Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,
I recently had 9 Westerns examined by a vet. 7 of the 9 bled freely from the mouth when the vet used a smooth speculum to open their mouths (yes, he was gentle) - any thoughts? Thanks!

The only thing I can think of is stomatitis (mouth rot)...

If it is mouth rot, it sounds like a it could be pretty advanced. If their mouth's are nasty and bleeding you are probably past the point of being able to treat it with Nolvasan or Listerine. At this point it sounds like you will need to think about getting them on some antibiotics. Mouth rot can be a nasty problem, and if left untreated it will cause systemic infections which can lead to death.

All that being said... we don't even know if you're dealing with mouth rot. Find a reptile vet, they should be able to make a diagnosis and help you get your hogs well again.
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-Ross Payan - www.LeosAnonymous.com

Leos Anonymous

Ball Pythons, Red Striped Leos, W.Hognose and Screaming AFT's

I have opened the mouths of a lot of snakes, and the only ones to give me problems are hognoses. I had a western that needed repeated deworming and force feeding. His mouth bled, like you said, "freely". LA has mouthrot right, but there were no other symptoms in this hog. You failed to mention why they were examined. If it was routine, I wouldn't worry about it. If there are other problems you should consider a culture to determine if stomatitis is the culprit.

>>Hi all,
>>I recently had 9 Westerns examined by a vet. 7 of the 9 bled freely from the mouth when the vet used a smooth speculum to open their mouths (yes, he was gentle) - any thoughts? Thanks!
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes

Thanks. Yes, these were routine mouth examinations of snakes that have shown no symptoms, have absolutely no signs of mouth infection, and are feeding.

Thanks for the info, I had no idea hogs were bleeders.

Luckily I have not had to force feed any of my hogs or had to administer meds PO to them as of yet... I treat all incoming animals, but so far I have been fortunate with the hogs in that they are all eating. It's so much easier to inject the panacur/flagyl SQ into the mouse, I have always hated giving snakes meds PO... and injections are even worse! =)

Thanks again for the info.
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-Ross Payan - www.LeosAnonymous.com

Leos Anonymous

Ball Pythons, Red Striped Leos, W.Hognose and Screaming AFT's

Please correct me if I am wrong but I have always believed that like some snakes, they can produce blood from the mouth and cloaca. Actually, I have even had hog's produce blood from the mouth in order to deter predators and have had water snakes do the same. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

np
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James

...that I totally missed. That should help explain it.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes

I had one of my hogs in for mouth exam. The vet took cultures and found no signs of infection or open wounds. He gave me an antibiotic to swave in his mouth just as a pre-caution. When doing this noticed blood comming out of the mouth as you described. Just as others mentioned.. in the wild when they play dead, are known to have secrete blood from the mouth as a display.