Okayyyy...

I was checking out my leo's mouth and I noticed one side of his "smile" is slightly pinker than the other side. I looked closer (he clicked at me when I got close...haha..) but noticed that there's a small gap between his "lips". He occasionally presses his tongue against what LOOKS like an opening/gap kind of like what a child does when they lose a front tooth and squirts juice out (at least that's what I did as a kid...).

I'm not sure if he had the little gap before...my first pictures I took of him are kind of blurry around the face/snout area so I can't compare.

Is this an issue? Is it a deformity? Could it have been an injury biting down on a yummy mealworm? Is he doing it on his own just to secretly stick out his tongue at me?

You can see the gap on the left side (gecko's right):



good side:




the gap:




His eating and behavior haven't changed.

It could just be a bite from a worm, but I'd keep a close eye on it so that it doesn't turn into mouth rot if it is a bite ... the next few days will tell us what it is... if it gets worse, looks wollen or turns dark, you could have a problem that requires vet care, but like I said... keep a close eye on it and look for changes in shape, size and texture as well as color.

Kermit wrote:It could just be a bite from a worm, but I'd keep a close eye on it so that it doesn't turn into mouth rot if it is a bite ... the next few days will tell us what it is... if it gets worse, looks wollen or turns dark, you could have a problem that requires vet care, but like I said... keep a close eye on it and look for changes in shape, size and texture as well as color.

Alright, I'll keep an eye on it.

In the meantime, I scoured every corner, decoration, bowl, and hide in his tank and sanitized everything with a water/vinegar solution. I'm making sure that any chance bacteria could have to attack my little guy is eliminated.

Also, I researched mouth rot online and many people suggested to clean the affected area gently with a cotton swab and hydrogen peroxide. I gently cleaned the area with a soaked swab...Is it alright if I keep doing it until I see a change? I also saw people recommend putting a light coat of neosporin on the area, but I was skeptical about it so I didn't try it.

So far, though, his mouth looks the same. And his appetite is still in tact...along with his clicky-attitude when I check him out.

I wouldn't use the neosporin, it can trap bacteria in the wound or your leo could develop an atibiotic resistance if used too much. Also don't stress your leo with excessive cleaning. That stress alone could put him off food too. 3x a week should be fine, unless its looking weepy or worse, Kudos for the detox, certainly can't hurt. I still think you're at the wait and see point. Not too much intervention at this point.

Well it looks like I'm taking him to the vet Sunday afternoon (tomorrow) if I can get an appointment same-day without it being an emergency or Monday morning. After keeping his cage clean and monitoring him, it appears that the gap is a little bigger, so I'm not going to risk it.

That sounds like prudent measures esp since you're seeing a change in its size. Let us know hore it goes please.

Kermit wrote:That sounds like prudent measures esp since you're seeing a change in its size. Let us know hore it goes please.

Got an appointment for Monday at 11:30 AM. I'll keep you all posted.

Back from the vet! @.@

My leo just has an area of gingivitis. Dr. Wright said that it may have been from trauma (biting something he shouldn't have or something too hard) or from an early infection. I was given enrofloxacin to give to my little guy for two weeks (0.03 ml) daily. The gum where the gap is is a little inflamed, but there's no sign of mouth rot.

But I just wanted to share my other part of my experience at the vet today, too... :

OH.
MY.
GOD.



I was literally hugging myself and sitting on the edge of my seat as I watched them man-handle my little guy. I was thinking that they were going to make his tail drop. Each time they did something to him, I held my breath and kept looking away, "Oh God, Oh God, please don't freak out."

My little guy was extremely resistant when it came to trying to open his mouth. It got to the point where the vet had to use a small wooden stick from a swab to keep his mouth open for a proper examination. And when it came to showing me how to give the medicine they pulled his lip down and kinda coaxed him into opening his mouth for the mini syringe by rolling the edge on his lip...the majority time he was being held his tail was waiving around wildly. I was soooo nervous.

It wasn't until after the examination they made me sign a waiver about the possibility of making his tail drop.

I'll keep you guys posted on his health if there's any changes.

Let me know how the medicine goes...I have a little secret about that, that does not involve prying anything open;)

smsararas2 wrote:Let me know how the medicine goes...I have a little secret about that, that does not involve prying anything open;)

A secret that doesn't involve me stressing my leo out by forcing his mouth open?! Do tell! I really don't want to stress him out by forcing his mouth open and squirting the medicine in with one go.. I was told to tap on his nose to make him gape at me and to do the rolling technique by the vet.. ><; it really made me uncomfortable lol

LOL. Jolene that sounds a little weird.... :P

I'm glad you're getting everything sorted Cerra! I'm crossing my fingers this goes away quickly!

HAHA, I discovered this when I rescued a full frown male that only weighed 24, yes I said 24g. I was afraid to restrain him and hurt him or kill him. A leopard gecko has the instinct to lick liquid off it's nose. Get your little cutie pie comfortably sitting with you and get your syringe of medicine. This is gonna take a while BUT NO STRESS. Slowly and gently use the syringe to put a single drop of medicine on his nose. He will lick it off. Give him a few seconds or so till he is comfortable again and keep doing it until all the medicine is gone. The first time I did this with Skinny it took over half an hour....the alst time because he knew how to do it, it took about a minute and a half

That is my big secret and it has also worked for Sam.

Fantastic!!! I don't mind if it even if takes me an hour to do...I don't want to risk a tail drop or further injury. I'll give this a shot tomorrow for the next dosage! Thanks!! Hopefully he'll like it...he kinda opened and smacked his mouth a bit after the initial dose...apparently it's supposed to taste like strawberries and some other fruit. =S

Good good. The big thing is patience and I don't think you have to worry about that

That's exactly how I felt when I went to the vet too. I was in constant angst that he would get too stressed or the vet didn't hold him well. Well my last trip she didn't watch him and he "jumped" off her arm onto the floor about 2 feet down! I was so angry but didn't act like it...Dean was luckily okay but I was so frustrated that she didn't think that he would want to crawl off her..

I also felt the same about feeding the medicine orally! I did what Jolene suggested and eventually here and there I could just squirt all of it into his mouth and he would slurp it up.

Good Luck!

Jolene, I tried the droplet technique and it it worked like a charm!! It took him less than a minute to cooperate with me! Thank you so very much!!!

Congrats Cerra! I hope he gets better quickly!

I am glad to hear that it worked for you No point in causing any more stress than needed

Well it's been over two weeks since I went to the vet with Typhon and grabbed some icky medicine to see if that little gap would get better. Unfortunately, it hasn't. On the plus side, it hasn't gotten worse, either. I'm really confused by this

I really don't want to take him back to the vet because of how they handled him. They gripped him pretty hard and he squirmed furiously...he even made a squeak that sounded as if he didn't have enough air. Even though they're reptile specialists and leopard geckos are the #2 species that comes into the clinic, the fact that they made me sign a dropped tail waiver/injury waiver AFTER handling him made me extremely upset...and they pried his mouth open with a skewer and made him gag several times (at least that's what it looked and sounded like in between the grinding noises of his teeth against the stick...that probably didn't help the little "gap" either!! ). Also, they never recommended the "drop and lick" way to give him medicine. Instead, they pried his mouth open with the syringe to show me one way, then pried his mouth open by pulling his "lip" down with a thumb, then shove the syringe into his mouth. It was entirely way too stressful! (mainly for me )

I told the vet about something I read about topical treatments with hydrogen peroxide that I found online and I was told not to do it anymore because it kills the bacteria in their mouths. -_-; Vet even said that I "could dilute it" but it possesed the same risk. Plus, they were really pushing me to pay $45 upfront to do a fecal when I didn't even bring in a sample...I have yet to because it's so hard to catch the little bugger do his business before it dries out!! Plus it took them two hours just to talk to me...they left me in the exam room for over an hour and helped other non-emergency appointments that arrived after me first... I arrived at the clinic 15 minutes early, too...

It just seemed like all they wanted to do was make money that day and they didn't really care about my leopard gecko...which was a shock because my visits with my ferrets go rather well.

Also, his eating habits have changed after the two weeks of antibiotics (I've been keeping a daily spreadsheet on my guy since I've purchased him). He goes two days without eating and then eats only 10 regular sized mealworms (with a TON of coaxing and he usually would wolf down 12-17 depending on the varying sizes). On my sheet, the trend shows that this has been happening regularly since starting the antibiotics. I'm hoping now that the regiment is completed, Typhon will hopefully go back to eating like a cow.

The gap doesn't seem to be impairing him and it isn't getting better or worse...I really don't know what to do, guys. What do you think? Would you risk getting a juvenile leo possibly injured with another exam from a seemingly strapped-for-cash vet? Or would you sit back and wait and try a hydrogen peroxide topical treatment? (Which was recommended on many different herp sites...). I really just think he might have pulled a few of his teeth out.

Is there no other vets around your area?

I think you have a right to be angry, they obviously didn't handle him properly. I can understand the dropped tail waiver though, but they should have explained it and got you to sign it BEFORE anything was done.

kathstew wrote:Is there no other vets around your area?

I think you have a right to be angry, they obviously didn't handle him properly. I can understand the dropped tail waiver though, but they should have explained it and got you to sign it BEFORE anything was done.

There aren't any other vets in my area that specifically specialize in reptiles & amphibians. It's even more disappointing that I had this experience because Dr. Wright is supposed to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to reptiles, but I guess writing a few books and going to conferences doesn't make you an "expert"... I mean, seriously - you're handling a juvenile leopard gecko. It's fragile with a potential mouth injury....and you pry his mouth open with a stick? And allow him to bite and grind on the stick for more than two minutes? And you squeeze him? =/

Also, does gingivitis or mild irritation call for two weeks of antibiotics? I understand its to help with infections and other illnesses... but it seems they were used in a preventative way, which doesn't really help if he doesn't have anything else other than mild irritation, right? I'm starting to really second guess my vet's decision.

What do you guys suggest? The area around the gap isn't red, but more of a salmon pink which seems a lot healthier. Again, he's not in pain. His appetite has seemed to be getting better now that he is off the antibiotics as predicted...so far, that is.

Alright, I did some reading up on Enrofloxacin. Apparently it can kill good GI tract bacteria (funny because he told me not to use hydrogen peroxide because it kills GI tract bacteria...), cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, mental confusion, and a general belly ache.

I also realized that he didn't even do a culture to see if what is wrong with Typhon's mouth calls for enroflocaxin (aka Baytril). I'm thoroughly irritated and upset. His gap hasn't gotten better either. I really don't think my vet actually knew what he was doing...I can't believe that my vet is considered one of the best reptile vets in my area.

Does anyone here know what the next best choice is? I'm extremely skeptical about taking him back to the vet because of how poorly they went about Typhon's appointment and treatment. I also don't want to take him to a random vet because I don't want another poor experience and I don't want Typhon to drop his tail. Even saying no to my question is helpful - it lets me know that I'm not being ignored and it lets me know that I might be doing everything I can already.

I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal Cerra, really not nice to go through something like that. Honestly, I cannot help in any way because I have never had an issue like yours and never had to take my leos to a vet. But now after reading your posts, I am a little weary. I really hope that you can find a solution soon and Typhon can get on with being a happy little leo.

I'm sorry Cerra. This is very frustrating.

If its short-term use I can't see baytril being too harmful. I believe several other members on here have used it successfully before.

Try googling reptile/exotic vets in your area.
If there are any reptile specialty shops in your area try talking to them. They probably have a vet they can recommend for you.

I'm really sorry, I wish I could be more help to you.

Hiya hun, could you get a pic of his mouth open? im just wondering if its mouth rot and the baytril will eventually work to sort it out but it will take about 3weeks and and your leo will stop eating until the end of baytril course. x