Will my python ever recover?

[Bogertophis]

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Yesterday, 4/11 I noticed she pooped a little bit and that she was still trying to go. I also noticed her body was swollen by her vent and it felt like there was a rock in there. I soaked her in warm water and tried gently massaging the area to help her go but I didn't have any luck.

I reached out to my vet today and showed a picture of the swollen area. They told me to bring her in asap rather than next week. I bought her in today and they did an xray. They think it's either a messed up egg or poop. They also think this is a life threatening emergency. They thing the redness on her underside is due to sepsis and I think it's because she is going into another shed, her skin is loose around the neck again.

They want me to drop her off first thing tomorrow morning to perform an enema which requires full anesthesia.

They already started her on the following medications,
Ceftiofur
Enclosed
Metronidazole

Today's visit cost me $900! and tomorrow will cost me $1500!

Should I have the enema done tomorrow?
Can this really be caused by feeding her 2 large rats one time?
I thought I felt a small area by her vent about a month ago that felt hard. I'm thinking maybe this started a while ago and not it's gotten much worse.

Can this explain the poor activity level these past few months and with the weight loss?

I first reached out to this forum asking if it's okay to feed again if the snake hasn't defecate and was told it's okay. I never fed her sooner than every 10 days and only fed her the 2 rats the one time.

Yes, I'd absolutely listen to the vet on this. And yes, this might explain some of the subtle changes you've been noticing. You'd be pretty uncomfortable too if you couldn't pass waste. This is something you should routinely & very gently feel around for above your snake's vent (& higher up ventrally, for any odd lumps & bumps) particularly if you think something may be wrong. Not to make a big thing of it, but when you're handling- pay attention.

Urate stones are not that rare (you never notice them if they're small enough for the snake to expel normally) but sometimes a snake will form a urate "stone" that's just too large to expel without help. I don't think it has much to do with feeding 2 rats at the same meal, although that's inadvisable anyway for other reasons. (And rats have very thick fur that's hard to digest, which if combined with some dehydration, could promote constipation- though it's not common.)

Snakes are fed all the time before they defecate from the most recent meal- there's nothing unusual about that. (Are you really trying to blame the forum for your snake's problem?) Many years ago, I had an old rattlesnake (given to me very late in her life- she was a "zoo surplus" animal) that formed several "stones" (aka "cloacaliths") which she needed help to pass- she was just fine after that. You want to make extra sure to keep this snake well hydrated in the future, but hopefully this is just a one-time thing. Also, more activity on your snake's part helps to "keep things moving"- another reason to add enrichment to her home- plus, more activity promotes better muscle tone.

But as your vet said, it's not even yet known IF this is a urate stone? It might also be a slug egg that was retained- you'll find out soon enough. Snakes are living creatures like the rest of us- and some things just "happen". I sure HOPE the pink tinge on her underside isn't sepsis- no way to know "from here" either. All the best- please do let us know the outcome (no pun intended).

[Armiyana]

fingers crossed for you that it is just fecal or a strangely large urate stone. That can happen at times.

What I hope that it's not is a fast growing tumor of some sort. They're rare, but can absolutely cause lethargy, blockages and weight loss. But again... rare. And also this would be an abnormally fast growth.

Sepsis is a possibility if it is some sort of large blockage or bad egg, particularly if it had also caused damages to the inner tissues. I think personally I would have liked for the vet to know for a fact if this was a growth vs. urate vs egg issue before medications. It will suck if she was just going into a shed cycle, but as far as for tomorrow it will at least be useful in preventing any potential infections after the treatment. She'll need to be on the probiotics still because of it.

Any type of intestinal blockage though is definitely something best treated as soon as possible.

[leosantare]

Thanks so much for the very helpful reply. No, I wasn't necessarily blaming the forum but I was just saying. Im glad to know that feeding again before the last meal is pooped is a common and harmless thing. I'm also very glad that you don't think this is caused by feeding the 2 large rats the one time.

Do you see a problem with feeding her (1) 275-300g rat every 10 days regardless of when she poops? I hope not because this is what I've been doing for the past 4 months. Before that I was feeding her (1) 250-275g rat every 10 days. I noticed she started pooping less frequently about 3 months ago.

I know you recommend chilling out about her weight and that her body condition looks good to you. Although, I just know her body condition has worsened, she has lost weight and activity level had really decreased over the past 6 months. Please understand I would not be worried about her body condition, weight and activity level for no reason.

[leosantare]

Okay, so I guess I will have the procedure done tomorrow morning. Hopefully she will be okay with the anesthesia.

[Bogertophis]

Thanks so much for the very helpful reply. No, I wasn't necessarily blaming the forum but I was just saying. Im glad to know that feeding again before the last meal is pooped is a common and harmless thing. I'm also very glad that you don't think this is caused by feeding the 2 large rats the one time.

Do you see a problem with feeding her (1) 275-300g rat every 10 days regardless of when she poops? I hope not because this is what I've been doing for the past 4 months. Before that I was feeding her (1) 250-275g rat every 10 days. I noticed she started pooping less frequently about 3 months ago.

I know you recommend chilling out about her weight and that her body condition looks good to you. Although, I just know her body condition has worsened, she has lost weight and activity level had really decreased over the past 6 months. Please understand I would not be worried about her body condition, weight and activity level for no reason.

I see no problem with the slight bump up in feeder size to promote a bit of weight gain- provided your vet doesn't have a different opinion once you know exactly what's going on & what treatment is done. Your question is just a bit premature- one thing at a time.

[Bogertophis]

Okay, so I guess I will have the procedure done tomorrow morning. Hopefully she will be okay with the anesthesia.

While anesthesia has some risk to it, it's nothing like the risk of doing nothing for her. You don't really have much choice, but think positive.

[leosantare]

Hello,

I really need your help people. This is it, her last chance to make it. Well, my last chance to try and get her better.

I have a lot of things to say and never want to go back to my vet again. Look at what they did to her mouth from the past 2 days! I had a very hard time watching her after they gave her the oral medications. She will not be getting anymore from my vet and I can't do it myself.

[leosantare]

Here are some pictures at the vet today after they gave the oral medications. They told me today that she bit herself again yesterday when being restrained for the xray.

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[leosantare]

Another

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[leosantare]

I got her home from the vet, put her in her enclosure and she looked so unhappy. I checked on her a few hours later and she popped a little bit. The swollen area by her vent is less pronounced if not completely gone. I assume the diarrhea is from the medication that gave her.

The xray showed that she was impacted with stool about 18" up from her vent.

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