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female leopard has scab on corner of mouth

22 11:48:36

Question
QUESTION: Hi,my female leopard gecko has recently developed a small round scab looking thing on the corner of her mouth!it lokks red,and basically just like a scab. She still eats her mealworms normally and has not lost any weight.she's acting completely normal,but we are still worried!she's always been a healthy gecko,who was laying eggs regularly(she has finally stopped about 1 month ago)
I have researched what I could and all I found was a very little info on mouth rot....do you have suggestions on what this may be?or possibly any info on mouth rot?(what it looks like?symptoms?etc)please any help will be very much appreciated!!thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Tiffany,
Mouth rot isn't actually a condition of the mouth..the correct name is Ulcerative Stomatitis. It is a systemic infection. The mouth rot is a symptom of the actual infection. A good site for more on it is at  http://www.anapsid.org/stomatitis.html
What may have happened is that a mealworm nipped your leo before she got a chance to get it in her mouth. Many suggest  cleaning  the area with some diluted betadine(color of a weak tea) and apply a small amount of Neosporin ointment.  If, after reading the info on stomatitis, you feel your leo does exhibit symptoms of it, then a vet visit is needed.
Of course if the area gets worse looking, larger, etc then a vet is needed also.
If she is housed with another leo, then the possibility exists that the other leo nipped her.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

KisH
KisH  
QUESTION: Hello,thanks for the fast reply!! :)
She is not with another Leo,we have 3 more but they all have their own tanks.
After I have read the info in the link you provided,ans every other article I have found,I don't really think its mouth rot :) thers no puss,or redness in her mouth,its just on the corner of her jaw(where her mouth opens) I have wondered if possible a mealworms may have bit her before she got to kill it?or she may have hurt it on something in her tank(I have saw her grab the calcium dish when going in for the kill with her mealworms)....so now my question is,,would it hurt her if I just cleaned the scab with diluted iodine?or diluted hydrogen peroxide?just dabbibg it with a qtip? How much should I dilute it?I have stuff called "tincture of iodine 2.5%" would this be safe to use?I have attached a pic of her(its the best one I could get,she loves walking around on us when we take her out)I know its not the greatest but if it give you any ideas please let me know!talk to you soon! thanks again!

Answer
Hi Tiffany,
It is wonderful to hear someone isn't housign all tehir leos together!!!
I
m not sure about the tincture.  Betadine is a povidone-iodine.  I use the generic form of it...a fraction of the cost of the name brand.
You want to dilute it to the color of a weak tea. I would not use plain iodine..even diluted..it is very drying.  Same with peroxide.. one quick wash with diluted peroxide should be fine..but no more as peroxide will destroy "good" tissue when used too much.
I think most leo boo boo's around their mouth is from a mealworm taking a quick nip...
Dilute the betadine (or generic form) to the color of a weak tea(think herbal teal color) dab with a q-tip...
Your leo is  a cutie!!