Sage Update necropsy results

Well my Vet called me today to let me know what she found, Sage had a ruptured gall bladder and a small tumor on one of her kidneys. I still know little about snake anatomy and never really relized they can go thru many of the same interanal problems we can. Adam or other experts could this have been caught in a fecal sample? She didnt have any blood in her previous stool, but the vet did say she was full and probley ready to poop in a day or so.

If the tumor was effecting kidney function a blood test might have given a hint that something was wrong, but it's unlikely that she would have shown any external signs of illness. You did good by her, these things just happen.

I lost a het pied adult male last year to cancer. He was outwardly perfectly healthy one day and dead the next, the necropsy showed that he had severe tumors in every single organ of his body, but he had eaten 3 days prior to his death.

All you can do is the best you can for these animals and accept the things that are out of your hands.

-adam

Thanks Adam,

Bummer, guys.
Sorry for both of you :(

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All you can do is the best you can for these animals and accept the things that are out of your hands.

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Well said Adam -
Despite the best husbandry it's obvious you can't prevent everything.

BPs can have cancer!?

I guess just some things are out of the range of controlling. When will the cure for cancer be found...


Sorry for both your loses

Sean, I'm so sorry about the loss of Sage but at least you have the comfort of knowing there really wasn't anything you could have done differently and that what took Sage will not spread to others in your collection. Little comfort really...but something.


~~Joanna~~

i'm sorry you lost one of your beloved snakes, but as has been said, i am sure you are quite relieved to hear that it isn't anything that will affect the rest of your collection. i know you gave her the best and that she will be missed.

Sean,

2 years ago one of my favorite boas died on my birthday. She was a perfect 4 year old Surinam redtail, had never given me a problem in her life. Her necropsy revealed a porto-systemic liver shunt, so basically she died of a toxin buildup in her bloodstream since the organ wasn't functioning properly. A year later, I lost her brother to the same problem. Talking to other people who got boas from that litter (from the same breeder where I got mine), several more died within the same timeframe, from what was evidently a genetic ticking time bomb.

There are SO many things in reptile medicine that we don't know yet, simply because these animals haven't been kept in the same numbers as more traditional pets.

Part of keeping living animals, regardless of species, is that they all eventually die for one reason or another. It sucks more than words can say, but doesn't hold a candle to how much these animals enrich our lives.

Hang in there!

K~

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

If the tumor was effecting kidney function a blood test might have given a hint that something was wrong, but it's unlikely that she would have shown any external signs of illness. You did good by her, these things just happen.

I lost a het pied adult male last year to cancer. He was outwardly perfectly healthy one day and dead the next, the necropsy showed that he had severe tumors in every single organ of his body, but he had eaten 3 days prior to his death.

All you can do is the best you can for these animals and accept the things that are out of your hands.

-adam

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Wow. It is amazing that the snake showed no outward symptoms and was even eating normally. We are so used to dogs, cats, people where illness is obvious so much of the time.

Sorry for your loss...