Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This morning i noticed my boa had a swollen throat just behind the mouth. i tried to look inside the mouth but i couldn't open it but i could see some blood in the teeth area. any ideas on whatt could be wrong?
i also noticed that her tongue was slow to react and the fork was "together" although after some time i looked normal again. but when i checked again some time later the thing happened.
could it be mouth rot, R.I. please help..

thanks

Now another problem is, there are no vets that are familiar with snakes where i'm from.

It sounds like she broke a tooth or got bitten by a rodent in the mouth...either could become infected. Rinse her mouth out with diluted Listerine a couple of times a day.

Good luck, Chris Olson
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com

what's the ratio for the listerine ? Thanks

I'm not really sure, but 1/2 and 1/2 should be fine. It will piss off your snake, but won't harm it...

Chris Olson
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com

any idea how often to apply and how long the treatment would take?

Before going to drastic measures and using a strong mouth wash with water, consider the diagnosis.#1 did the animal bet bitten by the rodent? did you just feed the snake? If no then that is not the problem. Did you just give it something to drink for the first time in a while? sometimes they may over drink after being a bit dehydrated and will get like a swollen throat or drooling. Also the bloody gums could be an infection known as mouth rot, Is the animal kept in a CLEAN and STERALIZED cage? If not its own urin and fecal matter could couse the infection also do you leave the dirty water in the cage for it to drink or lay in fecal water?
An easier and less stressful thing to do for your snake is if it is mouth rot use 50-50 water and hydrogen peroxide then flush the mouth out with running warm(not hot) water.
#2 you may have a snake with a resperatory infection caused by too low of temperature, If you don't have a heat source for the snake to keep warm and you have your household a/c on you can give your snake a cold, Hold the snakes head close to your ears and lightly pump the snakes mid section or where the lungs are and while pumping listen for the sound coming from the snakes mouth, if it is clear it will sound like a normal hiss if you have a resperatory infection you will hear fluid like sounds. If that is the case then you may want to give the snake a warm spot in the cage, and try and keep it dry.
#3 if you have poor ventilation in your cage and too much humidity you can get the same thing as a resperatory infection just not as bad. If trying some of these ideas and you still do not get releif for your snakes problem, then I would suggest taking it to the vet you may have to give it shots, for the resperatory infection called amicasin(sp?).
Hope your snake gets better,
Nick

I also noticed that after drinking alot of times a snakes throat will "Swell" I have freaked out many times about this only to pick the snake up and get Slobber all over me. Also It seems like a 50/50 cut would be abit to strong (No Offense) but I am barly able to hold that crap in my mouth I bet your snake would Hate your Guts from that moment on if you put that stuff in his mouth. Hell, I know if you held me down and dumped list. in my mouth I would Bite you...LOL...
I would use a more deluted mix of about 25%list per 75%sterile water. Or use some other Non Alcohol mouthwash. Peroxide is something else you may look into. but, if this happend all of a sudden then I doubt it is serious. Mouth Rot is something that is unmissable but if you have found it this early you should be able to clear it up fairly easy.
Good Luck
Justin

I respect both of your opinions, but I think if you try the 50/50 yourself you'll find it's very tolerable. I agree that the advice of a vet is more appropriate....but since he asked...

Mouth rot looks like hardened cheese...the blood makes me think there is an injury of some kind...otherwise I would agree with the water senario...a broken tooth can become an abscess in a hurry. The snake may not enjoy the mouthwash, but there is little relevance in that. The listerine won't inflict injury, but may very will help any infection present in the mouth. The hydrogen peroxide is good advice as well...another choice would be diluted Virosan from Proexotics.

Take care, Chris Olson
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com

Well mouth rot has to start somehow and the cheesy stuff is well after the first infection of it, but sometimes the bloody gums could be from loose teeth or the start of an infection. I have always used the 50-50 hydrogen peroxide and it works quit well and helps in the healing process as well.
Whats the update on the snake anyway?

well i found a vet that has some experience in herps i'll be taking her tommorow or day after. she's a bit better than before but still has some swelling. she even ate(not sure if it's a good idea to feed her though). she's a bit more active now . will kep you all posted on the developement. she was a "keep back" from a 3 years ago.