Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know why my male isn't eating and why his mouth keeps on bleeding. I was try to get his mouth open and then i realized he has a broken jaw. I i can actually see the fracture at the front of his mouth. what should i do. I cant go to a vet because it would take me a hole day of driving just to go to the nearest cat dog vet. He looks healthy and alert but since he has a broken jaw he isn't eating and is losing weight fast. What should i do please help. I know this is ver bad, but whe ni look at it it is broken at the middle of the jaw. It is a very clean cut. Do you think this type of thing can heal on its own. Please help i dont want to break it even more by trying to force feed it. I dont think i did it because he was bleeding and stoped eating before i started force feeding. Please help i dont want to lose this guy.
-----
Mike
1.1.3 maliensis (Spike, Marshmellow, Brown, Green, Orange)
1.3 geyri (Fire, Flame, Sunset, Princess)
0.1 Pit Bull/German Shephard/ Lab/ ect. mix (Kodak) - looks like an over grown toco bell dog.

Humm, you are having alot of trouble with your uros, i am sorry to hear that. But about the jaw although i personally have never experienced it with a uro, i would say if you can't get to a vet then you could POSSIBLY try to fix him yourself. To do this i would be really careful, i am no expert but you could try and make somethign from wire and somehow fix it to his jaw. I have seen animals with metal wires screwed into their heads, but a huge risk of infection. I also had a fractured jaw, but that healed on it's own. I really do not this you shoudl treat a broken jaw, or any bone for that amtter yourself, but if you much you could try th wire, or possibly just some duct tape for about 3 -6 weeks when it should have some healing and then you can take it off, until then you can syringe feed him in the corner of his mouth. Good luck! and sorry i am not really of help here.
-----
Lauren
1.1 Saharan Uromastyx (Rico-orange male, ????-yellow female)
1.1 Jungle Albino Leopard Gecko (????-male, ????-female)
Cozmo-Hannovarian/Trakehner Gelding
Chip-Dutch Warmblood Gelding
Ck-Hannovarian Gelding
Cruiser-Irish Sporthorse Gelding
Morgan-Labrador Retriever
Opal-Persian Cat
Dude-Jack Russel Terrier
Sky-Blue Male Betta
From: New Jersey

Im thinkign maybe Duct tape with a toothpick and keep it there for a month or so take it off and hope the healing ahs started and try to put and antibiotic on it if it starts looking funky, If hes loosing weight fast not sure with Uros btu with most other reptiles unless they have parasites they can go awhile befor they start loosing weight i dunno a lot about Uros though if someone backs me up with this id say give him .3ml of panacur maybe everyday for a week. Also look on whitepages.com or in your phone find the nearest reptile vet and call him hopefully he wont be a pole smoker and tell him your situation tell him driving there is not an option maybe take pics send it to him through email he can tell you what to do or send you supplies next day air and bill you for it. Im sure you could work somthign otu my vet has vistied my hosue 50 min's away from his practice there usauly real cool ppl.

Hope i helped
Sean
-----
1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

I agree with that totally. The panacur is about correct also. If you feel he has an infection or need antibiotics you can use flagyl which is also about.3 cc 2 times a day, also dilute these mixtures and that will get some fluids in there too. But if he is loosing weight fast, then you should try some veggie/fruit baby foods, put it in a TINY syringe maybe 1 cc and wiggle it in the very corner of his mouth. Good luck!
-----
Lauren
Leos and Uros
1.1 Saharan Uromastyx
1.1 Jungle Albino Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Jungle Tremper Albino

I am feeding him with a syringe with a mix of sweet potato and carrot baby food. The only problem is when i force feed him i have to open the jaw and it starts to bleed. I dont think it is that bad. The bone is broken but he can still close his mouth really well, and the bone has a clean cut so when he closes his mouth the bones go where they should be. I am using scope mouth wash to kill all the germs in his mouth, douglas dix told me this works well. I am going to try to force feed him on the side of his mouth, but if that doesn't work i think i actually might get a small tub and tape his mouth closed on it so i could inject food into the tub so he gets every drop of food without opening his mouth. Is this a good idea or a bad idea. I am still trying to figure out how i would do this safly.
-----
Mike
1.1.3 maliensis (Spike, Marshmellow, Brown, Green, Orange)
1.3 geyri (Fire, Flame, Sunset, Princess)
0.1 Pit Bull/German Shephard/ Lab/ ect. mix (Kodak) - looks like an over grown toco bell dog.

Your animal has a broken jaw. I dont see how anyone thinks they can treat this themselves. This is not a minor injury! The fact that a vet is far away shouldnt matter. When you got your animal you took responsibility for caring for it. Please do the right thing and get this poor critter to a vet!
-----
0.4 leopard geckos

I dont know how you could have done that, dont take it as if I am juging you becaue I'm not I dont know you but if you cant take care of an animal that means takeing it to a vet when needed and makeing sure that is has all the things it need to surive no matter what you dont need to have any pets. I'm sorry but I'm sure that you asked around you might find someone that would really want that animal even if that live far from the vet or a store or what ever there position might be. I really think that you need to find him a better home where he can get the care he needs. Hell I might take him if your not more than a state away from me. Just do the right thing and stay away from pets untill you can provide and if that means growing up than do so.

If i could curse on thsi forum this has me fuming, anyhow mike3 is form another country i belive correct me if iim wrong mike, atleats a days drive to the vet and you guys aer acting liek ehs friggan hitler. a days drive to the vet would put so much stress on an animal that is in this shape. Do you know how long a days drive is thats ridiculus, what i mentioned should be more then sufficient, (calling vet having him ship supplies) This sint neglect or anything this is just somthing that isnt going to happen. I love all of my animals i treat them better then myself, but going that far out of the way for a dog/cat vet who will have no idea what to do anyhow is insane. Ill cut short heer becaus i have to get back to work but, You guys both were out of line, ill end it at that.

Sean
-----
1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
3 Crested Geckos (red, neon orange, and neon orange dalmation) (Rocky is the oldest other two are Adrian and Mick)
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
1 Leo (Nikki)
2 Niger Uromastyx Spike and Mike

My Email

Im not saying that to me mean, I just dont think its realistic to treat a major injury as a broken jaw with string and duct tape. I sympathise with his circumstance but I thing another soultion is needed
-----
0.4 leopard geckos

Please don't take this the wrong way, BUT, when you are a pet owner, you must have access to a veterinarian, regardless of how long it takes you to get there. There are many simple problems a pet owner can encounter that are easily treatable by experienced keepers, a broken jaw is not one of them. I know you mean well, I am not criticizing you as you obviously care about your animals, but it is imperative that he be taken to a vet as soon as possible. IF the fracture possibly heals on its' own and heals improperly, the jaw could be permanently misaligned causing the animal to slowly starve to death if he can't eat properly on his own. You need to do what you feel comfortable doing, but considering that you have multiple animals, a veterinarian is crucial to their well being. Only you can decide what is right and the most humane. Wishing you the best of luck with him, keep us posted.

Pam

I am no vet or expert, but I have read all the posts thus far, and would like to add a few cents.

My friend had a gecko with a broken jaw as well. He took it to the vet, and well, the bone will not grow back together and all they could do was keep him until the skin around it healed and the bone no longer protruded.

My advice to you is that you keep his mouth still. Right now you can't feed him and have his jaw heel, plus you're only stressing the hell out of him in doing so. I would say... feed him as much as possible for a week, and then leave him be. If you have to, gauze/surgical tape his mouth shut so that he cannot move it. Cleaning it and changing it three times per day. (my friend had to do this) I strongly recommend not using any wire as because there are numerous chemicals associated with their mouths that could react with whatever metals placed near it.

I also, in defense for mike, try to keep my pets as closely associated with their natural habitats as possible. There's no vets in the deserts, as of yet anyway. Bringing pets to a vet, or even people to a doctor, at the drop of a dime to be medicated over many little things weakens their immune systems and over time causes their defense mechanisms to slow down. Although this case is rare, and a broken jaw is no minor issue, I still feel that mike3 does a very good job of taking care of his pets.

I hope i was as objective as possible, and maybe could help.

tara

GOOD LUCK!
-----