Is it mouth rot ?

[gazzacon]

I have been using mazy (corn cob mulch) as a substrate for all four of my boas for the last year and have had no problems. However, one 6ft female recently had 2 pieces trapped in her gums after having eaten a large rat. I did not spot them until the next day and managed to remove both pieces. She has since developed massive sores on her gums. I have treated these with tamodine which seems to take down the swelling but within 24hrs they're back. Is a vet now my only option? And is it mouth rot?




[addsig]

[JuliusSqueezer]

corn cob mulch is a horrible choice for bedding.....the required humidity for any boa will cause mildew to grow. Sometimes there is mildew and mildew spores you can't even really see but it isn't good for them to be breathing that. Second...Never ever ever feed a boa on loose substrate for the very reason you just stated. Now then....mouthrot is a bacterial infection...not viral so it cleans up and out fairly easy.....remove all substrate and use newspaper for awhile till she's better....you can use several products to treat it..A swab of antiseptic like diluted half and half with water-listerine or other mouthwash works fine. a drop or two (no more) of betadine in a cup of water (should stain the water to look like very weak tea)...I don't know what tamodine is so I have no advice for it's use.....novasolan (sp?) works too from what I hear but I have never used it...I have great luck with diluted listerine so I stick with it. What ever you use just make sure and swab once or twice a day....and don't get any down the glottis...open her mouth and make sure she doesn't have any cheesey build up...if so...scrape it out and swab the area. Good Luck and PLEASE get those boas off that corn cob stuff!!!
[addsig]