Something stuck in mouth

[Art Ferrara]

we have a 2yr old leopard that when feeding last night appears to have grabbed hold of a beetle or eaten a mealworm that is lodged in his mouth. It’s stuck on his left side of his mouth under his tongue. He is breathing normally and doesn’t seem overl bothered by it from what we can tell but it is clearly stuck in there and we can’t get him to keep his mouth open long enough to use teasers to pull out whatever is stuck in there. We have an appointment with the vet tomorrow evening as that’s the only time we could get with a reptile vet here. I’m hoping someone might have some tips to try before then. Thanks in advance!

 

[acpart]

The entire bug/worm is in the mouth? If so, can you grab it with tweezers? If not and the gecko doesn't seem to be bothered, leave it till you get to the vet and let us know what happens.

Aliza

 

[Art Ferrara]

Yes, the entire thing is stuck, you can see a bulge. The issue I have is I can’t figure out the best way to hold its mouth open. I can massage the side of his mouth and he will open up a little bit but not wide enough to get the tweezers in there, and he clamps up pretty quick. What’s the trick for holding his mouth open? My wife and I have both tried and are of course afraid of being too rough with the little guy.

 

[acpart]

Get something that's not sharp and poke around a little bit to see if the gecko will bite it. Once it bites, maybe you can slip the tweezers into the gap.

Aliza

 

[Art Ferrara]

Took him to the vet and it turns out it is a growth, not food as we had suspected. He is on antibiotics now. Thanks for all the help. I'll post progress in few days.

 

[acpart]

Glad he got the visit. I did think it was a little odd that a feeder could be stuck in the mouth like that! Good luck with him.

Aliza