BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Could this be mouthrot or a minor injury?





Not real sure if this is very bad, but the raised lip has me worried...great looking animal other then that...maybe a bit "rotund", but I can work with that.

Let me know what you think, if I am being overly cautious here, or if it appears to be a problem...?

ok, pictures aren't as good/big as I had hoped...maybe I can work on zooming in on the area in question and posting that...I'll see what I can do.

Ok, couldn't do anything about getting better pics to post here, but they are significantly better in my album if you can check there...hope it is just me being overly concerned...

Can't tell mouth rot unless the mouth is open. To be honest, he just looks like a freshly imported indo. Probably a minor injury from the shipping process.

Gorgeous either way.

I've never actually seen mouth rot, so I can't be sure, but it looks kindof like when Trikks had retained shed around his lips. Every time he sheds now the damage is reduced. To me it looks more like damage than mouh rot, but get some other opinions for sure.

Tee hee. Between you and me, no indo shall be left unpurchased.

I'm not exactly sure what you are worried about. The mouth looks fine to me. Can you circle or point to the area you are concerned about?

NomadOfTheHills wrote:Can't tell mouth rot unless the mouth is open. To be honest, he just looks like a freshly imported indo. Probably a minor injury from the shipping process.

Gorgeous either way.

Sounds good to me...I would guess it was a new import when the owner got it...she stated that she had this animal for over 7 months so far (claims it is about 1 year old). I would guess it isn't "shipping damage" but it could be some sort of shedding mishap as Fatal has mentioned?

Yes, I think I have decided to try to get a pal for my little Fenix...hoping this could be a good match, great looking animal nevertheless..hope to get lucky at some point, anyway!

Just trying to cover my bases and avoid any large vet fees after the purchase if at all possible.

Dragontears wrote:I'm not exactly sure what you are worried about. The mouth looks fine to me. Can you circle or point to the area you are concerned about?

Well, that is a good sign that you don't even notice it! It is the "front" of the mouth/lip area there is a small gap...it is not very easy to see on these post images, but easier in the images that are in my album.

I can do a "red circle" picture if needed still.

depending on the care this animal has had until now, I would definitely budget for at least a fecal sample from your vet to rule out parasites and general health check up.

jasjmm27 wrote:

Dragontears wrote:I'm not exactly sure what you are worried about. The mouth looks fine to me. Can you circle or point to the area you are concerned about?

Well, that is a good sign that you don't even notice it! It is the "front" of the mouth/lip area there is a small gap...it is not very easy to see on these post images, but easier in the images that are in my album.

I can do a "red circle" picture if needed still.

ok. I checked your album and I can see what you are talking about. I still wouldn't worry about it though. It may heal up and it may not, but it doesn't look like mouth rot.

Mouth rot:

Dragontears wrote:

jasjmm27 wrote:

Dragontears wrote:I'm not exactly sure what you are worried about. The mouth looks fine to me. Can you circle or point to the area you are concerned about?

Well, that is a good sign that you don't even notice it! It is the "front" of the mouth/lip area there is a small gap...it is not very easy to see on these post images, but easier in the images that are in my album.

I can do a "red circle" picture if needed still.

ok. I checked your album and I can see what you are talking about. I still wouldn't worry about it though. It may heal up and it may not, but it doesn't look like mouth rot.

Ok...that sounds good and makes me feel better to have a few more "eyes" on the matter...

Wow, hope none of my animals ever have mouth rot as bad as that tortoise, Nomad! Unfortunately I have had a snake with mouth rot in the past...it was a slight bulge like this Indo, so that is why I am worried...but, it was more *MeStoopid like the image Nomad has when I opened its mouth...

Thanks for all the input so far!

Is there a good way to get a bluey to open its mouth without harming/startling it too much? Wondering if I can get a mouth picture from the owner...

Either just open the mouth with your fingers (be gentle but firm, like when you need to give medicine) or try rubbing along the side of the mouth for a while, it may try the slow bite, perfect time for a friend to snap the picture. Wocket always tries to slow bite, so cute.

For opening with hands, have someone ready with camera, use one hand under the head gripping the lower jaw, other hand over the head holding the upper jaw close to the nose. You should only need to hold with the thumb and index finger, you're not trying to break it. Then gently pull the upper jaw up, hold the lower jaw. I had to do this with Pryce for worm medicine, and it didn't hurt him.

You can also use something strong to "pry" the mouth open from the corner. I did this with the plastic syring when I had to give Chuff de-worming meds. It was small enough that it opened his mouth partially, not all the way. For wider opening, you're probably better off with something metal instead of plastic, as you don't want a sudden chomp and then accidental ingestion of plastic shards.

Our little one Kira has always had a few raised scales around her mouth - at first we thought it was a shedding thing, but she has shed and it isn't going away. It isn't getting any larger, just three raised scales on each side of her upper mouth, right in the middle of the mouth. The pictures posted in this thread look similar.

I wasn't sure if it was a problem, but she has been eating / shedding fine and now has decided to brumate.

Anyways, point is that Kira has this a bit as well, and seems to be just aesthetic. Its not the nice, clean, sleek looking mouth that most blueys seem to have, but she is still really cute, so we can't complain!

Good luck with this skink - it look gorgeous!

Could be damage from left over shed, could be droopy lip from eating cat food or maybe the mouth had an injury of sorts. Doesn't look like mouth rot to me. I wouldn't let it stop me.

Tattoo wrote:Could be damage from left over shed, could be droopy lip from eating cat food or maybe the mouth had an injury of sorts. Doesn't look like mouth rot to me. I wouldn't let it stop me.

Ok, I think my paranoia has been appeased by some good input...I will still keep an eye on it, but hope to have her (hopefully her) with me soon!

That is if the seller isn't sick of all my questions and requests by now!