Small amount of blood after defecating
I've noticed my kingsnake passing a little bit of blood after she poops a couple times now. The first was when she was in a tub while I was cleaning her tank, and she then shed about half and hour later. I was a little concerned but thought it might just have something to do with the shed and a sensitive vent, so I decided to wait and see if it would happen again. She pooped just fine a few times after that, but I noticed it again today. To clarify, the actual feces look very normal, the blood isn't passed with them, and it's just a tiny amount that comes out at the end. From some searching I've found a few situations that sound similar to mine, but I haven't been able to find many clear answers. What sounds most likely is overstraining or possibly parasites. Does anyone know why this is happening? Is a vet visit in order?
Re: Small amount of blood after defecating
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...aae3ca6d16.jpg
here’s a picture to get an idea of what it looks like.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Small amount of blood after defecating
Quote:
Originally Posted by
aurum
...What sounds most likely is overstraining or possibly parasites. Does anyone know why this is happening? Is a vet visit in order?
I've never heard of a snake "overstraining", btw, unless she's been constipated? Even then it would most likely be irritation from dried urate stones, not actually straining?
Re: Small amount of blood after defecating
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bogertophis
I've never heard of a snake "overstraining", btw, unless she's been constipated? Even then it would most likely be irritation from dried urate stones, not actually straining?
I'm not exactly sure how that would work either, but it's the answer I saw most often when looking for people with similar situations.
Re: Small amount of blood after defecating
Quote:
Originally Posted by
aurum
We got the fecal results back and it looks like she has pinworms. The vet prescribed some medication (I don't know the specific kind yet) to be given with a food item every two weeks for three doses. Is there anything else I can do to help treatment? I'm planning to switch her to paper towels and try to scrub everything down periodically so she can't somehow re-infect herself with the eggs. Do you have any suggestions for how frequent that should be?
:gj: I would say that for now, change the paper towels any time she defecates. You might ask the vet about this, as to their viability during her medication?
Actual worms tend to dry out & die on paper towels- when I've dewormed snakes, that's what I observed- some came out alive but didn't get very far. Gag.
But I've read that pinworm eggs can actually survive 2-3 weeks on surfaces (apparently they stick on rather well) and please remember that you can catch them too- pinworms are all too happy to infect people, so wash your hands very well & securely dispose of her bedding. Might even want to use disposable gloves.