Mouth rot, or stomatitis, is an infection of the mouth in blue tongue skinks. In this post, we will discuss blue tongue skink mouth rot causes, symptoms and treatment, as well as how to prevent it.
What is mouth rot (stomatitis) in blue tongue skinks and what causes it?
Mouth rot, or stomatitis, in an infection affecting the mouth and gums of reptiles. Stomatitis is caused by prolonged stress, affected immune system, dirty living conditions, injury, or even by eating only soft food. Vitamin deficiency (especially vitamin C), can also trigger the infection.
Symptoms of mouth rot in blue tongue skinks
- Yellow cheesy secretion from the mouth
- Redness around gums
- Damage to the mouth scales
- Swollen and tender gums
- Tooth (or teeth) missing at advanced stages
How to treat mouth rot in a blue tongue skink?
Step 1: Clean the mouth
First of all, when you just notice the symptoms, you need to start removing the mouth secretion and disinfecting it. To do that, use a topical antibiotic to help treat and disinfect the mouth. Please call a vet to inquire about the best topical antiseptic in your area or country.
One of the most common topical antiseptics is povidone-iodine (Betadine). To use Betadine, you will need to dilute it to 1% and use a cotton swab to clean the mouth after the meal and for night.
Another antibacterial and anti-fungal solution is chlorhexidine gluconate like this. It is mainly used for cleaning reptile tanks, because it’s non-toxic.
But 2% cannot be used to clean the mouth and you will need to dilute it greatly. Be careful, as it’s corrosive at higher concentrates. To prepare a mouth cleaning solution, you need to dilute it to be at 0.25%. For example, mixing 10 ml of 2% solution with 80 ml of water will give you 90ml solution at 0.25% concentration.
However, these topical solutions might not always be enough to clear then infection. Please see the vet because it can progress and require antibiotics.
Never use any solutions or medications containing alcohol! Alcohol will seriously burn your blue tongue skink’s tissues!
Step 2: Take your blue tongue skink to the vet
There is a big chance that your blue tongue skink needs anti-inflammatory medicine or even antibiotics to treat mouth rot. Depending on the case and severity, medicine might be required to clear the infection.
Don’t delay the visit, because advanced cases might cause irreversible damage to mouth scales and gums.
Step 3: Review living conditions and the diet
After that, you must look for the reasons that caused stomatitis – to both treat and prevent it. Make sure humidity is not too high (unless your blue tongue skink needs that). Even with high humidity requirements, you must let the tank dry out and let the humidity drop by 30-40% during the day.
Eating too much soft food can trigger stomatitis. This is because eating only soft food won’t allow your blue tongue’s teeth to be cleaned properly. Make sure you offer crunchy vegetables that add roughage to the diet.
However, while treating acute stomatitis, don’t give very crunchy or sticky foods, because it will be painful for your blue tongue skink to eat them.
Keeping the tank clean is always the number one rule. Your blue tongue skink will probably soak in the water bowl, so make sure to refresh water as soon as you can. Wash food and water bowls with soap after feeding. Perform cleaning once a week, and deep cleaning once a month.
Thanks for reading this post! To learn more about blue tongue skink care, see this resource page.