mouth issues

Question

igore   QUESTION: Hi its me again Haley. Igore's eye is getting better but now i need to know about his mouth. there seems to be something in it and its been there ever since i got him. can you help me?

ANSWER: Hello Haley,

Have you tried using a q-tip to clean that out?  Can you look inside of his mouth to try to determine what that could be?  Dip the q-tip in water & try to soften that up to see if it can be removed.  I hope it is not mouthrot starting.  Does he chew without any problems?
It looks kind of like retained shed to me, but I am not positive on that.


Tracie

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QUESTION: ok i will try the q tip thing but how do i? i dont want to hurt him. and he dosnt seem to have any issues when he chewing. how do i open up his mouth without hurting him. hes my firs pet so when it comes to handling him i onley know how to hold him properly. i will try the bes i can to see what it is when i hold him but i wont try and open his mouth until you tell me how. thanks


-Haley

ANSWER: Hello Haley,

It is a little difficult to get the mouth open, so you will need some help.  You will need someone to hold him while you use a swab to try & get his mouth open slightly so you can see what is going on.
Did you try to remove the skin or crust yet with some water & a q-tip yet?
You can use a q-tip to get his mouth open, too.

How is he doing today?

Tracie   

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

QUESTION: hes not really letting me hold him lately i think its because hes not feeling good. so im still trying. thanks for telling me how to open his mouth. i think we are taking him to the vet this weekend. this is the last fallow up so i will give you the update in a new question. thank you.

-Haley

Answer
Hello Haley,

Great, that is good news!  
I know it is very difficult to get the mouth opened in that manner.
My husband & I had an ill leopard gecko for several years that we had to give baby food quite often in between his non eating bouts.  He got used to it, but, I can't say that he "liked" having to get fed through a syringe but it did help.
Maybe the vet can help you figure out a good way to get his mouth open.  He should be able to look into the inside of his mouth to determine if there is any infection going on right now.

Thanks, let me know how he is doing & what the vet says.

Tracie