Tokay's dislocated jaw?

[Syn]

If anyone has windows live and can help PLEASE add me @ [email protected]

My tokay was eating his superworms and somehow managed to break/dislocate his jaw.

There were some nasty cracking sounds when he was chewing the super. I thought the super might have just been crunchy. Ugh.

I can show you on webcam but no camera is working for me right now.

THERE IS NO VET OPEN RIGHT NOW.

This is all I can get

Looks like my $300 I had saved up for Tuscon is going towards this guy tomorrow, if it doesn't fix itself on it's own/he passes away overnight.

 

[Syn]

Jaw has been relocated, but I would still like to have some advice.. will still be going to the vet to explain what has happened..

 

[Vegas Chad]

I don’t see any relocation, just an open mouth which every tokay I have ever owned dose wherever it is held. If the animal is not noticeably disturbed by this then I would assume the crunch to be the worm.

 

[Syn]

I don’t see any relocation, just an open mouth which every tokay I have ever owned dose wherever it is held. If the animal is not noticeably disturbed by this then I would assume the crunch to be the worm.

Chad, in that picture it's very hard to tell, but half the mouth was open and the other half was closed.

This Tokay is actually quite tamed, or at least, he tolerates me. He hasn't gaped at me since the first couple days I got him.

I heard a crunch in my room when I put him in a spare 10gal for the night and rushed back in to see his jaw possibly "re-located".

edit: I really hope your superworms don't crunch like the sound of chewing on a jawbreaker. xD

 

[prettykttkat]

I don't think your gecko dislocated it's jaw from eating a superworm. Both mine eat them a lot and they make crunching noises too. It's the head that makes noises when they crunch on it. Now what probably happened is the superworm bit your gecko's mouth and it hurt so he had his mouth open a little. I've seen this before in my tokays and other lizards I have. Those superworms pinch like heck! I've had them bite me before and it does not feel good. I have even gotten welts from them on my arm from when my monitors eat them on me and the worm bites down on me really hard.

 

[Syn]

I don't think your gecko dislocated it's jaw from eating a superworm. Both mine eat them a lot and they make crunching noises too. It's the head that makes noises when they crunch on it. Now what probably happened is the superworm bit your gecko's mouth and it hurt so he had his mouth open a little. I've seen this before in my tokays and other lizards I have. Those superworms pinch like heck! I've had them bite me before and it does not feel good. I have even gotten welts from them on my arm from when my monitors eat them on me and the worm bites down on me really hard.

That is so odd, this is the first time I have heard that noise when he has eaten anything... does it always sound that horrifying? I think I might stick to crickets if that's the case. Even the jaw was a little misplaced, moved off to the side a little, too.

But that is the best explanation I have heard all day besides the other dislocation explanation.

(I've gotten welts as well.)

 

[jojackson]

Might've been a small sharp bark of excitment Syn? Keep an eye on it when feeding, its probably ok, a breaking gecko jaw wouldnt be so loud and its quite unlikely imo.

 

[Syn]

After watching 300 videos of Tokays I have never heard them make a noise like that. o-o

Still doesn't explain the displacement of the jaw. T_T

 

[prettykttkat]

Yeah they are pretty crunchy, lol! They are great for putting weight on your gecko though so I would feed them to him as well as other insects until he is of normal weight.

 

[Syn]

Of course. I think I will stick to the softer bodied insects for a couple days, though. I went and bought some waxies just for him. I hope nothing is wrong. Might end up going to get an x-ray for him just to be safe.

 

[kenya]

On the bright side, xrays for smaller animals are usually pretty cheap, especially if they can use a dental slide for it. Good luck!

Also, waxworms are a great idea to help fatten him up, but make sure he has other types of feeders, too. Silkworms would be awesome for him.

 

[Syn]

Silkies = hard to get in Arizona.

The last vet I went to wanted $200 for an x-ray. Going to look around. Dental slide, good idea.. LOL

 

[Pure]

As slim a chance as it may be. Knowing what I know about this guys past and how much PSI a Tokay can put behind a bite. I wouldn't say a broken jaw is out of the question. It's very likely your little guy could be in the beginning stages of MBD and with the weakening bones and the force of the bite. *snap*

But if it is broken, there isn't much they can do for it. They would have to wire the mouth shut to even attempt at doing any good. A break like this on an animal of this size will either heal or it won't. I can see it never healing and him being just fine with it as long as he gets soft bodied foods.

I would be more concerned about getting him checked for MBD then the jaw. Perhaps mention it to the vet, but unless he offers some type of help, let it go. Just keep an eye on him.

 

[Syn]

He will be on a strict diet of waxworms and freshly molted dubia/crickets from now on.

Not sure if I am ready to give him any supers again.

 

[GooglezNvincent]

Not to be gruesome, and i knwo some people cant handle this kind of thing, but you can cut the head off the worm then give it to your gecko. Insects can live a significant amount of time without their heads. So it will move for your gecko to be attracted to it and you dont need to worry about it biting your gecko either.

If it actually is a broken jaw, that really sux and i hope he gets better. Smart thing to do would get those soft bodies worms that were previously said.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Syn]

Thanks googlez, yeah, I used to cut the heads off superworms but now my mom is getting mad that I'm using her good scissors to help my herps! Pssh.

 

[prettykttkat]

If the jaw is broken which I don't think it is, there is nothing you can do. It will heal on it's own and you hope that it heals straight. It might not and it might heal with a little bump where the break is and the jaw might be slightly crooked. I've seen broken jaws before in my line of work and that's how it is. He will be fine and still eat fine. Nothing really to worry about unless the skin is broken or he stops eating. If the skin is broken he might need antibiotics or maybe just some betadine on the area a couple times a day till it heals. If he stops eating you might have to force feed and that would surely not be good for a broken jaw. How does he look today?

 

[Chameleonboy]

Not a broken/dislocated jaw SYN, you just got yourself a double jointed Tokay.

-Clemonde

 

[Syn]

How does he look today?

He hasn't been sleeping in the leaves like he normally does. He prefers the open space for some reason. I find it very odd.

Not a broken/dislocated jaw SYN, you just got yourself a double jointed Tokay.

-Clemonde

Good point.

 

[GooglezNvincent]

is he still eating on his own ?!?!?!