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I picked this GTP up from the show in Daytona, and I didn't handle it really till today. Ever since the Show he held his mouth a lil open on one side, which I thought was normal. Well Today I decided to look closer at what was going on (today was the first day I got up the nerve to try to hold him. I've tried the last few days, and it keeps striking at me) I was able to sneak up on him and grab behind his head so he couldn't tag me. It looks like the right bottom front part of his jaw is damaged in some way. The opposite side when pressure is asserted a pretty large tooth comes out, on the other side though there's just this white cartlidge object hanging where that tooth should be. He can not close his mouth all the way cause of this object (I think it is his tooth that was broke some how, but I can not tell)

I am going to post this on as many forms as I can, I do not have the money for a vet bill right now, if push came to shove I will give him away to someone that will take care of him and this problem. I will be able to put some pictures up by Tomorrow night.

Here is a diagram of the area affected.

Although vet bills can be expensive, you should always be prepared to consider spending that money if you are buying live animals. However, if you are willing to give this animal away to someone that IS willing to offer the necessary treatments, then you are doing hte right thing, in my opinion.

From what you are describing, though, it sounds like a preexisting case of mouthrot or possibly a broken jaw. Mouthrot generally happens when a tooth gets broken and the surrounding tissue gets infected. This tends to happen commonly in imported animals that are highly stressed and striking at anything that moves, sometimes colliding with the cage sides or front, thus breaking teeth or causing other damage. I've also seen it in CB snakes that are just quicker to strike than others, and sometimes hit the wrong thing the wrong way. A broken jaw can also be a result of this same kind of behavior. You mentioned your animal's repeated attempts to bite you, so this sounds very possible to me as the source of the infection/injury.

However, without actually seeing the animal and not being a vet, I can't make a 100% accurate diagnosis of what's going on. Unfortunately, the diagram you posted did little to show what's going on. What I would do, instead of waiting on a bunch of people on the internet to help you fix the problem, is either get the chondro to a qualified vet or at the very least a more experienced snake keeper/breeder who might be able to see the snake in person and offer some advice or recommend a good vet.

In my opinion, whatever is happening could be a serious problem with your snake, but if taken care of quickly and correctly, shouldn't be life-threatening.

i agree with the previous post. the animal likely damaged its mouth while striking @ something. i would check the mouth to ensure there are no broken teeth embedded in the gums. also an intact tooth cold be stuck in some gum tissue causing the disfiguration. if that is the case you should be able to manually release where the tooth is embedded and the jaw will regain its normal form. if it has mouthrot which can be caused by not taking care of the aforementioned problem, you shoud see a vet and treat the animal with antibiotics. good luck

Allow me to reiterate from earlier posts...

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

Please have the snake seen by a qualified vet asap so as to prevent many of the problems that could, and probably are, occurring with this animal. It is quite likely he has mouthrot or a broken jaw, both of which could lead to his demise.

Be prepared to spend the money in vet bills that you could have saved by buying a CBB animal.

Just my HUMBLE opinion,
Jamie
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Jamie A. Stine and the Gang:

1.1 Bearded Dragons (Lancelot & Guenivere)
1.0 Giant Frog Eyed Geckos (Peanut Butter)
0.1 Borneo Short Tailed Python (Ezmerelda)
0.1 Red Tailed Boa (Buffy)
1.0 Short Tailed O'possum (Jethro)
1.0 Greyhound (Hank)

Save a life, adopt a retired racer!

Know-it-all little beginners like you are why I don't post on the Kingsnake forums much. For someone with a whopping two snakes in their collection, you sure seem to be pretty opinionated. You should keep a Green Tree Python for a few months, before you act like a know-it-all. It's a little different than keeping a boa and a short tail.

Provided that you had absolutely zero real (read useful) input to give, so you should have just kept your trap shut.

The animal is fine and it appeared to just be a broken tooth, from what I remember on the Bob Clark forums. A broken tooth or jaw from striking at something would have nothing to do with the animal not being CBB. I have plenty of CBB Chondros, and I can tell you first hand that they aren't immune to getting a broken tooth.

Don't bother replying. I probably won't be checking back here for a while.

>>Allow me to reiterate from earlier posts...
>>
>>YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!
>>
>>Please have the snake seen by a qualified vet asap so as to prevent many of the problems that could, and probably are, occurring with this animal. It is quite likely he has mouthrot or a broken jaw, both of which could lead to his demise.
>>
>>Be prepared to spend the money in vet bills that you could have saved by buying a CBB animal.
>>
>>Just my HUMBLE opinion,
>>Jamie
>>-----
>>Jamie A. Stine and the Gang:
>>
>>1.1 Bearded Dragons (Lancelot & Guenivere)
>>1.0 Giant Frog Eyed Geckos (Peanut Butter)
>>0.1 Borneo Short Tailed Python (Ezmerelda)
>>0.1 Red Tailed Boa (Buffy)
>>1.0 Short Tailed O'possum (Jethro)
>>1.0 Greyhound (Hank)
>>
>> Save a life, adopt a retired racer!
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Anthony Caponetto
http://reptiles.drivennewmedia.com

..I think you are both missing the point. I only keep four snakes in my collection, and I dont think only owning two snakes is an indicator of a begginer (bloods are just as tough as GTPs). I think the point here is that you should be able to afford vet bills; not "you get what you pay for". Im just trying to figure out why this person bought the snake in the first place? If he/she saw the broken jaw/mouth rot before he bought the snake, that means he knowingly bought a snake that he wouldn't be able to pay for in the end. How childish.
It REALLY frustrates me to no end to know that snake can't go to the vet now (unless swara hands the snake over ASAP to someone who CAN pay the vet, which I strongly suggest) all because someone had to have a snake. What BS.

Of course, sadly, if the snake was for sale, it was probably never going to the vet in the first place... unless it broke its tooth in transit and wasn't noticed.

When I was looking for my first chondro, I was tempted by the "cheaper" babies that I saw at the reptile shows. I held off because I had LEARNED that many of these are imported and often not eating yet, or heavily parasitized. I waited and found a reputable breeder so I could get an established CBB chondro. Yes, he cost me more than the cheap ones at the shows. Yes, I had to work out a payment plan with the breeder. Yes, I had to WAIT a few months to get him. BUT it all paid off in the end. I have a beautiful healthy chondro. I followed the same procedure when looking for the next one. Granted I don't get instant gratification in taking him home but I can sleep at night knowing it is well started. I will admit that I am still learning when it comes to chondros but even I know enough to realize that the picture you posted below was of a baby that was not well started and probably an import. Imports are best left to those who are more experienced and willing to pay vet bills.

There are plenty of people out there who would have been willing to help you out when it came to picking out a baby chondro. But since you had to go and pick out one with health problems, YOU have to live with the results. He should be checked out by a vet, if not for the mouth injury then for the parasites he is probably carrying.
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2.9.9 Leopard Geckos
1.2.3 African Fat-tails
0.1 Gonisaurus Luii
1.1 Central American Banded Geckos
0.1 Gargoyle Gecko
1.1 Calabar Pythons
1.1 Savu Pythons
1.1 Cornsnakes
0.1.2 Chondropythons
0.1 Standing's Day Gecko
1.0 Frog-eyed Gecko
1.1 Ball Pythons

Unfortunately it sounds as if your snake has mouth rot. It more than likely has a case of URI as well as that they seem to go with each other. This is common to imported snakes. Problems generally begin when a notable load of parasites weaken the animal's immune system.

The first coarse of action to potentially save the animal is a fecal float and smear. Flagil, Panacur and Droncit are the three drugs which I've found to take care of most parasites. Antibiotics are most often the coarse of action to treat mouth rot and URI, but symptoms will return if the parasites are not dealt with.