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mouth problem

Caryl
10-08-2008, 09:15 AM
Doree, my '07 butter, appears to have a mouth infection. Her labial scales (?) beneath her left nostril appear slightly swollen, and a bit reddened. Her left nostril is reddened as well. She hasn't had any change in environment lately, so I'm assuming that she must have injured her mouth somehow when she was fed last Thursday. She always eats f/t, and has never had a feeding issue.

Based on Kathy Love's book, I'm planning to treat for infectious stomatitis, AKA mouth rot. I have a few questions.
1. How do I get her to open her mouth and keep it open with a minimum amount of stress on her?
2. Do I feed her when she has this problem?

Thanks for your help.

RobbiesCornField
10-08-2008, 09:25 AM
There's no way to open their mouth without stressing 'em out. The way I know how is unfortunately by force. What you can do is take a toothpick with a rounded off end (no sharp points!). Hold your snake just behind the head (just like if you were force feeding). Now take the toothpick lengthwise and press it GENTLY up against your snakes mouth. As soon as they open slightly, be sure to press it in to the back (remember: the tooth pick is lengthwise, and should be a "bar" across the mouth). Take a peek inside.
When you go to remove it, DO NOT pull straight back out the way you came in. Pull it gently off to the side so that it slides out. This prevents the toothpick from catching on any teeth and ripping them out.
Hope that helped! As for the infection, I'm not sure whether to feed during it. I haven't had to deal with that *knock on wood*

Caryl
10-08-2008, 09:28 AM
Thanks for the reply, Robbie. This is my first corn snake illness. I know it's quite treatable, but I'm worried all the same.

RobbiesCornField
10-08-2008, 09:30 AM
Thanks for the reply, Robbie. This is my first corn snake illness. I know it's quite treatable, but I'm worried all the same.

Just keep in mind that before you start treatment of any kind, you'll want to get it checked out by a vet. They can show you the technique I talked about.

RobbiesCornField
10-08-2008, 09:31 AM
And Good luck!

Caryl
10-08-2008, 09:42 AM
The nearest herp vet I've found is about an hour and half away. At this point I'm going to try home treatment, since the trip/visit itself would likely be a big stresser for the snake. From the reading I've done - I know, not a substitute for experience - this is a stubborn problem, but one that does respond to consistent treatment. My plan was to try it on my own first, and haul her to the vet if she worsens, or if the condition doesn't improve soon. By soon, I was thinking two days. Should I see improvement by Friday? Is that a reasonable plan? I want to take good care of Doree.

RobbiesCornField
10-08-2008, 10:44 AM
The nearest herp vet I've found is about an hour and half away. At this point I'm going to try home treatment, since the trip/visit itself would likely be a big stresser for the snake. From the reading I've done - I know, not a substitute for experience - this is a stubborn problem, but one that does respond to consistent treatment. My plan was to try it on my own first, and haul her to the vet if she worsens, or if the condition doesn't improve soon. By soon, I was thinking two days. Should I see improvement by Friday? Is that a reasonable plan? I want to take good care of Doree.

Like I said, I don't have any experience with stomatitis. You can try doing a search for it on here and see what comes up.

Caryl
10-08-2008, 10:53 AM
Thanks again, Robbie. The questions in my last post weren't directed at you - they were for anyone. I haven't had any luck on searches about time frame for improvement.

Nanci
10-08-2008, 11:39 AM
Didn't Kokopelli have a snake with mouth rot? Try PMing him!

Caryl
10-08-2008, 12:04 PM
Thanks, Nanci. I will.

Caryl
10-08-2008, 10:22 PM
Update: Doree wasn't thrilled with her swabbing, but wasn't too agitated either. There's some redness and mild swelling, but no sign of "cottage cheese" type material. Maybe that means I caught it really early. Maybe it's only a labial scrape, and not mouth rot at all. Maybe I'm a paranoid-parent-type! In any case, I'll keep swabbing until all's well. Better safe than sorry, right?

Caryl
10-14-2008, 02:20 PM
Update (and admission of possible paranoia/nervous parent syndrome): Doree appears to be perfectly fine again. The redness and swelling have completely disappeared. She ate with no problem whatsoever. Thanks for the comments and good wishes, all.