Eggbound Corn, surgery and spaying

[Daybreaker]

As requested, here's the information on what I've recently went through with my albino corn snake Mona.

~I got Mona in June of 2012 at just under 600 grams and roughly three years old~

Starting in March '13, I noticed she was developing some odd belly swelling. This wasn't a bulge from a feeder as her previous meal was the week previous so she was taken to the vet a few days after noticing this bloating on March 7th. My vet thought she had some sort of stomach infection so we were advised to feed a f/t feeder injected with Flagly and we repeated this a second time a week later on March 15th. After no changes, she was taken back on March 22nd for xrays:





By then her lower half started to get a solid feel to me. The vet said that she was impacted, though she was only ever kept on paper towel substrate. We did Baytril injections to ward against infection, he gave a vitamin B12 shot, and gave her mineral oil inserted down into her belly as a laxative to help her pass the blockages.

Now when I saw the x-rays I asked him if these could be eggs as even though they were small, looked like them to me in their uniformity. I knew that the previous owner paired her the year BEFORE I came to own her and I mentioned this to him. He didn't believe they were eggs.

Five days after giving the laxative we were told to do another and while doing a warm bath soak daily to see if this stimulated her to pass the blockages. She passed minor stool. Still had belly bloating/swelling.

On April 4th I took her in for a warm water/mineral oil enema. Two days after she passed runny stool/urine but no solid masses. She was acting totally normal through all this and I stopped feeding her during this time.

Skip to April 15th: after monitoring her and still giving daily soaks I noticed her belly becoming even more distended: it almost looked like a pot-belly both expanding outward and upward and when holding her vertically looked like a "d/b". I apologize for not taking photos of this: I was scared and stressed for her and taking photos was really the last thing on my mind.

After talking to my vet he realized this was out of his expertise and consulted with exotics vet Dr. Johnson down in Phoenix and sent over Mona's x rays to him. Dr. Johnson believed that from the x rays Mona was egg bound with slugs over being impacted. He recommended bringing her in and bypassing any more laxatives.

I brought her in April 25th where she was examined and had her surgery later that same day. He preformed blood work on her first (came back normal) and after opening her up found that she was indeed egg bound with slugs/large follicles. Her sex organs were inflammed and otherwise not right (probably the reason why she never produced a clutch for the previous owner) so he removed the eggs and her uterus/ovaries and ultimately spayed her.

I went back down April 26th to pick her up (they kept her overnight where she recovered fine from anesthesia and the surgery) and the difference was really night and day. Her stomach went back to normal and she even pooped overnight. No more firmness in her lower half.

She went back to eating a week after coming home and shed out twice before I took her back May 28th to have her sutures removed. She does have some spinal deformities which may be congenital or degenerative: only time will tell (we noticed this kinking a while after I got her: this may have been a reason for her not being able to pass her eggs as well too). I will need to keep a close eye on her to see if this kinking becomes worse or stays the same: since she had these kinks when we got her we cannot say if there was trauma with the previous owner or if she's had them since birth and the previous owner never noticed them.

When I took my other corn who passed in for a necropsy on July 9th I took Mona in again too since I noticed some swelling/firmness in her lower half (more near her tail). Dr. Johnson suspects she's building up fat at her surgery site and has some internal scarring. I'll be taking her back in a month or so for another check up just to make sure this new development isn't something more serious.

Here's pics of Mona in June (you can see her kinking, which became more defined after her having her surgery):



And here's pics of one of her surgery sites after the sutures were removed:





Though not totally unheard of, it is more of an uncommon occurrence for a corn to become egg bound a whole 2+ years after being paired, and this shows how crucial it is to find a knowledgeable vet in your area. Mona would have easily passed away without her surgery and I'm so thankful that she was fixed before it was too late. I'm hopeful that the new swelling is no more than fat building but I will be keeping a close eye on her; especially with the sudden passing of my other corn recently.

I hope this write up can help anyone in some way, and I want to give a personal thank you to Skiploder: who gave me wonderful advice on Mona's situation back when I was just at a loss on what to do for her. I still appreciate that help.

[MootWorm]

Thank you so much for sharing!! Very well written, and I'm glad she's recovering from this whole ordeal. I'm in Phoenix too, so I'll definitely keep Dr. Johnson in mind if I ever have any emergencies. You can never have too many good vets on hand.

[Anya]

Very informative, thank you for sharing! Glad she's back on her feet. (figuratively speaking...)

[Daybreaker]

Thanks guys, I'm happy she's recovering too. And tonight will be the first of her healthier lean-mouse diet!

[DooLittle]

I'm glad she's doing well, and thanks for sharing your story.

[BHReptiles]

I'm so glad she's doing well! I know a lot of animals get some fat deposits after surgery, so I'll continue to hope right along with you that this is all it is. She's a beautiful corn, by the way!

[Daybreaker]

Thanks for the kind words: I'm very hopeful for her. And she has the best personality to boot; easily one of the sweetest and good-natured snakes in my collection. When we were waiting to be seen by the vet in the waiting room she let a little girl (who's never seen a snake up close/touch one) swoon all over her without "blinking an eye" so-to-speak. The girl wanted a corn after that but her mom didn't seem sold....

[BHReptiles]

Thanks for the kind words: I'm very hopeful for her. And she has the best personality to boot; easily one of the sweetest and good-natured snakes in my collection. When we were waiting to be seen by the vet in the waiting room she let a little girl (who's never seen a snake up close/touch one) swoon all over her without "blinking an eye" so-to-speak. The girl wanted a corn after that but her mom didn't seem sold....

She'll end up like me and start keeping snakes after she moves out if her moms house

My mom is terrified of snakes. I moved out and got me a cornsnake xD