Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

Well I still have my gators that hatched June last year (almost a year old now). I kept 2 of them and so far haven't noticed any problems. I was looking at them earlier today, when I noticed something odd about one of them however. His mouth always appears to be partly open! He never seems to have his mouth shut all the way, as if something is in it. He's been like this for quite a while now, but I can't really say exactly how long. I've posted a few pictures of him here. I also posted a picture of my other lizard as a comparison. Notice how one of them has his mouth shut like it should be, while the other has his mouth open.

Anyone have any ideas as to why he would have his mouth partly open?

If possible get him to open his mouth and see if you can see any signs of infection. The only other thing I can think of is very early stage MBD. Are you using a phospherus free calcium supplement containing vitamin D3? If you already are, and can't find any signs of infection you might want to get a good UV light and see if that helps. Most UV lights have a six month lifespan so if you have an old one it may need to be replaced. I've raised als without UV, but it's kind of like walking a tight rope in terms of avoiding MBD. I now use UV for piece of mind and I think that it does make for more more robust als.
-Alice

I use a phosphorus free calcium dust (with vitamin D3) on all the crickets I feed to my lizards. Moreover, I do have UV lighting. I have a hood on the cage that uses a very old light (I have it only to make the cage brighter), but I also have a UV coil that points towards their basking spot that always has a newer bulb. Both my lizards seem to be acting healthy. They are both eating fine, basking under the heat, exploring the cage, etc.

I've always tried avoiding the handling of my lizards, so I'm not sure how I can get his mouth open. The most I’ve ever done in the way of handling was getting ticks off wild caught lizards. If I get his mouth open, what should I look for?

If he's not used to being handled tapping on the nose while holding him firmly will usually get an al to open his mouth, If you get his mouth open look along the jaw line for any swelline, signs of infection, foreign objects etc. I once found a wild al who exhibitted some swelling that led to a gap in the lips but in that case it didn't go the length of the mouth. The swelling was due to a thorn stuck in the lower jaw. I removed the torn and held onto the al until it recovered (it was fairly emaciated at the time of capture). If everything looks normal and he's eating fine, it may just be some sort of congenital defect.
-Alice

Ok, well I got my lizard to open its mouth plenty, but I'm not sure what a swollen or infected mouth looks like. Instead, I have just decided to snap some pictures for you to look at haha. I see a dark spot in the picture, but I'm not sure if they normally have that spot or not. I'm pretty sure I've seen a dark spot there normally...

The dark spot at the bottom front is the tip of his tongue. With a bad infection, I would expect to see some obviously redder looking inflamed areas or areas with crusty / cheesy deposits. In your pics, he looks fine. If he's eating normally and doesn't have any problem catching / crunching the insects it may not be anything to worry about. If he'll let you, it might be a good idead to check the inside of his mouth on a weekly basis for a while to see if you can detect any changes that might indicate that something serious is actually going on.

-Alice

Ok, now I'm not so sure my lizard is healthy. It started out as just his mouth cracked open slightly, but now I don't think he is eating. He is very very dark, so I'm wondering if any of this has to do with shedding. Is it possible he is having trouble shedding? He just kind of stares at the crickets now and loses interest. My other lizard shed over a month ago, and they usually shed around the same time. This time the one with the mouth open hasn't shed yet. I'm starting to get a little worried about him...

Getting really dark just before a shed is typical, the not eating isn't. You're husbandry sounds fine, so I'm out of guesses. You could try offering some different food items like mealworms or waxworms or insects and spiders from your yard to see if that peaks his interest. If he does try to eat, watch him carefully to see if he has a strong bite.

-Alice

Phew, well I'm relieved now. My lizard shed yesterday, and now his mouth is back to normal. He has also been eating and acting perky again, so I think he is just fine. He must have just had trouble shedding. Thanks for all the help anyway Alice.