wood does (likely more than cedar) the second part of this is why do anything at all. It is a pointed disinfectant to kill 'germs' that cause gingivitis and bad breath. Not those that cause infection or much else human mouth germs are not likely to be found on surfaces or in a snakes mouth as the body temps are different.

If you must use a home remedy (I would suggest a vet not some half baked home method) Maxi guard oral cleansing gel with no alcohol or a chlorhexidine oral rinse.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I would NOT use listerene it contains THYMOL and as with most antiseptics ending in OL it is a derivative of phenol. Reptiles are especially sensitive to phenols much more than mammals. I would avoid using a phenol based anything around them this is where the pine wood chip debate comes from and listerene certainly contains more phenols than pine wood does (likely more than cedar) the second part of this is why do anything at all. It is a pointed disinfectant to kill 'germs' that cause gingivitis and bad breath. Not those that cause infection or much else human mouth germs are not likely to be found on surfaces or in a snakes mouth as the body temps are different.

If you must use a home remedy (I would suggest a vet not some half baked home method) Maxi guard oral cleansing gel with no alcohol or a chlorhexidine oral rinse.

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Well, I already put a small dab on the spot yesterday & the day before, so hopefully nothing bad will happen as a result... it seems about the same, maybe a tad better, and (to Dr Del) I didn't notice anything unusual when I peeked inside. He wouldn't let me get a GOOD look, but there wasn't anything noticeably wrong in there.

As for the last part of your comment, I already said the vet would be called - and they were on Sunday. But seeing as THEY didn't think a visit was necessary yet, I would trust they know what constitutes an emergency. I don't use "half-baked home remedies" in LIEU of veterinarians, I only use at-home treatments either in addition or until they can be seen. Please don't insinuate otherwise about me, as I'm the first to call and/or see a vet when anything goes wrong with my critters. Even if I had zero extra money, I would sell personal items before letting my babies suffer. :cool:

That being said, thanks for the additional product recommendation... I will call the vet again tomorrow or Thursday, if things haven't improved (and will use nothing in the meantime).

I guess my half baked comment was obscure I intended the magical uses of human mouth wash. It is not a disinfectant (although there are some whom recommend it diluted to disinfect which is simply not going to work) as a wound treatment (ever pour alcohol in a cut?) as a mouth wash for snakes to treat all manor of ailments all these are more. The sad fact is there is currently questions if is able to do what it claims at all in a human mouth. Why a snake would have gingivitis at all or bad breath for that matter? It is a silly notion and straight alcohol is likely more useful and less harmful for snakes. I would not suggest that either there are far more gentle methods to do the same.

FYI both the Maxi guard oral cleansing gel with no alcohol and chlorhexidine oral rinse will likely be available from a vet. My vet sells the maxi for 8$ (it is two part) and the CHD rinse for a bit more. Rather than resort to the use of unproven highly questionable methods a decent vet can often provide a treatment that can be administered at home with out the need of a visit.

My grandmother used to say a toad poultice was good for infections I always felt that polysporin beat boiled toads in a bag any day. There are products available intended for the treatment of minor mouth issues in reptiles there is no need to resort to folk remedies that may or may not work (or may or may not be harmful for that matter)

I couldn't help but think of the father from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - just put some windex on it! LOL. ;)

Snug's chin looks a little better, but he's now in deep shed... so we'll see how it looks once he's done.

one of ours has sewlling in the mouth. we got a few doses of baytril (hope that is spelled right) and after 2 doses she is starting to look better. we also have put her in a warm bath. Hope your little guys gets better soon. it is always sad when one get sick. let us know how he doing

Update: Snug shed the other day, and his mouth is now back to normal. :gj:

I didn't bother him much during the shed period, but whenever I did check it seemed to be getting better... so I figured it was healing fine on its own, and thankfully I was correct! Thanks for the advice, though, and I'm also glad I seem to have found a good herp vet nearby. While I didn't end up having to take him in, they were very helpful and knowledgeable over the phone - so now I know where to go in the future, and I'm also thinking about transferring my dog & cats over to them.

P.S. For anyone who lives in the San Jose area, I am referring to this hospital: http://www.vcahospitals.com/almaden-valley (I'll add them to our vet database later!)