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Hognose, mouth injury?

J

JemmaUK

New member
Hi,

Havent been on here in a while, waiting on a cancer diagnosis will put you off being social.

I've a hognose who has the bad habit of eating things sideways, and he hasnt learned the trick of turning stuff around before scarfing it down like my Cornsnakes do...

Hes got a swollen bit on the lower jaw on one side that looks kind of like a blood blister I guess.. it doesnt seem to hurt him when it touch it, and it doesnt seem to worry him. Has anyone seen anything like it before. I thought at first it was stomatitis but it doesnt look like any of the pictures I have seen and I am really worried. Should I take him to the vet or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Oddly enough he's been alot more active lately but seems to love sitting draped over my shoulders which he never used to do.
Sold two of the babies I had a year ago - an amel & a snow.

Thanks in advance..
 

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Take him to a vet. Things that start out minor like that could end up being a disaster. This is from personal experience. Check your hoggie over from nose to tail for other blisters. You're in the wrong part of the world for SFD (Snake Fungal Disease) but I can't guarantee that it isn't.
 
I've checked it again this morning. Its not grown any and its not hurting him in the slightest. There are no other marks on him. I usually feed him by hand (until the last time when he bit me and I had a hand 4 times the size) because of his habit of sidewaysing food - will probably go back to doing that. Hes still active and trying to drill his way out with his nose like he always does.
Have a vets appointment at 4:10pm.
I've looked at both Stomatitis & SFD and it doesnt look like either :(
 
This certainly needs vet care. It could also be the start of an abscess or infected lesion. I'm glad you have an appointment scheduled.
 
It's normal for a hognose to bite the prey by the middle and chew a little to envenomate it. I guess your guy hasn't learned to flip them around to swallow. (The snake knows which end is the head by the direction of hair growth and the pointy skull!)
 
I've almost always fed him by hand because he just doesn't get the concept of pointy end first. Just got back from vets - he's been examined and the vets opinion is just to watch it and make sure it doesn't spread or get worse...
He doesn't think its anything to do with his mouth because its all clean inside so I just have to keep an eye. The vet sexed him while I was there and the opinion was 'abundantly male'! I thought he was male because of his size but its nice to have it confirmed so I can get a female to mate him.
 
You could use a little pair of tongs to feed him if you don't want to get bitten. That way you can give it to him head first.
 
Nanci said:
I guess your guy hasn't learned to flip them around to swallow. (The snake knows which end is the head by the direction of hair growth and the pointy skull!)
Click to expand...
I have probably 20 -25 hogs, and not one has learned to swallow correctly. I don't think they are accustomed enough to eating things with fur to have adapted this behavior. Just a guess.
JemmaUK said:
I've almost always fed him by hand because he just doesn't get the concept of pointy end first. Just got back from vets - he's been examined and the vets opinion is just to watch it and make sure it doesn't spread or get worse...
He doesn't think its anything to do with his mouth because its all clean inside so I just have to keep an eye. The vet sexed him while I was there and the opinion was 'abundantly male'! I thought he was male because of his size but its nice to have it confirmed so I can get a female to mate him.
Click to expand...
If you show a picture of the whole animal, we can sex him at a glance. No need to ever pop or probe an older hog.
 
You'd think with a toad, they'd want to swallow the pointy head not the kicking legs, first, but who knows.
 
Checked him this morning and its gone down a little bit - Will keep an eye on it but I think he's going to be ok.
 
Been to the vet with him - vet is completely flummoxed. Theres a wonderful list of what it isnt but we've no idea what it is...
Snakes just gone into a shed cycle so the vet has said to wait until he sheds (on the basis I think that the shed will solve the problem, which is unlikely). It doesnt seem to hurt him, or bother him. It doesnt hurt him when its touched - although he's not a fan of hibiscrub. Just leave it I guess.
 
Well, I feel better now that he's seen the vet. I guess it will either resolve or blow up into something diagnosable.
 
So relieved. He went into shed yesterday and the two places (jaw & back) came off with the shed skin. kinda like a cross between a zit & an ulcer. He's really active and seems fine. very affectionate snake, likes cartoons.

I don't know if anyone else has seen this - but would you expect an Amazon Tree Boa to seemingly adapt to cornsnake type temperatures? He's also quite cuddly but if I run normal (for ATB) temps he hides right against the opposite side..
 
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