Mouth Rot? Please Help!

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charlotteandpenny

New member
Does my leopard gecko look like she has mouth rot? She is healthy with a fat tail. On the top of her mouth there looks like there is a little piece of skin hanging off. If so, is it contagious and how can I prevent it?image.jpg
 
CrestedL

CrestedL

New member
It does look a little swollen, can we get a side shot to see how much? What temps is she kept at, and how often do you clean her tank?

Mouth rot can be caused by a few things; external parasites, poor nutrition in diet, or a deep flux in temperature (not going into much detail here until we at least answer the basics)

Have you noticed any strange behavior, any refusal of food or difficulty eating? Look closely on her jawline and see if you can see anything else
 
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charlotteandpenny

New member
I will get some more pics of her soon. her warm side usually stays at about 86 degrees and the cool side about 78. I clean her tank about once a week and once a month I thoroughly clean it. She is currently housed with another gecko, which she has been with all of her life, and they get along well. I will get back to you about eating as I will be feeding her soon but she is a healthy and fat gecko who eats about 4-5 mealworms every other day.(she pretends like she doesn't know how to eat crickets) Thanks.
 
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CrestedL

CrestedL

New member
Hm, do you dust the mealworms or other bugs at all? What calcium supplements do you use, how often do you coat, and how heavily are they coated? Adding too many supplements can be just as bad as adding too little
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
charlotteandpenny said:
I will get some more pics of her soon. her warm side usually stays at about 86 degrees and the cool side about 78. I clean her tank about once a week and once a month I thoroughly clean it. She is currently housed with another gecko, which she has been with all of her life, and they get along well. I will get back to you about eating as I will be feeding her soon but she is a healthy and fat gecko who eats about 4-5 mealworms every other day.(she pretends like she doesn't know how to eat crickets) Thanks.
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It will really help to know more about her mouth.

  • Are the temperatures you report air or ground temperatures?
  • Have they an UTH? What size?
  • What size is their enclosure?
  • What sex is the other gecko?
Leos really need belly heat (on the ground under the warm dry hide) where they can always depend upon 88-92*F.

Please buy one of those yellow Zoo Med digital thermometers with a probe, so we know better where they stand. They cost about $10. All sorts of problems will happen if those highs are not met.

Please share a picture of these geckos side by side. Bullying may be an issue. Often it's subtle at first, but sometimes not.
 
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charlotteandpenny

New member
Their tank is 20 gallons long and high. They are both females. I dip their mealworms in calcium with d3 every time they are fed, them lightly shake some of it off. That is the only calcium/supplements i use. The temperature is air temperature and i have a ZooMed thermometer. They do have an undertank heater, which is on the warm side. What is a UTH? And sorry about not having pics again but i am not currently at home.
 
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charlotteandpenny

New member
I use zoomed repticalcium with d3. It isn't a liquid. I roll the mealworms around in there. The thing on her mouth isn't really there anymore. I guess it probably wasn't mouth rot, but ill keep a close eye on her.
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
charlotteandpenny said:
Their tank is 20 gallons long and high. They are both females. I dip their mealworms in calcium with d3 every time they are fed, them lightly shake some of it off. That is the only calcium/supplements i use. The temperature is air temperature and i have a ZooMed thermometer. They do have an undertank heater, which is on the warm side. What is a UTH? And sorry about not having pics again but i am not currently at home.
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Can you check the ground temp under the warm dry hide with Zoo Med's probe?

UTH = under tank heat mat

charlotteandpenny said:
I use zoomed repticalcium with d3. It isn't a liquid. I roll the mealworms around in there. The thing on her mouth isn't really there anymore. I guess it probably wasn't mouth rot, but ill keep a close eye on her.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the mouth skin was leftover from a shed? I could not see it in your photo.

Zoo Med D3 Repti Calcium is great! That's usually what I use. It's got the lowest amount of D3 of any similar product on the market. That's a good thing. :)

I would ONLY use that D3 calcium at most 2x per week and maybe not on every worm even then. Have you checked the directions? However, that also depends upon the diet you feed the mealworms 24/7. I recommend Zoo Med's Natural Adult Bearded Dragon Food as the mealworm diet with collards (high calcium, low phosphorus) in a shallow dish off to one side. GU leo keepers report great success with that. (I rarely feed mealworms.) If you feed the mealworms that, cut back lightly dusted D3 worms to 1x per week.

Add Zoo Med's no D3 (plain) Reptivite multivitamins 2x per month (just a wee amount) when used along with that particular adult beardie food.
 
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