A local person that bought a mojave from me last summer texted me last night asking about a snake with "its intestines hanging out". Immediately, I thought of a prolapsed rectum, which it turned out to be, and it happened to be the mojave I produced dealing with it. I've never seen a prolapse or dealt with one in person, so with whatever quick research I could do, advised him to make sure his enclosure was spotless, try to keep the swollen area moist, and to get to a vet. Well, he got to the vet today, and was told that the snake needed surgery. Unfortunate situation, to say the least. The vet, who I also use, told this person that a prolapsed rectum is caused by feeding too often and/or feeding prey items that are too large, dehydration, stress caused by errors in husbandry, or a combination of all. I have read about using a sugar/water paste on the swollen area, neosporin, preparation H, etc...and help massage it back down and bandage it hoping it will go back into place, but felt it was not my place to inform the person to try such methods, as I can't speak to the effectiveness of them. I'd like to hear if anyone has experience this on their own. I also attached the pic of the prolapse that the person sent me last night...



I posted this so that...

A) For those who have never seen one, this is what a prolapsed rectum looks like. Not a pretty sight.

B) I'm all for cute pics, new pick ups, breeding pics, etc...but let's face it, bad things happen. Granted, this didn't happen to me, but why wait to talk about bad things until they actually happen to one of us?

C) It makes me rethink feeding even further. I only feed once a week, regardless of size, except for females that have bred...they get offered every 4-5 days, but smaller meals. So what I often think about is why, when balls easily thrive off of one feeding weekly, and can thrive on even less food, do people feed more, especially when they are young? This is not me being critical of anyone who feeds every 4-5 days, though I don't see any benefit to it other than the snake will grow faster. Sausage butts are cute and all, but seeing that a big blowout of feces, or passing waste too often can potentially lead to the picture above, is it worth the risk just so a snake grows a little faster? Balls digest much more slowly than, let's say, colubrids, who eat and then crap 2-3 days later. Balls can easily have 2+ meals in them between passing the waste.

Again, this is just open for discussion, and I'm not criticizing anyone or anything, as I truly don't know one way or the other. Would still also love to hear anyone's personal experiences with prolapses. From the reading I've done on them, they can be an easy home fix, though if it's a recurring problem, obviously something needs to be done aside from sugar and/or Preparation H.