Mouth/striking Injury

[tropiclikeitshot]

This morning I noticed one of my green tree pythons was sitting with her mouth open on one side (jaw askew). Upon further inspection she appears to have some blood on her mouth and back. She ate yesterday and was alert, took mouse off tongs (no substrate)--however, she missed on the first strike and hit the cage wall instead. Will this clot/heal on it's own? Is there anything I can do at home to help her clot/heal more quickly? How do I know if she's having an issue clotting? She is alert, breathing normally (no noise, bubbles or mucus). **VET APPOINTMENT PENDING**
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ixrWDs8wgqHYdhnv6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/k2EFAK7CwcuaKTXz5

[Bogertophis]

I'd take her to the vet for help on this- she may just have caught her teeth on part of her mouth & needs help to "un-hitch" them, but it will take good restraint & a close look to see for sure. A broken jaw is always possible too, though not common.

This doesn't seem like a snake that would easily cooperate at home for you to access her mouth, & even if you could, it would be better to have her at the vet to get the help she needs right then, rather than going thru it all again.

For now, I'd keep her resting & get in to see the vet a.s.a.p. How well does she handle? I would guess some topical medication might be in her future too- but let the vet evaluate what's going on- that would be the best thing. It's unfortunate she just ate, but of course that's almost ALWAYS when snakes "catch" their teeth. I hope she doesn't regurgitate from the stress of getting help.

Is that just old blood, btw? Can't tell from here if there's any fresh bleeding- let the vet know if there is. It takes a little while for blood to turn brown if it's 'old'. If it would be possible to wipe off the blood, that would help to see if any more appears, so you know if it has stopped.

[tropiclikeitshot]

After posting I managed to stumble upon this older taptalk thread with a green tree python with similar injuries.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/more...ts-t15030.html

The blood in photos was fresh at the time which in hindsight sent me into FULL PANIC/useless mom mode. I was especially concerned at the possibility she may have been bleeding all night and into this afternoon. Because it's late day Friday and I am in a exotic vet-poor region my appointment is not until Monday. My main concern was she could have a broken tooth in a weird position which might be causing re-injury so I quickly went to the store and picked up spray sterile saline (AKA this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arm-Hamme...-1-OZ/46022457) to flush out her mouth. I was unable to find chlorahexidine and am severely allergic to betadine so sterile saline was the best I could do in a pinch that I was certain would be safe for a small snake. When I got home the blood was dried and she was no longer bleeding. Upon opening and flushing her mouth I can see she lost a large front tooth but overall her mouth looks very healthy (i.e. her body is working well to heal on it's own). I could be imagining it but the swelling in her jaw also appeared to have lessened and she is now able to close both sides of her mouth.In hindsight I think I may have caught her when she was actively "shedding" that tooth hence all the blood (which was probably a little blood and a lot of saliva). Also worth noting she is a total DREAM to work with! Glad this didn't happen to some of my other not so chill GTPs.

[Bogertophis]

I'd have used just plain water* over saline- salt in wounds tends to HURT. (*boiling then cooling it to make it sterile)

I sure understand the panic seeing blood that you didn't expect- I can also recall someone that panicked about blood on their snake that turned out to actually be from the prey- so it's best to investigate first- & then panic only if it's relevant & really necessary.

I'm so glad this GTP is chill -that really helps to work with all your snakes to get them as "chill" as possible with handling, because sooner or later, it tends to pay off- like at times like this. I hope she continues to do well with no problems.

[Bogertophis]

She's such a beautiful snake too, by the way. Hope she feels much better soon.