Porterfield Exotics

Herp Health

Stomatitis / Mouth Rot

Stomatitis is a bacterial infection of the mouth.  It is usually caused by some sort of injury such as rubbing or possibly a rodent bite.  The early symptoms are excessive mucus and red irritated capillaries around the animals jaw.  If not treated at this early stage a yellowish caseous material will begin to form around the jaw and the area will become swelled and irritated.  This will usually cause the animal to stop feeding.  At these stages stomatitis may still be treated at home.  I usually gently force the animals mouth open and swab out the infected area with warm water and Q-tips.  When all the loose caseous material is removed and the area appears clean I swab the area with Listerine mouth wash.  I repeat this process every other day for about a week or so.  In some very severe cases an injection of anti-biotic may be needed.  A good vitamin C supplement in your animals diet will also help in the prevention of this problem.

caution:  Always use sanitary practices while treating Stomatitis.  Stomatitis may be transmitted to humans.  As a precautionary measure I thoroughly wash my hands and rinse my mouth with Listerine mouth wash after treating an infected animal.