Mouth Rot?

[aorsak]

I'm in a leo FaceBook group and this picture has come up in a post. It looks kind of like mouth rot. How long does it take to get bad though? She said she's had him since July last year and when she got him he was in a dirty tank but now keeps his tank very clean but his mouth still looks exactly the same. She seems like a nice person concerned about her gecko. Just trying to help the best I can. What advice would you guys give her? (He's had some trouble eating and the video of that is what started the conversation about mouth rot possibly) (https://www.facebook.com/BreeTreee/videos/848736495248522/)

 

[JessJohnson87]

It does not look like mouth rot but I would advise a vet visit. Could be a wound that either never healed or did heal and that is the scar.

Edit: I'm including a picture of what ulcerative stomatitis (mouth rot) looks like. This is in a Boa but it would be the same for any species of reptile.

 

[aorsak]

Alright. I know it can get pretty ugly looking but I wasn't sure if it was just in the very early stages or what. Thanks

 

[indyana]

Difficult to say from the picture. For mouth rot, you're looking for red and inflamed areas, either crusty or bleeding. It can start as a small spot, like above, but it is usually crusty and brown/red, not looking smooth and pink as in the above picture. I can't really tell if the top edge has any crust on it, but it doesn't look particularly bad.

 

[JessJohnson87]

^^ agreed with above. It is not common for leopard geckos to get mouth rot, it's more common in snakes.

 

[acpart]

The leopard gecko I had that looked like that had a broken jaw and it healed on its own. Leopard geckos can get mouth rot from mouth-breathing if they have an upper respiratory infection, which is what I'm dealing with now with one gecko and which has occasionally happened in the past with one other gecko. My vet says these URI's can just happen for no reason, although I suppose if husbandry is incorrect they can happen for a reason.

Aliza

 

[meowzoemeow]

i had a leopard gecko with the exact same thing. turned out that it was just built up skin from her shedding issues. once i soaked it with a cotton ball and warm water i was able to get it off and she was fine afterwards!