Kokopelli
Resident Boa Fanatic
Infectious Stomatitis- Mouth Rot.
Like most medical terms, this too is compromised of Latin words:
Stoma- Oral cavity
Itis- A Latin addition that indicates inflammation.
Known causes for Mouth Rot:
This condition can be induced by many factors: Pathogens, Viruses, Fungi, Cancerous growths and physical trauma all can lead to the development of Mouth Rot. There's no way to vaccinate against so many factors and as with most ailments in snakes, we rely on their immune system.
However, when the immune system is weakened or compromised, the body is defenseless and is left exposed to disease.
What can cause a weakening in the immune system:
1- Bad nutrition, mostly lack of Vitamin C, Calcium and Phosphorous.
2- Parasites
3- Physical trauma- injury
4- Poor husbandry management- humidity and temperature being maintained at improper levels.
Clinical Symptoms:
The symptoms can vary in number and form:
Anorexia, drool-like discharge from the oral cavity, a visible difficulty in closing the mouth(the reptile hangs around with an open mouth), inflammation- swelling and reddening of the tissue, Tongue flicking reduction or ceases altogether, Necrosis- dying cells/tissue will change colors to purple-black shades. The frame of the mouth can wear down and receive a yellowish-white cheesy appearance. The general appearance reminds that of rotting- hence the name "Mouth Rot".
Prognosis
if the condition persists)
In severe and advance cases a swelling of the head can occur, the infection can spread to the skull, the teeth may become unstable and fall off, if the source of the infection is bacterial- the infection can travel through the sinuses to the eyes- in which case if it's not immediately treated they will be irrecoverably damaged and have to be removed.
In extreme cases the Bacteria can spread into the blood stream.
The end result, being death, if not treated at all.
Diagnosis- mostly relies on physical symptoms. Blood culture, drool sample and Biopsy can provide critical insight as to the cause of the infection: Viral,Bacteria et cetera...
Treatment: As this condition can be the cause of any number of factors, identifying the cause for said condition is critical. Diagnosing and testing for this cannot always be performed at our homes because if say, the cause for said infection is bacterial- we need Antibiotics, and only vets can determine the dosage and type of antibiotics most suited for said bacteria. Especially if said Vet is familiar with the animal and her medical record.
The first step though, even before rushing of to the vet is to re-examine the conditions in which the snake was in. Are the temperatures set correctly, is it too humid. It is best to keep the snake in the higher spectrum of temperatures. Meaning that the whole tank be heated to the degrees that usually are set at the hot side- this serves to stimulate the snake's immune system to full functionality. Needless to say that caution must be taken and the temperatures must be maintained properly- if the whole tank gets overheated you will be doing a deal more damage than good.
In severe cases, a medicinal regiment will be called for, or even surgeries if dead tissue needs to be removed.
Preventative medicine:
Correct husbandry is essential, Reptiles are deeply coded with strong survival instincts- they will show no sign of weakness else they may seem like potential prey. In the wild this is an advantage, but in captivity that mostly means that if we are not very perceptive and aware, we will notice said symptoms only when the reptile truly exhibits them- and this occurs only when the reptile is already too weak to hide it. When a reptile exhibits true distress signals, in many cases it's already too late. Mouth Rot however can easily be prevented by providing the right husbandry conditions.
That was a very general explanation of Mouth Rot, now I will focus on the case I had with one of my snakes- a Green Tree Python no less, Morelia Viridis. I had more luck than brains in this case I feel, as these snakes are so insanely sensitive.
Shortly after feeding her( a matter of a few hours if I recall correctly) I noticed that my GTP has a small wooden aspen chip protruding from the side of her mouth which caused her some mild discomfort and made it difficult for her to close her mouth.
I gently removed it and she began yawning lots. Of course I simply could -not- miss the opportunity to take photos.
Now, on a first glance this looks like another cool picture, I got a lot of compliments on it but no one really brought my attention to the circles areas. However I thought they were kind of off(I have to say that someone from this very forum did take note and said something about it but that was after I already started her on treatment-sorry I don't remember who).
I took the matter up with a good friend of mine who has been keeping snakes for the last 16 years or so and he has confirmed that it's the very beginning of Mouth Rot and told me to do the following:
1- re-examine the snake's habitat
2- apply Hydrogen Peroxide solution(3%- the weakest available as a higher percentage can cause extreme discomfort and a burning sensation for the snake) into the snake's oral cavity via a cotton ball. The application is to be done directly as if it was an ointment- not by pouring it inside the reptile's mouth! This will cause a lot of pain and can be harmful.
I was advised to do this twice a day for the following week.
The conditions she was kept in were optimal, apparently what happened was that the mouse I fed to her had an aspen bedding chip on her, which injured her oral cavity and later an infection took hold.
Hydrogen Peroxide made sense as the most violent bacteria are incapable of breathing oxygen, so much so, that oxygen is poisonous to them.
The treatment worked and within a few days the Mouth Rot was completely gone- I still maintained a regiment of 7 days to make sure that the condition foes not persist. Paprika(the GTP) was disapproving to say the least but I guess she knew I was trying to help. She did not bite me at all, even though I was forcing her to open her jaw and applied the solution.
For the sake of comparison, here is a GTP with an advanced case of Mouth Rot. This snake is not mine, the picture is taken from another site(mentioned in the end of this document). Sadly, this Chondro did not survive and died.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x82/nightfall_album/128491586-L.jpg[/img
Why didn't I go to a vet?
Good question, but there are two factors one needs to know and that made this decision obvious. In Israel there are around 2 vets that I trust with herp-medicine. Many deceive customers but in truth have had no training in treating herps. The end result being that you get the wrong treatment to a wrongly diagnosed or worse- made up condition and pay a lot of money for it.
Chondros are extremely rare here, and I doubted that even the two vets I trust have had any experience with them.
Lastly, Chondros require very specific conditions and I doubt that I could maintain proper humidity and temperatures through a 2 hours worth of drive to every direction.
In conclusion:
I was lucky, the treatment worked perfectly but this had nothing to do with me being a good keeper, I was just extremely lucky.
Paprika herself at the time showed -no- behavioral change that could indicate she was sick, it was a matter of chance that I took those photos, because I couldn't have possibly seen it in the short term of which she was yawning.
I think this is a classic case that properly emphasis the issue with keeping a GTP. It's not because the conditions are hard to maintain, and it certainly doesn't take a genius to be able to keep one.
It's their sensitivity and the fact that once something is wrong, the reaction period you have before it becomes serious is very short. A keeper who hadn't kept any snake before will find it really difficult to identify the things that should trigger a further examination or treatment.
Had I waited for 1-2 days more it is quite possible that it would have been too late.
Again, GTP's make amazing snakes in any collection, but they need an extra eye out on them.
Notes and information taken from:
[url]http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2385[/url]
[url]http://www.critterology.com/mouth_ro...tiles-148.html[/url]
Thanks to:
Yuval Osman who helped me in the diagnosis and treatment instructions.
Written by: Oren Harel.
Like most medical terms, this too is compromised of Latin words:
Stoma- Oral cavity
Itis- A Latin addition that indicates inflammation.
Known causes for Mouth Rot:
This condition can be induced by many factors: Pathogens, Viruses, Fungi, Cancerous growths and physical trauma all can lead to the development of Mouth Rot. There's no way to vaccinate against so many factors and as with most ailments in snakes, we rely on their immune system.
However, when the immune system is weakened or compromised, the body is defenseless and is left exposed to disease.
What can cause a weakening in the immune system:
1- Bad nutrition, mostly lack of Vitamin C, Calcium and Phosphorous.
2- Parasites
3- Physical trauma- injury
4- Poor husbandry management- humidity and temperature being maintained at improper levels.
Clinical Symptoms:
The symptoms can vary in number and form:
Anorexia, drool-like discharge from the oral cavity, a visible difficulty in closing the mouth(the reptile hangs around with an open mouth), inflammation- swelling and reddening of the tissue, Tongue flicking reduction or ceases altogether, Necrosis- dying cells/tissue will change colors to purple-black shades. The frame of the mouth can wear down and receive a yellowish-white cheesy appearance. The general appearance reminds that of rotting- hence the name "Mouth Rot".
Prognosis
if the condition persists) In severe and advance cases a swelling of the head can occur, the infection can spread to the skull, the teeth may become unstable and fall off, if the source of the infection is bacterial- the infection can travel through the sinuses to the eyes- in which case if it's not immediately treated they will be irrecoverably damaged and have to be removed.
In extreme cases the Bacteria can spread into the blood stream.
The end result, being death, if not treated at all.
Diagnosis- mostly relies on physical symptoms. Blood culture, drool sample and Biopsy can provide critical insight as to the cause of the infection: Viral,Bacteria et cetera...
Treatment: As this condition can be the cause of any number of factors, identifying the cause for said condition is critical. Diagnosing and testing for this cannot always be performed at our homes because if say, the cause for said infection is bacterial- we need Antibiotics, and only vets can determine the dosage and type of antibiotics most suited for said bacteria. Especially if said Vet is familiar with the animal and her medical record.
The first step though, even before rushing of to the vet is to re-examine the conditions in which the snake was in. Are the temperatures set correctly, is it too humid. It is best to keep the snake in the higher spectrum of temperatures. Meaning that the whole tank be heated to the degrees that usually are set at the hot side- this serves to stimulate the snake's immune system to full functionality. Needless to say that caution must be taken and the temperatures must be maintained properly- if the whole tank gets overheated you will be doing a deal more damage than good.
In severe cases, a medicinal regiment will be called for, or even surgeries if dead tissue needs to be removed.
Preventative medicine:
Correct husbandry is essential, Reptiles are deeply coded with strong survival instincts- they will show no sign of weakness else they may seem like potential prey. In the wild this is an advantage, but in captivity that mostly means that if we are not very perceptive and aware, we will notice said symptoms only when the reptile truly exhibits them- and this occurs only when the reptile is already too weak to hide it. When a reptile exhibits true distress signals, in many cases it's already too late. Mouth Rot however can easily be prevented by providing the right husbandry conditions.
That was a very general explanation of Mouth Rot, now I will focus on the case I had with one of my snakes- a Green Tree Python no less, Morelia Viridis. I had more luck than brains in this case I feel, as these snakes are so insanely sensitive.
Shortly after feeding her( a matter of a few hours if I recall correctly) I noticed that my GTP has a small wooden aspen chip protruding from the side of her mouth which caused her some mild discomfort and made it difficult for her to close her mouth.
I gently removed it and she began yawning lots. Of course I simply could -not- miss the opportunity to take photos.
Now, on a first glance this looks like another cool picture, I got a lot of compliments on it but no one really brought my attention to the circles areas. However I thought they were kind of off(I have to say that someone from this very forum did take note and said something about it but that was after I already started her on treatment-sorry I don't remember who).
I took the matter up with a good friend of mine who has been keeping snakes for the last 16 years or so and he has confirmed that it's the very beginning of Mouth Rot and told me to do the following:
1- re-examine the snake's habitat
2- apply Hydrogen Peroxide solution(3%- the weakest available as a higher percentage can cause extreme discomfort and a burning sensation for the snake) into the snake's oral cavity via a cotton ball. The application is to be done directly as if it was an ointment- not by pouring it inside the reptile's mouth! This will cause a lot of pain and can be harmful.
I was advised to do this twice a day for the following week.
The conditions she was kept in were optimal, apparently what happened was that the mouse I fed to her had an aspen bedding chip on her, which injured her oral cavity and later an infection took hold.
Hydrogen Peroxide made sense as the most violent bacteria are incapable of breathing oxygen, so much so, that oxygen is poisonous to them.
The treatment worked and within a few days the Mouth Rot was completely gone- I still maintained a regiment of 7 days to make sure that the condition foes not persist. Paprika(the GTP) was disapproving to say the least but I guess she knew I was trying to help. She did not bite me at all, even though I was forcing her to open her jaw and applied the solution.
For the sake of comparison, here is a GTP with an advanced case of Mouth Rot. This snake is not mine, the picture is taken from another site(mentioned in the end of this document). Sadly, this Chondro did not survive and died.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x82/nightfall_album/128491586-L.jpg[/img
Why didn't I go to a vet?
Good question, but there are two factors one needs to know and that made this decision obvious. In Israel there are around 2 vets that I trust with herp-medicine. Many deceive customers but in truth have had no training in treating herps. The end result being that you get the wrong treatment to a wrongly diagnosed or worse- made up condition and pay a lot of money for it.
Chondros are extremely rare here, and I doubted that even the two vets I trust have had any experience with them.
Lastly, Chondros require very specific conditions and I doubt that I could maintain proper humidity and temperatures through a 2 hours worth of drive to every direction.
In conclusion:
I was lucky, the treatment worked perfectly but this had nothing to do with me being a good keeper, I was just extremely lucky.
Paprika herself at the time showed -no- behavioral change that could indicate she was sick, it was a matter of chance that I took those photos, because I couldn't have possibly seen it in the short term of which she was yawning.
I think this is a classic case that properly emphasis the issue with keeping a GTP. It's not because the conditions are hard to maintain, and it certainly doesn't take a genius to be able to keep one.
It's their sensitivity and the fact that once something is wrong, the reaction period you have before it becomes serious is very short. A keeper who hadn't kept any snake before will find it really difficult to identify the things that should trigger a further examination or treatment.
Had I waited for 1-2 days more it is quite possible that it would have been too late.
Again, GTP's make amazing snakes in any collection, but they need an extra eye out on them.
Notes and information taken from:
[url]http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2385[/url]
[url]http://www.critterology.com/mouth_ro...tiles-148.html[/url]
Thanks to:
Yuval Osman who helped me in the diagnosis and treatment instructions.
Written by: Oren Harel.
