Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey whats the first sign to mouth rot?? and what causes it...

one of my guys has a weird looking mouth... i have been watching it for about 4 days now and it doesent look any different, but i thought i would ask the question anyway...

it might just be the way his mouth is, but i have so many snakes that i havent really had the time to look them all over yet...

shiloh

Mouthrot is caused by a bacterial infection that usually comes from poor hygiene or passed from other snakes. One reason for separating new snakes from a healthy collection. Did you get a new snake that could have passed it on?

It is treated with a systemic antibiotic. I have used a broadspectrum antibiotic with excellent results. Good idea to rinse the mouth out with hydrogen peroxide also. Hydrogen peroxide alone is of no value but helps flush some of the bacteria away.

It starts as a swelling of the gum, usually looks white as compared to the healthy pink. As the infection continues, it turns to dark brown or black as the tissue dies, and teeth start to fall out.

he appears to be in good health... he is eating just fine... i have all my snakes in seperate enclosures...

i will try to take a pic of it tonight and let you see it...

it does not appear to be swollen or white... its kinda hard to explain...
maybe its just the way is mouth is... but it appears to be a little brown just under his nose inside of his mouth...

i have compaired it to most of my other snakes and it just looks a little different...

i'll try to get a good pic.

shiloh

If its brown and cheesey looking take it to the vet.
Don't wait around.
Tim

can a GTP or any snake for that matter get chappe lips??? because i opened my snakes mouth (lots of fun) and looked for any possable problems and saw nothing so i took a wet q-tip and wiped around his mouth where it was brown and it came off like dead skin... i checked his last shead ans all of the skin around his mouth came off, so i am a bit confused??? could this be the first stages of mouth rot or an i just out to lunch...

after i removed the brown whatever it looked ok... it was not quite the same color as the rest of his lip but it did not look bad...
i was also thinking it might be where he had been rubbing his cage... i have really noticed any of the snakes doing this but i'm not watching him all the time...
i have looked over the rest of my snakes and they all seem to be doing fine...
so i am open to any ideas or input

also i have a friend that has a snake with an RI and he was wondering if it was contageous... i have never had the problem and really dont know much about it... i have told him to raise the temp a bit and to get some antibiotics from the vet and he has dont that, but he has 2 snakes in the same tank... so i would be open for ideas on that too..
thanks

shiloh