Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a female copperhead that i think may be sick. She keeps the front of her mouth open about 2/8 of in inch. It looks like she cant close it. I noticed this about 3 days ago. The male is fine. I quarentined the female just incase. I am not sure of any hot reptile vets in the New York area. Any suggestions about what this might be?

Thanks,
Kris

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DON'T TREAD ON ME

If this were my snake, she'd be tubed for a good look inside her mouth. Avian speculums are probably the best tool for snake-mouth-peeking, but if you don't have one try two (CLEAN) sexing probes or one smooth metal probe tilted at an angle. Do not insert anything inside a snake's mouth that is not smooth and clean, as their oral tissues are extremely fragile and sensitive.

There could be an impaction, injury or infection inside the mouth (I see substrate so this is a possibility) or a respiratory problem. If you see no visible abnormalities in the mouth, then the latter is more of an possibility than the former. The respiratory problem could be bacterial, fungal, parasitic or even viral.

Even if you cannot find a vet who will see this animal, you may find one that will take a C&S test swab and/or fecal sample if you take the sample and don't bring the snake to the office. Ceftazidime (Fortaz) is pretty much the broad spectrum antibiotic of choice for venomous snakes, as it has a long dosing interval and can be given intramuscularly without irritation or nephrotoxicity.

I agree with Tanith, get this snake checked out and at the very least, do a tracheal swab. We had a similar problem with our 25 year old southern copperhead (lots of mouth gaping, etc despite a good appetite). After a tracheal swab, we discovered a bacterial RI and treated it with Fortaz which worked wonderfully well. I would recommend going with newspaper for the time being until you figure out what is wrong (if anything). Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator of the Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm, Lake Forest, IL