Leopard Gecko Smelly Mouth?

hikki

Member
Messages
171
Location
Earth i guess
Hey, i have an adult female that i must force feed. Seems that her skin got weak since it starts becoming red and even little bleeding when i try to open her mouth (she's really not easy for that..); That eventually led to skin tearing, litterally. Now that she just sheded, the dirty dried skin scar went off.

Tried force feed again and skin start irritating again, damn :( But i noticed something new : inside her mouth looked like lot of sticky saliva & when i put my nose close it, there's a fishy smell.. I can't go the vet for whole summer, so i gotta grab infos & try things by myself; could be a simple infection, isn't it?
 

Ruvik

New Member
Messages
284
Location
United States
One, never force your geckos mouth open their skin is very sensitive and you are causing harm to your gecko. Make a slurry and drip the slurry on their nose a little and have them lap it up. it will take a while, but it's better than hurting it. On top of that, you need to take it to the vet asap. From what it sounds like your geckos as a mouth infection which is why it's not eating. It would possibly be mouth rot. SO please, instead of trying to force feed and hurt your gecko, take it to a vet.
 

hikki

Member
Messages
171
Location
Earth i guess
If i could, i wouldn't have posted and would've went there already. But I can't right now unfortunately.

Also she won't lick drops, that's why I must open it.. Just gotta do it the right way (i figured now).

Could you please tell me what kind of medicine you give a Leo to cure such mouth problem?
 

tristanlook67

New Member
Messages
66
Location
Kernersville
I can't remember where I heard this but I heard if you gently rub the ends of the mouth it will make them open their mouth for force feeding bit I haven't attempted this myself
 

hikki

Member
Messages
171
Location
Earth i guess
I said I can't now.. Damn why people insist instead of helping.. Should I wait next month and perhaps let her die? Come on, tell me how mouth infection is cured usually!
 

Ruvik

New Member
Messages
284
Location
United States
Dude mouth infections are normally cured by going to a vet. We can't tell you how to fix a mouth infection because we are not vets. I never had an issue with mouth infections and if I did I would go to a vet about it. Call your local vet and ask the over the phone about what you could do til you are able to go to the vet. No one on this forum would with hold any information on how to help your gecko. if we knew we would tell you.
 

Neon Aurora

New Member
Messages
1,376
Location
New Mexico
Infections (and mouth rot) can be caused by many different things. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, ulcers, etc. Typically a vet would give you antibiotics to treat it with since infection is most commonly caused by bacteria. Ruvik is right that a vet could best determine what is going on with your gecko. However, based on the information provided, I'm not willing to assume a mouth infection. It's possible that you are just damaging the skin by forcing the mouth open. Pictures would be helpful in better determining the severity of the situation.

Here is a good article explaining mouth rot: Identify and Treat Mouth, Shell and Scale Rot in Reptiles

A slurry would be the best way to keep her weight up for now. I've had issues with getting geckos to lick the drops off their noses, so I typically hold them loosely in my hand and gently urge the gecko to open its mouth (usually opens as a warning "hiss") and then dripping a small amount of slurry into the willingly open mouth (be careful to drop it in the mouth and not in the throat, and small amounts) for the gecko to consume. Gently rubbing the sides of the mouth actually does work in some cases. Generally, doing this causes them to open their mouth as a warning (use caution, as some geckos will bite after doing this), which allows you to assist feed. Force feeding is what you're doing, which I wouldn't recommend. Assist feeding is much safer and inflicts the least stress on the animal.

Lastly, can you please fill out this form so that we have the necessary information to help you the best we can?
http://geckoforums.net/f130-health-medications/70912.htm
 
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