Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I fed Aloysius (my 5' Suri) last night and afterwards noticed that his lower jaw was bent in on the right side. No biggie, I'm used to them realigning their jaws after swallowing. His jaw is still jacked up though tonight and it's been over 24 hours. I just took at look at him and it looks like his bottom "lip" is folded in and the teeth might be embedded in the bottom of his mouth. Has anyone had this happen before? I'm freaking out over here - worried about him getting an infection etc... I just fed him a substantial size rat yesterday, so I do not want to handle him too much at this point. Should I rush him to the vet, give it a few days, try to pull it out??? I've never seen it stay stuck like this before.
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Amber Liann
1.0 Suriname BCC (Aloysius)
1.0 Colombian BCI (Austin)
0.1 BRB (Carmen)
4.5 KSB (Snow, Anery, Albino)
1.1 RSB
1.0 Pueblan Milk (Marishka)
1.1 Sinaloan Milk
1.1 Hypo Honduran Milk (Damien & Lucy)
1.1 Sunglow Motley Corns
1.1 Butter Motley Corns
1.1 Amber Corns
1.0 Snow Corn
1.1 Pastel BPs (5 new babies!)
1.0 Spider BP
1.2 Het Pied BP
1.1 Het Albino BP
1.7 Ball Pythons
0.1 Crested Gecko (Chloe)
1.2 SHTCT Leos (Rico, Sabine, & Yazmine)
0.1 Albino Leo (Mandy)
0.1 Leo (Lola)
2.0 Bearded Dragons (Sydney & Dundee)
1.0 Uro (Kegan)
2.1 Wiener dogs (Dakota, Montana, Cheyenne)

Personally I would just wait acouple days and let them get their stuff right.But no more then 72 hrs,then I would have a look and see what the issue might be ???
If you dont feel you could "safely" inspect the animal get it to someone who can.
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TnK

That has happened many times over here and sometimes it's fixed in a matter of minutes and sometime it takes a few days but it'll get fixed sooner or later. I know what you mean when you say it looks like the teeth may be involed but don't worry just yet. Keep an eye on it and make sure you don't start to see any swelling and it should be corrected soon. The longest i've had one stay like that for was about 4 days I believe. Hope this helps and don't worry and stress just yet. I know it's hard not to though.

Ruben Michel

Thanks guys! I will give it a few days and see if he can take care of it himself. He is my favorite snake out of my collection so I tend to over react more with him. I do have a very good reptile vet who has an office about an hour from me, so if this isn't resolved in the next few days, I'll look to get him in on Friday. That will give him plenty of time to digest that rat.
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Amber Liann
1.0 Suriname BCC (Aloysius)
1.0 Colombian BCI (Austin)
0.1 BRB (Carmen)
4.5 KSB (Snow, Anery, Albino)
1.1 RSB
1.0 Pueblan Milk (Marishka)
1.1 Sinaloan Milk
1.1 Hypo Honduran Milk (Damien & Lucy)
1.1 Sunglow Motley Corns
1.1 Butter Motley Corns
1.1 Amber Corns
1.0 Snow Corn
1.1 Pastel BPs (5 new babies!)
1.0 Spider BP
1.2 Het Pied BP
1.1 Het Albino BP
1.7 Ball Pythons
0.1 Crested Gecko (Chloe)
1.2 SHTCT Leos (Rico, Sabine, & Yazmine)
0.1 Albino Leo (Mandy)
0.1 Leo (Lola)
2.0 Bearded Dragons (Sydney & Dundee)
1.0 Uro (Kegan)
2.1 Wiener dogs (Dakota, Montana, Cheyenne)

the female pictured in my post below once struck at the plastic of her cage out of a feeding response. Her mouth stuck in a strange position for longer than I thought it should have been in a way that sounds like what you’re describing.
After a few days (I think) I decided to check it out. I gently got her neck in one hand and pulled the bottom jaw (which was out of line) down. Apparently, she DID somehow hook part of the inside of her lower lip over her bottom teeth which was preventing her from properly closing her mouth. I gently pushed the skin back over the teeth and her mouth righted itself immediately.
IF this happens (it may correct itself naturally-I agree with the others who have responded and would give it a few days):
I'd recommend doing this with another person experienced with snakes if she’s a big snake.
Afterwards, I would also get some Colgate Peroxyl and spray it in her mouth once or twice a day. Pry her mouth open, spray it (especially anywhere you can see blood or wounds), let it sit one minute and then rinse with water. This is to prevent any puncture wounds made from the teeth from becoming infected.
Again, I'd only do this AFTER giving her a few days to correct itself. I hope it clears up on its own.
Good luck!
Aaron

>>the female pictured in my post below once struck at the plastic of her cage out of a feeding response. Her mouth stuck in a strange position for longer than I thought it should have been in a way that sounds like what you’re describing.
>>After a few days (I think) I decided to check it out. I gently got her neck in one hand and pulled the bottom jaw (which was out of line) down. Apparently, she DID somehow hook part of the inside of her lower lip over her bottom teeth which was preventing her from properly closing her mouth. I gently pushed the skin back over the teeth and her mouth righted itself immediately.
>>IF this happens (it may correct itself naturally-I agree with the others who have responded and would give it a few days):
>>I'd recommend doing this with another person experienced with snakes if she’s a big snake.
>>Afterwards, I would also get some Colgate Peroxyl and spray it in her mouth once or twice a day. Pry her mouth open, spray it (especially anywhere you can see blood or wounds), let it sit one minute and then rinse with water. This is to prevent any puncture wounds made from the teeth from becoming infected.
>>Again, I'd only do this AFTER giving her a few days to correct itself. I hope it clears up on its own.
>>Good luck!
>>Aaron

You know Aaron, Aloysious did strike at his glass after eating his rat. I didn't think anything of it, because he does that all the time, but I bet that is what did it. I'll leave it for another day and see what happens. I can only imagine what fun it will be to "gently push the skin back over his teeth". He is sooo head shy.
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Amber Liann
1.0 Suriname BCC (Aloysius)
1.0 Colombian BCI (Austin)
0.1 BRB (Carmen)
4.5 KSB
1.1 RSB
0.1 Lesser Platinum BP
1.0 Mojave BP
2.5 Pastel BPs
1.0 Spider BP
1.2 Het Pied BPs
0.1 Albino BP
1.1 Het Albino BP
1.7 Ball Pythons
1.0 Pueblan Milk (Marishka)
1.1 Sinaloan Milk
1.1 Hypo Honduran Milk (Damien & Lucy)
1.1 Sunglow Motley Corns
1.1 Butter Motley Corns
1.1 Amber Corns
1.0 Snow Corn

Oh, yeah!
"GENTLY" is the key word here.
I'd just make sure to take a minute and see how the teeth are imbedded in the skin if that's what's required.
Keep us posted and let us know how everything turns out.
Good luck!
I really wouldn't be too worried. This is probably WORST case scenario and that's not even THAT bad. I hope everything turns out well for you.
Aaron