Hasn't been eating well for the past few weeks. Maybe a super worm every other day or so.
Been very active: head bobbing, lots of glass dancing. So I'm not sure if his mouth is just banged up from all the activity. Mouth rot, plaque build up?
It could be from banging on the tank some, but his chin doesn't appear bruised. He is a handsome man though!
He may have a little bit of plaque but it doesn't quite look like mouth rot. To be proactive, you could clean his mouth daily, as much as he will allow for. LOL You can get some betadine & dilute it down to look like weak tea. Then use either a swab or a tiny soft toothbrush to gently clean his gums. There is also a product nolvadent too that you can find & one other I can't remember. You can also get some unpasteurized honey & dilute it with warm water, to dip the swab in to clean his mouth out. He would probably love that. It is a natural antimicrobial/antibacterial agent so if he does have a little bit of an infection going on it should help out.
He isn't eating well? What types of foods do you offer him?
It is buildup, but not sure it's mouth rot but definitely plaque. I would treat as mouth rot to start getting it cleaned out.
Try to see if you can use a swab to determine if it's soft or hard. If it's soft then it may be able to be scraped off. He might benefit from a broad spectrum antibiotic to help clear up a local infection.
Baytril or Ceftz would be good choices for broad spectrum antibiotics.
This seems to be a fairly common problem among them. Is it this way on both sides?
Ok, it sounds like hard plaque. You can try using a toothbrush daily to see if that helps loosen it.
Did you try scraping gently with your fingernail perhaps? If it doesn't want to scrape off at all, then
trying the honey & or the betadine daily may help.
You may want to apply a topical cleanser as well to keep the area clean and help reduce the bacterial buildup from the outside. My vet had me use MaxiGuard gel and it worked well by just putting some on a q-tip and rubbing it along the gums and teeth a few times per day. It may be helpful in this case too. It's not super expensive and you can get it at pet supply stores or on Amazon.
How are things going today?
Thanks Cooper, I couldn't remember the name, MaxiGuard. I was going to Maxident or something. LOL
I remembered you saying how good that one was, too.
That's great you were able to scrape some of it off. That is odd though that there is so much build up, I wonder why? One thing you could consider trying is getting some crunchy dry pellets or treats basically like a dog biscuit to see if that helps to clean his teeth/gums also.
If he ingests a small amount of betadine, that will be ok. If it's watered down, it shouldn't be too bad.
He might have a loss of appetite because he is shedding also. You can try changing up the feeders some, to see if he just wants a change possibly. As for he greens, you can try putting pieces of fruit or red & other colored peppers to see if that helps peak his interest. Also, placing a few worms in with the greens can help sometimes, too.
Update.
Carl has slowed down a bit...maybe getting ready to brumate?
He did eat one super worm the other day. The plaque build up is still there, unable to get much more off without being too abrasive. As it is, I've noticed his gums get a little red and inflamed after I treat them. Waiting for the gle to get here, will that help soften the plaque?
Still quite a bit of hard build up...trying get to get at it with stressing him out too much.
Poor guy, he may be trying to slow down to brumate, what luck. He is pretty young, too!
I think that the gel should help to soften it up some. I can't think of anything else, other than trying a baking soda & water mix into a paste to gently rub on his gums. The baking soda has a slight abrasive action that could help too.
When are you expecting the gel? I am sure his gums do get a bit irritated when you try scraping it off.
That's good he ate a superworm though, but no greens, right?
When you scraped it off before, did you use your finger nail? You could try using a toothpick, carefully to see if you could get under the edge a little bit to get it loose. If you try that, be very gentle.