Mouth Concerns

So I noticed today that my ball has a weird thing going on with his left side of his mouth. Instantly thought of mouth rot and vet visits and now concerned. What I am seeing is almost like he has his jaw arranged wrong so some of his gums are showing is what it looks like. I have tried my best to get some pictures of this problem I am seeing and hopefully you guys will get what I am talking about. Very concerned!!

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psghgqyhrf.jpg

Kinda blurry arial view..^

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psifqrojta.jpg

Side view^

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ps4ys05wwf.jpg

And then I also noticed while trying to grab pictures (he is very head shy) that it looked like a piece of substrate was coming out of his mouth so I brushed my finger past it and it seemed almost more like skin.. I use aspen substrate for reference. Below is a picture of the skin I am seeing. A bit hard to see in the picture but if you look towards the back of his mouth you (hopefully) can see what I am talking about..

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psmwaerikw.jpg

And then last I will attach a picture of his right side of his mouth for reference.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...pshrwghvrt.jpg

It looks like something may have gotten wedged in his mouth. Any chance you can hold him behind the head and check out his pearly whites? He won't be happy about it, and neither will you, but I'm sure he'll feel much better if you can get the issue taken care of.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Hold behind the head and use a Q Tip to work the mouth open. I don't see much in the pics but I've had a piece of substrate get stuck in their lip making it stay open like in the pics.

Any advice on doing that with such a head shy guy?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maausen

Any advice on doing that with such a head shy guy?

---

Just need a good grip of the head. If you have a second set of hands that would help. If not sit down so you can support the body in your lap.

Well you both were right! it was substrate stuck in his lip there.. After learning that my python is stronger then me and a bit of WWE action we managed to remove it!!!!:bow: Just wanna say thanks for being such a great community when help is needed. You all are wonderful:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maausen

Well you both were right! it was substrate stuck in his lip there.. After learning that my python is stronger then me and a bit of WWE action we managed to remove it!!!!:bow: Just wanna say thanks for being such a great community when help is needed. You all are wonderful:)

---

Good deal!

I had this happen on the first feeding of my new(to me) ETB recently. I thought of all my snakes this was going to be the worse but she is so good she let me remove the piece without much fuss at all. If you want to work on your wrestling you can workout with my big Blood. Now she is a powerhouse.

I'm glad you were able to get it out! I think we all have to use the behind the head wrestling move at some point or another.

KMG: You're one of the luckiest people around. Isn't your new ETB the docile little sweetheart I just read about recently?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Kudos on the removal! Good call KMG.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eavlynn

KMG: You're one of the luckiest people around. Isn't your new ETB the docile little sweetheart I just read about recently?

---

Yes, she is unbelievable!

The main reason why I feed in a separate enclosure, aspen getting suck in their mouths or ingesting it. I've never had a problem with regurgitating, not wanting to eat after moving, or getting bit. Aspen will stick even to a mouse thats dry, and I'm paranoid about stuff like that so, feeding out of their enclosures works for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

Good deal!

I had this happen on the first feeding of my new(to me) ETB recently. I thought of all my snakes this was going to be the worse but she is so good she let me remove the piece without much fuss at all. If you want to work on your wrestling you can workout with my big Blood. Now she is a powerhouse.

---

HA! I cannot imagine trying to wrestle with a blood.. that would be more like MMA fighting for me..:O Them ETB teeth can be a little bit hairy and scary from what I have seen, glad you came out on the other side!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PythonBabes

The main reason why I feed in a separate enclosure, aspen getting suck in their mouths or ingesting it. I've never had a problem with regurgitating, not wanting to eat after moving, or getting bit. Aspen will stick even to a mouse thats dry, and I'm paranoid about stuff like that so, feeding out of their enclosures works for me.

---

Yeah aspen can be a problem once in a while. Your lucky your snake allows you to feed outside the enclosure. Mine is a big baby and would just curl up and refuse to eat without the safety of his hide.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maausen

HA! I cannot imagine trying to wrestle with a blood.. that would be more like MMA fighting for me..:O Them ETB teeth can be a little bit hairy and scary from what I have seen, glad you came out on the other side!



Yeah aspen can be a problem once in a while. Your lucky your snake allows you to feed outside the enclosure. Mine is a big baby and would just curl up and refuse to eat without the safety of his hide.

---

Don't worry about it. A little bit of substrate doesn't hurt anything. I feed my snakes wet rats and many are on a mix of cypress, eco, and reptibark with no issues.