Early signs of mouth rot or stress colors??

[Lizzie48]

I noticed this brown spot near my chams mouth , this is my first time seeing this could it be mouth rot ? or stress?please let me know so I can get her to a vet ASAP

 

[carol5208]

No, I don't think that is mouth rot. I am not sure what the little brown dot is, but it does not look like mouth rot or the start of it.

 

[Lathis]

Is it swollen or puffy? Are the gums brown or rough looking? Is her lip "pouty" or asymmetrical? All those things can be early signs of mouthrot.

My little guy had trouble with his lip being misaligned for quite a while but no other symptoms, and suddenly it swelled up huge overnight. A round of antibiotics took care of the infection, but it was a good lesson to constantly monitor unusual conditions.

If it's just a spot on the skin, keep an eye on it and see if it changes. Any swelling or discoloration to the gums calls for a trip to the vet. That's my thought.

 

[Lizzie48]

No inflammation or swelling in the gums , as far as discoloration that's the only thing I can see . She won't let me open her mouth , but her mouth does have a foul odor when I was hand feeding her crickets a bit of her spit landed on my hand , I smelt it and it smelt bad , is this normal ? She is very active, and is eating .

 

[carol5208]

If she was eating a cricket, it is probably the liquid from the cricket that you smelled that got on your hand and not actual "spit" from her mouth. I still don't think you have anything to worry about. Just keep an eye on her mouth and watch for any changes.

 

[Lathis]

Foul odor is definitely a sign that something is going on. She could have a mouth infection, but if her saliva is thick, that could be the start of a respiratory infection. My cham's mouth has no smell and he also has no noticeable saliva, so that would worry me.

If you are very gentle, sometimes you can get a cham to open its mouth by pressing on either side of the jaw or stroking the chin. I have not had luck with either of those methods, myself. My little guy is crazy stubborn and only the vet can get his mouth open.

If it were me, I would probably take her to the vet, just to make sure. Catching things early is important. One of the primary defense mechanism of small animals is to not look sick, so by the time symptoms appear, the infection could be well established.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Tyaeda]

This might sound silly, but have you tried lightly rubbing it with a wet q-tip? Maybe it's dirt?

 

[CLP]

This might sound silly, but have you tried lightly rubbing it with a wet q-tip? Maybe it's dirt?

I agree with this. Try to see if it cleans off. Get it wet and let it sit for a minute, then try wiping it off. One of mine has a brown spot on his lip at the moment that is much larger than what your guy has, and I know for a fact it is silkworm gunk because I saw it squish out when he was eating it Looks like bug gunk to me.