My son's water dragon's mouth seems to be rotting off. It is just disappering. Does anyone know what this is

Question

It started as a red bump on the front of his snout a few months ago, and now the side of his mouth is just disappering. What can I do?

Answer 1

This is called mouth rot. It's a bacterial infection that starts after an injury, usually from banging into the side of it's cage. The mouth will continue to rot away unless you do something. He needs to be taken to the vet for injections until it is clear.

Answer 2

they both are right. it's deffinitly mouth rot and you deffinitly have to get him to the vet. also take a serious look at the set you have going for this guy. he probably banged his nose on the side of the glass because it is too small. the water dragons living space should be at least 3 times longer than his body and 2 times longer than his body for the width. people buy these things thinking they can live in a 10 gallon tank, when really they need a big water pool for themselves and what not. here's a care sheet so you know you are doing everything right. besides taking him to the vet.
Housing requirements:
Enclosure: Young water dragons can start in a 10-gallon tank but will quickly
outgrow this enclosure. Adult water dragons should be kept in an
enclosure that is at least 4 feet by 3 feet. The larger the enclosure the better
since too small of an enclosure can cause the water dragon to rub its snout
until a bacterial infection occurs.
Temperature: Temperatures should be kept at 84° - 88° F during the day with a
basking temperature of 90° to 95° F. Nighttime temperatures should be
kept at 75° - 80° F.
Heat/Light: Water dragons require UVA and UVB light. This can be provided
with various available fluorescent bulbs commercially available. The
ambient temperature can be maintained with basking bulbs, infrared bulbs
or ceramic emitters. There are now active UV bulbs now available on the
market that also proved UVA/UVB light as well as heat.
Substrate: A variety of substrates can be used for water dragons. Sterilized
potting soil can make for a very nice naturalistic enclosure but can be
messy. Newspaper, paper towels, and indoor-outdoor carpeting can also
be used and are easier to maintain. Cedar and pine wood shavings should
be avoided due to toxicity concerns.
Environment: As their name suggests, water dragons should have ready access
to a pool of water for soaking and swimming. These lizards also require
high humidity and the enclosure should be maintained at 60% - 80%
relative humidity. This will often require regular misting of the enclosure.
Planted non-toxic plants in the enclosure can also help maintain the
humidity levels required.
Diet: Water dragons are omnivorous. They can be fed crickets, mealworms, super
worms, earthworms, mice, comets (common feeder goldfish), and day-old chicks.
In addition to this they also require some greens and can be offered shredded
romaine lettuce as well as other various greens such as mustard, dandelion and
collard. Other vegetables such as yellow squash, sweet potato, parsnips, green
beans and carrots can also be given. Some fruit such as strawberry, raspberry,
blueberry banana, and various melons can also be provided.
Maintenance: The water in the enclosure should be changed daily unless a filtration
system is used. If using filtration, a weekly water change should be performed.
The enclosure should be spot cleaned daily and disinfected weekly. If using
indoor/outdoor carpeting it is recommended to have at least two sets for ease of
cleaning. This will allow you to simply swap the clean carpeting for the soiled so
you may clean it. A 5% bleach solution is an excellent disinfectant. Be sure to
thoroughly rinse the enclosure and carpeting before placing the dragon back.

Answer 3

1. Do what everyone else said to stop the mouth rot.

2. Make sure the caging requirements as listed above are met.

3. My addition: Dragons just don't 'get it' when it comes to glass/plexiglass. I can't explain why, but they just can't figure out why they can't go through it and bang their nose, so you need some kind of visual barrier so they can 'see' the glass. Do something so the glass isn't quite so transparent. A slight tinting, plants all the way around, maybe paint plants with window paint on the outside of the glass. Just something at their eye level to discourage them from hitting it at full force.

Answer 4

Mouth rot, you need to go to a vet.

I dont know if this was mentioned yet, but if you have a screen cage you *NEED* to get a diffrent cage. Water dragons can literally rub and scrabe their faces off if living in a screen cage. I've seen some horrid photos of cases of WD rescues were the previous owners kept them in a wire cage and they rubbed their face against it so much it started to shred off, this can get infected and lead to all sorts of issues.

Answer 5

Take him to a vet!!!!!! it's obviously a problem if his mouth is rotting off, he need s to go to the vet.

Answer 6

You need take take it to a vet ASAP, this is called mouth rot and it will kill him.

Answer 7

regzad is correct, it is mouth rot, take him to a vet emediatly and get medication. Also you need to thuroughly clean his cage, scub everything with antibacterial soap.