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  1. #1
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    HELP! Does my BP have mouth rot? Vet appointment friday. Looking for advice!

    Hey guys!

    About 2 and a half/three months ago I picked up this guy from an owner who was having trouble getting him to eat. This BP was raised on live but the current owner was trying to feed him F/T. I feed F/T myself but have converted a few snakes from Live to F/T so wasn't too worried. I was also prepared to feed him live if needed. He was a little underweight at the time when I got him and but everything else seemed good. He started to eat F/T fine. Sometimes missing a week or two. But nothing out of the ordinary. Then one day I noticed he would rub his nose in between his tub and the little open space. I didn't think anything of it until I noticed two sores under his mouth/chin (what you see in the photo) which was my guess from trying to fit nose through the small space. There was no swelling at this time. He was still having trouble eating but he did eat many times after I noticed the two sores and seemed to be doing fine. I fixed the space in the tank so he can no longer do that. Fast forward to today and he hasn't eaten in about a month and his weight is now really starting to show. I weigh them every week and usually on weeks he doesn't eat he wouldn't really lose any weight loss. Now he losing more then usual. His chin has also started to swell (about a week or so ago) and now I am beginning to get worried. I'm worried that that's why he hasn't been eating in the first place and that maybe the sores turned into mouth rot? He does not seem to have any discharge coming from his mouth or anything. I don't hear any wheezing. His jaw doesn't look open/uneven (pictures below), at least to me. He flicks his tongue consistently still (if that even means anything). So I'm not sure. I guess I'm concerned that there is swelling underneath the mouth and he hasn't been eating. I've seen him drink, I take him out and he goes around exploring. I keep the warm 91F and the cool side 75F. Humidity ~60%. I am religious with this and have other snakes that reply on these temps. There's nothing else I can really think of that would be relevant to tell you. But if I think of anything I will add it.

    I have an appointment with the vet on Friday but I'm worried if I should wait that long. He was booked up until then. This reptile vet is pretty much the only one in my area. If needed I will have to find a different vet that can get me in sooner but will probably be a few hours away. No big deal though if that is what's needed.

    Do you guys think it is mouth rot? If so, is there anything I can do in the meantime to treat it before he goes to the vet? If its not mouth rot what do you think it is? If I need to submit more pictures from a different angle please let me know.

    Any help is greatly appreciated. I get really down when one of my little guys aren't doing well so I'd really appreciate any guidance. Thank you!

    J

    Here are the pictures, I'm not sure how to upload them: https://imgur.com/a/FDrU7ko & https://imgur.com/a/RkZ9wS1
    Last edited by jtww; 05-17-2021 at 06:05 PM.

  2. #2
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    Re: HELP! Does my BP have mouth rot? Vet appointment friday. Looking for advice!

    Sorry I don't know how to delete my posts xD
    Last edited by jtww; 05-17-2021 at 06:11 PM.

  3. #3
    BPnet Senior Member jmcrook's Avatar
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    Those sores are from pushing at things in the cage/jamming its head into gaps. Mouth rot (stomatitis) happens inside the mouth, but it's possible that these sores have become infected if it's now swelling. Stick with an appointment at a qualified herp vet, see what they say, and ask for a culture to be done on any infected tissues before prescribing any antibiotic treatments.

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    Re: HELP! Does my BP have mouth rot? Vet appointment friday. Looking for advice!

    Awesome thank you for the help. I thought it might be from pushing up against the tub. I'm going to stick with the vet appointment and make sure to keep it clean until then.

    Question for you. I've read about Betadine. Would that be good to soak him in that in the meantime for like a half hour or so?

    Thanks again for the help!

  5. #5
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    You're already doing what I'd suggest- get him to the vet a.s.a.p. From what I can see, those marks look more like a bite wound from a live rodent, but could be a cage injury as well. I think it took a while for the infection to fester & maybe become more noticeable as they are now, along with the swelling.

    If Friday is the soonest your vet can see him, that will have to do, but I don't think there's much you can do until then. He needs to be on antibiotics, most likely- keep us posted, I hope he can make a good recovery, but it may take a while. Your vet should be able to tell you a lot more. Do not 'soak' him in Betadine, but if you want to dab Betadine on those spots with a Q-tip, it wouldn't hurt anything & might help a little- just don't expect it to reach inside where most of the infection is. Either that or use Vetericyn ointment for snakes/reptiles- same way.

    I agree w/ jmcrook's post above about getting lab work done to determine which antibiotic will be effective, rather than just taking a guess- the wrong antibiotic can waste time when it's ineffective, & is not without negative side effects, so it's important to "get it right the first time".
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 05-17-2021 at 06:20 PM.
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    Re: HELP! Does my BP have mouth rot? Vet appointment friday. Looking for advice!

    Quote Originally Posted by jtww View Post
    Sorry I don't know how to delete my posts xD
    From the time you post, you only have about 10 minutes to edit or delete a post, fyi.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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