Mouth Rot "Ulcerative stomitus"

Most Commonly found in snakes. Usually starts with a swelling of the soft tissue of the mouth, and if not treated will spread to the bone, affecting the jaw, gums and teeth.

Causes:

Poor husbandry, (poorly or uncleaned tanks).
Injuries, Cuts caused by mouth rubbing.
Stress.

Symptoms:

Swelling of the gums
A grey cheesy substance in the mouth.
Mouth open for long periods of time.
Always isolate the infected animal, always wash hands to prevent spreading infection to other animals. To Treat mild cases You can buy medicine from your reptile store and apply it regularly with a Q-tip.
In server cases consult your vet.

This poor snake was brought to me as it was dumped at a pet shop in a bag. The smell from this poor snake was so bad, you had to fight not to vomit. It was obviously at deaths door. I instantly took it to our vets who confirmed what I thought... there was nothing we could do for this snake but to euthanise it. It died from Mouth Rot "Ulcerative stomitus". If the owner had taken it to the vets long before his life could of been saved! I only had the snake in my possession no more than 30 minutes... i can away from the veyts heart broken.

Oh my god Denise, the poor thing

It's such a waste

I know it's so upsetting :cry:

How long do you think it was suffering with mouth rot?

Not sure the vet just said some considerable time

I know you shouldn't judge when you don't know the full story but it still makes me angry!

Likewise.

poor thing...some people

Not just snakes....

Check this poor gal out:





Try cleaning a crocodiles mouth for a few days!

We got some antibiotics to inject her with and a hexa-something-or-other topical ointment to put in her mouth and did our thing for a few days.

This is what she looks like today:


A couple of scars and a couple of snaggly teeth, but she's a mean healthy croc.

Awe it's heart breaking isn't Bam seeing them like that. Well done for getting her well again.

I'm sure you'll do the same. And it is. I can only imagine how much pain she was in with her mouth looking like that. How long she couldn't eat for. She wouldn't close her mouth all the way. There was dead skin hanging off her face. Oh, my!

Well she certainly looks a happy girl now!