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If you have experience enough to know whether this is a healthy looking mouth, please let me know. Also, if you see that this is not an optimal 'smile', please let me know what may be wrong or what it is that could be wrong.

I very much appreciate any info.

Thanks,
- Mark

Here's a photo I just took of my labyrinth burm's mouth:

It looks okay to me. Maybe a little bit of swelling in the upper teeth on her starbord side, but it doesn't look like anything serious or infectious. Has she struck any wire mesh lately? It looks like swelling that could be caused from striking wire. Probably nothing to worry about, but of course keep an eye on it.

Nice looking laby, by the way. Is this a male? (the head appears narrow, but could be from a scrunched up picture) How old is he/she and what are the size and weight?

>>If you have experience enough to know whether this is a healthy looking mouth, please let me know. Also, if you see that this is not an optimal 'smile', please let me know what may be wrong or what it is that could be wrong.
>>
>>I very much appreciate any info.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>- Mark
>>
>>Here's a photo I just took of my labyrinth burm's mouth:
>>
-----
"If I had 365 enemies it would only take a year out of my life to settle all scores." Mia Miselfani

I agree with Brian ...I am not a sailor so I am assuming "starboard" means the right side (right side of the picture that is). It does look a little swollen but nothing of major concern. As Brian mentioned, could be due to striking or chrnonic rubbing, getting bit by a live mouse/rat, etc. A little listerine applied with a cotton swab and dabbed on the affected area a couple of times a day for a week or so has worked well with me (for mild cases). If it gets worse, seek veterinary assistance right away.

Once again, thanks to both of you for your speedy replies.

You are both actually quite close to the cause in your opinions on my burm's mouth condition.

Here's what the case is exactly: over the course of the past month or so he (btw, he is a 'he') has been 'nose-rubbing' the glass of his Vision cage. He has been doing this so incessantly that he is hurting himself. So far his nose isn't raw, but, there are other problems that have come of this.

First off, his nose is getting kind of beat up looking. That is, it's rough and looks obviously like he has been rubbing. This beat up skin on his nose has led to a restriction of his nasal openings on account of the skin around the openings being crunched up. I believe that it is this restriction of his nostrils that is causing him to 'wheeze'; which sometimes almost sounds like a whistle whenever he takes a particularly big breath. This wheezing completely disappeared after his last shed; which peeled away the beat up skin and left fresh new skin that wasn't restricting his nostrils at all. Unfortunately his rubbing kept up and has since led once again to the beat up nose and wheezing.

The other issue that has arisen due to his rubbing gives me much more cause for concern. As I sat at my computer a few nights ago I heard him rubbing and went over to see if there was anything I could do. Upon inspection of the area he was rubbing I found, and was very surprised to find, one of his teeth! He actually knocked out one of his teeth by pressing so hard on the glass trying to get out. I felt so bad that I took him out (again) for a while. But I can't always be there to take him out - and as soon as I put him back he starts up again.

Lately (past couple of days) he has also started gently rubbing his nose and sides of his mouth everywhere. This recent rubbing is in a different manner - it's much gentler (not pushing very hard, just gliding almost). I'm guessing this has something to do with loosing one of his teeth.

This is his tooth that I found:

I grabbed the photo tonight while he was yawning to see if I could see how much damage he had in his mouth. I figured I could look at a photo for as long as I want instead of having to hold his mouth open for as long.

I don't think that I personally have enough experience to know a poor mouth condition when I see one. It is so unlike a human mouth that I wouldn't know where to start. I did notice the area where the tooth appears to have come out, but it doesn't seem to me to look as bad as I was expecting it might. But then again, what would I know.

Now I just want to know if he will be able to heal from this, or am I in for a long ride to recovery with this guy. AND, what can I do about this nose rubbing thing. It was suggested to me earlier that it may be because he's looking for a female to breed, and that seems likely to me. He doesn't seem to be rubbing mindlessly, and when he is out he seems like he's on a mission. So it makes sense to me that he is looking for something in particular - say, a female for example.

I know there is a lot in this post, and I apologize for it's lengthiness, but I just want to be sure I know as much as I can to help my burm out - after all, I am in effect his Dad, and the only one he has to rely on to take care of him.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your replies,
- Mark

P.S.
He is about three years old, nine feet ten inches, 30lbs, and friendlier even than my sister's golden retriever.

(it's hard to see in this photo that his nose is getting beat up, but then, this is from back when he first started this rubbing thing - so his nose isn't quite as bad in this photo as it has gotten).

>>I agree with Brian ...I am not a sailor so I am assuming "starboard" means the right side (right side of the picture that is). It does look a little swollen but nothing of major concern. As Brian mentioned, could be due to striking or chrnonic rubbing, getting bit by a live mouse/rat, etc. A little listerine applied with a cotton swab and dabbed on the affected area a couple of times a day for a week or so has worked well with me (for mild cases). If it gets worse, seek veterinary assistance right away.

More than welcome, as always. Try feeding him a very large meal every 5 to 7 days to cause him to have to lay still and digest. Just until he heals up.

(to Rob) "Starboard" is the right side of the object of interest ("port" is left). So in this case, as the snake is the object, it would be left side of the photo, right side of the snake's head. I tried to use this to make my point of reference easier to understand and I only complicated it more, lol. 'Less is more', they say.

>>Once again, thanks to both of you for your speedy replies.
>>
>>You are both actually quite close to the cause in your opinions on my burm's mouth condition.
>>
>>Here's what the case is exactly: over the course of the past month or so he (btw, he is a 'he') has been 'nose-rubbing' the glass of his Vision cage. He has been doing this so incessantly that he is hurting himself. So far his nose isn't raw, but, there are other problems that have come of this.
>>
>>First off, his nose is getting kind of beat up looking. That is, it's rough and looks obviously like he has been rubbing. This beat up skin on his nose has led to a restriction of his nasal openings on account of the skin around the openings being crunched up. I believe that it is this restriction of his nostrils that is causing him to 'wheeze'; which sometimes almost sounds like a whistle whenever he takes a particularly big breath. This wheezing completely disappeared after his last shed; which peeled away the beat up skin and left fresh new skin that wasn't restricting his nostrils at all. Unfortunately his rubbing kept up and has since led once again to the beat up nose and wheezing.
>>
>>The other issue that has arisen due to his rubbing gives me much more cause for concern. As I sat at my computer a few nights ago I heard him rubbing and went over to see if there was anything I could do. Upon inspection of the area he was rubbing I found, and was very surprised to find, one of his teeth! He actually knocked out one of his teeth by pressing so hard on the glass trying to get out. I felt so bad that I took him out (again) for a while. But I can't always be there to take him out - and as soon as I put him back he starts up again.
>>
>>Lately (past couple of days) he has also started gently rubbing his nose and sides of his mouth everywhere. This recent rubbing is in a different manner - it's much gentler (not pushing very hard, just gliding almost). I'm guessing this has something to do with loosing one of his teeth.
>>
>>This is his tooth that I found:
>>
>>
>>I grabbed the photo tonight while he was yawning to see if I could see how much damage he had in his mouth. I figured I could look at a photo for as long as I want instead of having to hold his mouth open for as long.
>>
>>I don't think that I personally have enough experience to know a poor mouth condition when I see one. It is so unlike a human mouth that I wouldn't know where to start. I did notice the area where the tooth appears to have come out, but it doesn't seem to me to look as bad as I was expecting it might. But then again, what would I know.
>>
>>Now I just want to know if he will be able to heal from this, or am I in for a long ride to recovery with this guy. AND, what can I do about this nose rubbing thing. It was suggested to me earlier that it may be because he's looking for a female to breed, and that seems likely to me. He doesn't seem to be rubbing mindlessly, and when he is out he seems like he's on a mission. So it makes sense to me that he is looking for something in particular - say, a female for example.
>>
>>I know there is a lot in this post, and I apologize for it's lengthiness, but I just want to be sure I know as much as I can to help my burm out - after all, I am in effect his Dad, and the only one he has to rely on to take care of him.
>>
>>Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your replies,
>>- Mark
>>
>>P.S.
>>He is about three years old, nine feet ten inches, 30lbs, and friendlier even than my sister's golden retriever.
>>
>>it's hard to see in this photo that his nose is getting beat up, but then, this is from back when he first started this rubbing thing - so his nose isn't quite as bad in this photo as it has gotten).
>>
>>
>>>>I agree with Brian ...I am not a sailor so I am assuming "starboard" means the right side (right side of the picture that is). It does look a little swollen but nothing of major concern. As Brian mentioned, could be due to striking or chrnonic rubbing, getting bit by a live mouse/rat, etc. A little listerine applied with a cotton swab and dabbed on the affected area a couple of times a day for a week or so has worked well with me (for mild cases). If it gets worse, seek veterinary assistance right away.
>>
>>
-----
"If I had 365 enemies it would only take a year out of my life to settle all scores." Mia Miselfani

Brian,

You're absolutely right about the big meals 'slowing' him down for a few. It does help, but then, I don't every one of his meals to be Thanksgiving Dinner for him.

I'll be giving him very good sized dinners for his next few meals, just as you suggest. But I hope he gets back to his normal self soon (it's all I need now to have to put him on a diet if he winds up getting 'fat'!).

Thanks,
- Mark

(I'll be posting again as his condition/behavior improves/changes).

>>More than welcome, as always. Try feeding him a very large meal every 5 to 7 days to cause him to have to lay still and digest. Just until he heals up.
>>
>>to Rob) "Starboard" is the right side of the object of interest ("port" is left). So in this case, as the snake is the object, it would be left side of the photo, right side of the snake's head. I tried to use this to make my point of reference easier to understand and I only complicated it more, lol. 'Less is more', they say.

Hello Mark –

Bear in mind that I am not a medical professional. Why don’t you post this on the Herp Health Forum, also. Maybe there’s someone with medical experience there who could help.

Okay. So my answer to your question would be, no, this is not a “healthy looking mouth”, at least it is not normal, but it doesn’t look terrible to me either. About whether he has an “optimal smile”, if you mean does the gape look right, I would say that looks fine. You were really luck to get such a nice photo (I’m hoping he isn’t yawning constantly, right?).

Here’s what I’m seeing (with right and left being the snake’s right and left sides): Overall, the oral mucosa look somewhat inflamed; a normal color should be a very pale pink, almost white in places. The lower jaws look pretty good; the upper jaws look the worst. There is some sort of damage to the tissue on the right maxilla (the outside jaw bone). The area around the right palatine teeth (the inside row towards the front of the mouth) looks swollen. The premaxillary teeth seem to be missing (they would be right at the top of the photograph between the left and right maxilla), but for all I know that might be normal. What I mean is, they are very small and maybe they are easily dislodged, but there seems to be a groove where the labial scale right at the front of the mouth is abraded or missing due to nose rubbing.

The left maxillary area looks swollen. Do you know what the tissue on the outside surface of the left maxilla looks like? I can’t tell if I’m just seeing things or maybe it’s the result of incandescent lighting in the background – but it looks like there may be some abrasion or hemorrhage there, too. Also, if you look halfway down the left maxilla, it looks to me like there is at least one fluid-filled bleb (and maybe some smaller ones). That definitely shouldn’t be there. But, again, it is hard to see from the photograph. You should be able to take a q-tip and lift the labial skin on that side to take a look. Has your snake been pushing against the cage front more with the left side of its mouth?

But after all that, what to do? I don’t believe a reptile vet would suggest injectable antibiotics at this stage. It doesn’t look that serious yet, but there is trauma there. I would think that Listerine mouthwash would sting like crazy! But Rob does say he has had success with it. I’ve heard of applying topical antibiotics like Silvadene cream. But unless you have help restraining him, you’ll have a difficult time doing much more than running the cotton swab around the perimeter of his mouth. Doing anything inside a snake’s mouth is difficult unless the snake is really small and easily overpowered. And you risk causing further damage trying to pry open its mouth. If you don’t have a speculum, try a rubber kitchen spatula or perhaps a smooth metal snake probe.

It can be an endless circle. He wants to get out of the cage (perhaps to breed?) or he has the beginning of a respiratory problem, so he probes and pushes with his head, he causes some damage to his mouth, maybe his nostrils get clogged up, he can’t breath as well, his mouth probably hurts, so he rubs some more.

Make sure you keep your temperatures up. Obviously you want him to stop cruising and rubbing, so if he will feed for you at this time of year, that would be a good idea, too.

Good luck,
Joan