Young tegu with swollen mouth

[Gary]

Hey everyone! My first post here. I received my tegu at the end of September and everything has been great. He's very calm/easy to handle, eats well, and has remained active.

The threads here really helped me to prepare for little Poncho's arrival. His enclosure is 7' long and 4' wide. He's on coconut fiber. He has the correct lighting, a basking spot of 110, and a cool side that sits between 75 and 80. Humidity can fluctuate between 55% and 80% but the substrate holds moisture well.

He's been eating ground turkey with calcium powder and thawed pinkies/fuzzies.

I noticed today that the front of his mouth looks swollen. It looks as if he can't close the front all the way. I think it could be the beginning of mouth rot, but I wanted your opinions. He ate normally, but it's got me a little worried.

The first picture is from two weeks ago and the next two are from tonight.

Thanks in advance

 

[dpjm]

Mouthrot... best way to tell is to open the mouth and look in. Infections are usually pretty visible.

I can't be absolutely sure, but it could also be the start of metabolic bone disease. It can soften the jawbone and the jaw won't shut properly. The cause is calcium deficiency, which can come about by insufficient dietary calcium intake or insufficient access to UVB. Does the jawbone feel soft at the front? Are you putting loads of calcium on the ground turkey or just a bit. You need loads. Ground turkey has next to no intrinsic calcium and tegus need lots of it, so ground turkey really isn't the best staple. The fuzzies are much better. Are you using good UV lamps, what types, what is the distance from the animal?

 

[Walter1]

Pay very close attention to what dpjm is saying.

 

[Gary]

Thanks for the reply! He has a 10.0 reptisun. He can get within 10 inches of the bulb if he climbs to the highest part of his river rock. The height of his UVB is entirely adjustable, so if I need to do that it's an easy fix.

His turkey gets loaded up with calcium. I know it's not as ideal as whole prey, but it's what the breeder had him on, so I have to alternate it between mice to keep his apetite up.

His jaw does not feel soft, I see no sores on or in his mouth. He holds himself high on his legs when he walks, and he zips around his enclosure with plenty of energy.

I've owned a lot of herps (and still have a few) none of which have developed MBD, but I'll monitor him closely to make sure it's not a calcium issue.

Is it possible he bumped his face and it's just a bit swollen? Has that every happened to anyone's tegu?

 

[Walter1]

Thanks for the reply! He has a 10.0 reptisun. He can get within 10 inches of the bulb if he climbs to the highest part of his river rock. The height of his UVB is entirely adjustable, so if I need to do that it's an easy fix.

His turkey gets loaded up with calcium. I know it's not as ideal as whole prey, but it's what the breeder had him on, so I have to alternate it between mice to keep his apetite up.

His jaw does not feel soft, I see no sores on or in his mouth. He holds himself high on his legs when he walks, and he zips around his enclosure with plenty of energy.

I've owned a lot of herps (and still have a few) none of which have developed MBD, but I'll monitor him closely to make sure it's not a calcium issue.

Is it possible he bumped his face and it's just a bit swollen? Has that every happened to anyone's tegu?

Another alternative is a mouth wound now swollen. Either check on your own since you know herps pretty well or a trip to the vet.

 

[Gary]

UPDATE: I feel a bit silly, but maybe this will help someone in the future. Turns out he was just starting a shed and the skin had pulled a bit tight on his chin. Now that it's peeled off he looks normal again!

 

[Walter1]

UPDATE: I feel a bit silly, but maybe this will help someone in the future. Turns out he was just starting a shed and the skin had pulled a bit tight on his chin. Now that it's peeled off he looks normal again!

Not silly. A relief!