Think snake has Mouth Rot

[dumkeeper5077]

I suspect that my boa has got mouth rot although its difficult to be sure. She had been fasting for a few months and then ate a large rat only a month ago. Then a few weeks ago I noticed she couldn't close her mouth fully at the snout. She seems to be breathing ok though and doesnt need to open her mouth to breathe. I have also noticed a bit of scale rot on scales just next to her spine.
Is it possible she could have a very early case of mouth rot as she only fed a month ago and I have read that snakes wont feed if they have mouth rot? I am really worried about her now as she is underweight from her fasting and looks miserable with her unable to close her mouth. I have upped the temps to 88 Fahrenheit and hope I can stem the rot if that is what it is until I can get her to the Vet. Is there anything else I can do before taking her to the Vet?

[Milky2005]

The only thing you can do it moniter it and see if it is getting worse.

What sort of substrate do you use? Is it possible a bit has become stuck in the snakes mouth?

Where abouts in England are you? Because I mitght be able to recommend a few decent vets who specialise in reptiles.

[dumkeeper5077]

I use newspaper. The only possibility I can think of is that its mouth has been cut in some way from eating the rat. It's not from snout rub as I have never seen the boa act this way and I suspect it must have been due to an internal cut in the mouth. It is very early stages if so because she fed only a month ago and is breathing without difficulty.
As for vets I am based in the Westcountry and used to use Ian Calvert at Zetland in Bristol before he moved away. It is very difficult to find reptile vets around here.

[dumkeeper5077]

Here's an example:

[dumkeeper5077]

Another...

[Nexus]

If you can get the snake to open its mouth without causing any damage, you may be able to see if their is a sore area, and the tell tale lesions and dead tissue encrustation, it will also usually be excreting a greyish cheesy fluid as well. This area will need flushing with something like hydrogen peroxide and medication to cure the problem. If this is the case then a trip to the vet is highly recommended.

What snake are we actually talking about a dumeril or an RTB, as the tempreratures should be around 88 on the warm side normally if your talking about an RTB. Also how humid is the enclosure as too damp a condition can cause scale rot, although I have usually seen it on the belly scales under these circumstances and not on the spine, are you sure its not an abrasion from rubbing against something in the enclosure.

Cheers
Nick

[Nexus]

Okay you posted the pictures whilst I was replying so it's a Dumeril, is that fluid coming out of the mouth in the first photo, if it is you definetly need to get the snake to a vet. Also what where your temperatures before as Dumerils should be in the mid 80's at the warm end.

Cheers
Nick

[dumkeeper5077]

The scale rot is on the top layer not the ventral scales so it could well be just an abrasion. There is no mucus or fluid coming from the mouth I was just spraying her as shes come into shed. Temps are usually at 84 as dums prefer cooler to RTBs. I may try and open her mouth later although I dont want to cause further damage which might accelerate the condition. Does anyone know any good reptile vets in the South West/West country?

[Nexus]

Sorry I don't know any specific vets, but here's a link might be worth a try;

http://www.reptilekeeper.co.uk/repvets.php

My one hognose occasionally gets almost a puffy lip when she is in shed, don't know if its similar, but if in doubt a trip to the vet would definitely be a good precaution.

Cheers
Nick

[Nexus]

Theirs some more vets on this link as well, don't know if they are any help

http://www.livefood.co.uk/vets.htm

Cheers
Nick

[JuliusSqueezer]

Looks like an abcessed tooth to me. Opening his mouth won't hurt anything. Mouth maintenance is part of owning snakes. You have to do it and yes...even with the venomous. Lucky for you, that's not an issue Swab it out with some antiseptic like hydrogen peroxide diluted 50/50 with water, betadine heavily diluted with water till it's the color of weak tea, listerine diluted 50/50 with water, nolvasan diluted to whatever the concentrated source you have recomends and then a little more to be safe...any of these things should clear it up pretty quickly. Make sure there isn't any foreign matter in the mouth, between the teeth or between the gum and lip. Gently scrape out anything that shouldn't be there including the cheezy matter that sometimes forms around an abcess. BE very careful not to get anything down in the glottis (tube looking thing they breath through behind the tongue)

[dumkeeper5077]

Thanks for the advice. I think its going to be difficult finding a Vet around here that knows what hes talking about so using the internet to gather info is the best way. What about using Tamodine from Vetark? I can get hold of it easily enough and it claims to cure both mouth bacteria and scale rot. It might be difficult to get hold of Betadine and Hydrogen Peroxide without finding a Vet.

[VoodooChile]

You should be able to get hydrogen peroxide anywhere that sells bandaids or triple antibiotic ointment over the counter..

Usually that is at the local Walgreens/walmart or any other pharmacy or retailer..I dont know what you have over seas..Peroxide is over the counter and commonly used to clean out cuts, and abrasions