jaw problem?

reptilemama · #1 (**permalink**) 09-24-2002, 04:59 PM

Yesterday, when I got everybody out to feed them, my adult male boa's lower jaw was misaligned, and he didn't want to eat. He looked like he might be going to shed, so I figured maybe he'd been rubbing against things in his cage and that's why his jaw was messed up. I hadn't seen him in blue, but I've been so busy this week I have just been checking water bowls and cleaning any messes, so I may have just not noticed. Anyway, I left him alone, and checked on him again before bed. His jaw was still crooked, and now he was wheezing a little. So I separated him from the female he was with, and figured I'd call the vet today. This morning he was back to normal, no wheezing no crooked jaw. So, I figured maybe the crooked jaw had put his trachea in a weird position and caused the wheezing. I checked him out, and he was active and seemed fine. So, back in with the girl he goes. About half an hour later, his jaw is crooked again. Do I call the vet? Could he have somehow injured his jaw, making the ligaments "loose"? Or do I wait and see? The inside of his mouth looks fine. Any ideas? This is what the poor guy looks like.

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eddie · #2 (**permalink**) 09-24-2002, 05:08 PM

Maybe he said she was fat and she popped him one?!?

Hehe, that is odd as heck, but it could be something as simple as the female lying on him the wrong way.
Seperate them again and see if it goes back to normal again.
Also, if the female is of any size at all, she can literally crush the male by just sitting on him.
Prolly be for the best to keep them apart unless ya want to breed them and then together long enough to do that, then seperate again.

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faze · #3 (**permalink**) 09-24-2002, 05:36 PM

i agree with eddie on this one seperate them and see what happens is the weezing back also?
...maybe he's got a mouth full of copenhagen lol j/k
but on the same note are you using any sort of loose substrate in with him? i had a customer bring in there bci to me and he had gotten a mouthful of his somehow...
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reptilemama · #4 (**permalink**) 09-24-2002, 06:00 PM

They've got newspaper for substrate, but they do have a humid hide with damp bed-a-beast in it. I can't find anything in his mouth, except last night when I checked on him he had a bit of bed-a-beast in there, but I washed it out. I moved him out again, and I guess I'll see what happens. He's making noise again, not quite a wheeze, more like a sigh. But this morning when his jaw was straight, I had him out for a while looking at him, and didn't hear a thing. He's supposed to be breeding this girl, but they haven't been doing much, so I was going to move him out anyway. I guess I'll wait and see if it goes back again. How long do you think I should wait? A few hours, or til tomorrow? It looks uncomfortable, I hate to make him wait if it hurts, but then again I hate to make the trip down to Indy to see the vet for nothing.
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eddie · #5 (**permalink**) 09-24-2002, 06:22 PM

Ok, Just seperate like ya plan and see if it goes back in place.
As you know, snakes jaws do seperate for feeding and sometimes when they yawn, they do misalign them but usually not too uncomfortable.
But if it goes back in place and doesn't have any problems after seperation, then I would say it was due to being in the females cage.
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faze · #6 (**permalink**) 09-24-2002, 07:17 PM

hey reptilemamma could it be he's hitting the headboard?
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LdyDrgn · #7 (**permalink**) 09-25-2002, 05:03 AM

Our big female here gets like that from time to time. She had massive mouth rot when we got her...and now after her eyes clear up before she sheds her jaw hangs loose like that once in a while. After shedding, she is back to normal. She wheezes, too, but I believe it's skin building up in her nostrils before a shed....she was attacked by a rat (also before we got her) and one of her nostrils was bitten. It healed up a little smaller than it should be [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img]
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