Do you see that?

[MouseKilla]

Do you see it?

I noticed this guy's mouth looks a little funny on his left side, anyone know what may have caused this or what's happening? I can only speculate that he's got a tooth infection or something that has caused what appears to be some swelling.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511Im000119-med.jpg http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511Im000113-med.jpg http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511Im000122-med.jpg http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511Im000123-med.jpg http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511Im000125-med.jpg

I was able to get his mouth open with the handle of my feeding tongs (he's extremely easy to work with) and there is no puss or discolouration, maybe a little swelling but I so rarely get a long look at the inside of a snakes mouth that I couldn't be sure of what I was seeing. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks for looking.

[HetForHuman]

Could have maybe lost a tooth while striking at, or eating a prey item. Maybe striking the side of the enclosure? Not sure but it does'nt look bad.

Would'nt hurt to get it looked at by a vet if it doesnt go down in the next couple days.

[Lrptls]

i have a big female bci that does that every now and then. her mouth will just be open a little and be fixed within a day or two. she is very healthy and has gone to see people who KNOW snakes and even vets just for check ups and theres never been any thing wrong with her mouth. i'm not saying your snake doesn't have any thing wrong with it because it could. a vet wouldn't hurt at all.

[proud2bcanadian]

I can't say what it might have (if it has anything).
But what I can say is that those are some really nice pics! lol

Best wishes,

[BoidKeeper]

It does look swollen to me. Have you opened the mouth to have a look?
Cheers,
Trevor

[MouseKilla]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to keep a close eye on it for a while, if it gets any worse I guess it's vet time.

[Linds]

Sometimes swelling in the mouth area can be an early sign of mouthrot.

[MouseKilla]

Yeah, mouth rot was certainly the first thing that came to mind but he doesn't seem to be showing any of the other symptoms like puss or drooling and there is no discoloration or redness inside either. On the other hand I don't see any loose or displaced teeth...

I have noticed that he's been rubbing inside his cage in between his visits with the female I've paired him up with so maybe that's what has caused the swelling. He's back in her cage now and he doesn't rub in there for whatever reason, so maybe he'll look better if I leave him in there for a couple of weeks. If it gets worse in that time I'll have to have him looked at I guess.