Mangrove Snake

My Mangrove Snake was just Purchased August 26th. It is a wild caught but very well tempered and doesn't bite, She is about 6 ft in length and a good width. It's had some trouble feeding in its past. But otherwise looks healthy except for one thing, i don't know if it is the venom but even when i just rub my finger across the side of her mouth, sticky clear liquid comes off. Im not sure what this means, but if anyone can help please let me know. Thank You.

If she is secreting a substance from her mouth without actually biting or chewing something, it is most likely NOT venom. Most likely, it is saliva, but excess salivation is a sign of a problem...
Have you treated her for parasites? WC mangroves often come in with loads of parasites (as do most WC reptiles), and are usually picky feeders.

Secondly, I'm not sure how you are "running you finger along her mouth", but just because they are rear-fanged and "mildly" venomous, you don't want to treat them as purely harmless...there have been reports of rather nasty bites. The venom is potent, though the delivery system is primitive. Treat them as you would any venomous snake.

Another thing: You say she isn't too agressive at all...well, all snakes are individuals, and you could just be blessed with a placid mangrove, but in general, mangroves are a bit fiesty, especially wc snakes, and it's possible her placidness could be a sign of illness as well. Is she active?

MsTT might be able to help you more, as she is much more versed in reptilian medical aspects then probably anyone here, but she hasn't been on in a while (probably due to Frances in Flordia)...

I bought her from the store i work at, and the owner said she was a bit feisty and WAS ready to bite, but i calmed her down with handling after about a week and a half of quarantine, and i let her situate in her own cage for a while, and then started handling her.

I haven't fed her yet, i feed on fridays. and what i meant by rubbing my finger on the side of her mouth was that i was holding her head and just wiping my finger along the far back side of her jaw (outside the mouth). not alot of liquid came out, but i dont believe there should be enough for me to be able to wipe off with her mouth shut... i have a Southern Hognose, and they are basically same in some ways. So i do have some experience in rear-fanged species.

She is quite active, she will move swiftly and fastly until she finds "her spot". She moves when i handle her, and does not attempt to bite, i opened her mouth and lookeed around, everything seems fine, but im not positive, and im not a vet...

Also i have a few more questions you can maybe help me with... if you know a website for a caresheet on Mangroves, please let me know. Should the humidity be high enough to fog up the tank?? Thank you for the info. Please get back to me on this subject....Thank You.

Most people's protocol for new snakes (ESPECIALLY wc snakes) is 90 quarentine. This lessens the risk that if the snake has a virus or parasites, they will not spread to the rest of your collection. 90 days is a fairly safe amount of time to notice anything wrong with the animal, and if at the end of 90 days, it is not symptomatic of anything, you should be good.

If you propped open her mouth, it should be WHITE. I'm assuming that's what you saw. Was there any excess saliva (i.e. drooling)? Rear fangs only secrete venom when pressure is put on the jaw, so unless she was biting something, there shouldn't be any venom present. As I said before, it is most likely saliva. If she is active, that is a good thing, lethargy is a red flag in normally active species (lethargy in large boids is normal, lol).

I would suggest taking a fecal to your vet and seeing what turns up...if she is wc, you will most likely find something. Keep us posted.

Oh, forgot the humidity question.

I mist my mangs tank a few times a day (usually at night)...it's not too humid in there (about 60-70%), if the cage is getting heavily fogged then that might be overkill. I've never had problems with sheds or respiratory infection.

A *general* care sheet for mangs can be found at
http://www.snakemuseum.com , just go to the "features" section.

The mouth is white, but i dont need anymore help, i put some Polysporin in her mouth and the excess saliva or whatever went away. The mouth is not drooling, but thank you for answering the humidity question also.

Good to hear the problem was resolved...you will still want to get a fecal on her and treat her accordingly so that another problem doesn't pop up on you...reptiles are good at hiding signs of illness or injury up until they crash on you.

Polysporin is not a good substance to put in a snake's mouth for a number of reasons. In a weak and debilitated animal that could actually be fatal as they might not be able to clear it from the trachea. If your snake has a mouth problem such as stomatitis, and you need to treat it at home, use a clear wash or a soak like chlorhexadine or dilute povidone iodine. Systemic antibiotics are also indicated if the problem is bacterial, which it might not be - you won't know unless you do some diagnostics which most people can't do at home. Vitamin C can also be a help in cases of stomatitis in reptiles. Severe cases must be addressed by debriedment under local and possibly general anesthesia, topical treatment and systemic antibiotics.

However excessive salivation is not generally a symptom of a mouth trauma or infection. It can indicate a systemic problem such as a respiratory infection or a parasite problem (lungworms or flukes). Direct treatment of the mouth is not appropriate in cases of excessive salivation.

Excessive salivation such as you are describing is not venom and is not normal in snakes, with one exception - right after they drink, some water may spill back out if you handle them because they don't have throat sphincters.

Please don't put any more generic Wal Mart human drugs into snake mouths. If you need to do some snake doctoring at home, study up on the appropriate medications and find a veterinarian to work with you who can prescribe you the appropriate drugs even if he or she will not see your venomous snakes at the clinic.

Thank you for the important information, i will go and get a check-up by my reptile vet ASAP, Thanks.