HELP! Can a twisted umbilicus be helped?!

I need advice here...it seems two of my babies that are still in their eggs have twisted umbilicus cords. They both have a little yolk to go but they will die if I dont do something.
Can anything be done to save them or am I just forced to watch them die?! I've already had two babies die in this clutch (one from a twisted umbilicus) and I cant take another two. These babies are on day 58 by the way.
They are both very responsive when I check them.
Any advice would be SO appreciated.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7...14a3a37f99.jpg
DSC00641 by zombiecupcake155, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7...ea42687147.jpg
DSC00642 by zombiecupcake155, on Flickr

If I remember correctly either Ralph or Kobylka posted a vid on youtube showing what to do. Search and I'm sure u will find some help. I believe ur supposed to cut it and tie it off with fishing line or something like that? Please do not quote me on this.. that could have been for a different problem. Just try the search, its worth a shot. Sorry I couldn't help more, best of luck. Pulling for u and the 2 babes!

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Originally Posted by mues155

I need advice here...it seems two of my babies that are still in their eggs have twisted umbilicus cords. They both have a little yolk to go but they will die if I dont do something.
Can anything be done to save them or am I just forced to watch them die?! I've already had two babies die in this clutch (one from a twisted umbilicus) and I cant take another two. These babies are on day 58 by the way.
They are both very responsive when I check them.
Any advice would be SO appreciated.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7...14a3a37f99.jpg
DSC00641 by zombiecupcake155, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7...ea42687147.jpg
DSC00642 by zombiecupcake155, on Flickr

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Originally Posted by cdavidson9

If I remember correctly either Ralph or Kobylka posted a vid on youtube showing what to do. Search and I'm sure u will find some help. I believe ur supposed to cut it and tie it off with fishing line or something like that? Please do not quote me on this.. that could have been for a different problem. Just try the search, its worth a shot. Sorry I couldn't help more, best of luck. Pulling for u and the 2 babes!

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Thank you but I cant find any videos on youtube about twisted umbicial help. I've tried a few different phrases and cant find anything.
I dont suppose you would have a link?

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OH I found it!

Fishing line wont work it will cut right threw it. I see you found the link hope all works out well

Here's a link with nice step by step photos. Before you go to any extremes, try to untangle them, it could be just one twist in the cord that will come out easily. If it's REALLY twisted/knotted up, maybe better to follow the link I'm posting...

http://www.reptileradio.net/reptiler...ight=umbilicus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z84McnJQZWc

Good point.. fishing line is pretty sharp.

Yes it can

This is what I have done a few week ago (THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS GRAPHIC PICS)







This year I cut clutch number 4 (Pied X Albino) within 24 hours one of the hatchling started emerging but it was obvious that there was an issue. As you can see the hatchling had a twisted umbilicus (it’s rare but it happens and if left unattended the animal dies a slow death)

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...mbilicus01.jpg

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...mbilicus02.jpg

He was already very weak so I decided to intervene immediately. I pulled him out of the egg (although he was already half way out) and proceeded to see if it could be untangled. As there was no possibility to untangle the umbilicus the only thing left to do was to cut the egg sac of and free him.

I went and grabbed some dental floss (without flavoring) something any breeder should have in his snake room and proceeded carefully sliding the dental floss under the umbilical cord.

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...mbilicus03.jpg

Next step I tied up a knot to prevent the hatchling from bleeding out once the egg sac would be cut off.

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...mbilicus04.jpg

I then proceeded to cut the egg sac off.

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...mbilicus05.jpg


After the procedure I decided to leave the hatchling alone rather than feed it the yolk, he was very weak and I did not want to add unnecessary stress.

I placed him in a deli cup with some moist paper towel and put him back in the incubator to keep him nice and warm.
The next day he was still weak but improving, the day after that he had regain strength and I decided to assist feed him since he obviously had not absorbed any of his yolk.

Since than (he hatched on 06/21) he has been doing very well, he did not shed in the same times than his other siblings but took his first meal on his own when they did even though he had not had his first shed, he actually had his first shed today and so far as had 2 meals on his own.

Great post Deb!


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Oh Deb your the coolest! Awesome post, that should be a sticky!
Thanks guys for all your help! I will give an update after I access the situation further.

I've also heard of folks removing them from the egg, untwisting the umbilicus, and then putting them into a small wet deli cup to finish absorbing yolk. If the umbilicus can be untwisted, this apparently works.

I had to do the same thing this year. You do have to be careful not to tie it to tight. The string will cut the cord, and the animals could still bleed. Also I cut mine about an inch away from the body. That way chances of it getting sucked in are lower. Also make sure when you cut, your cutting on the right side. If you cut on the snake side of the string, you just tied off for nothing. The baby I had to do this with this year. Is nice and healthy today. She is a little small, but has started eating. You may notice that the ones you cut, will not shed as soon as the others do. The one I had it was almost 2 months or so. Before she had her first shed. They may also be alot weaker than they would be if they had absorbed all their yolk.

Tomorrow I am going to buy unflavored dental floss!!

Thanks for the awesome post Deb :gj:

On a twist around the body like that, cutting him loose like Deborah is excellent advice. If its just loops around once I usually pull the hatchling out untwist and then put back in the egg... if it begins to absorb the yolk you're golden. If not, you may still have to cut it loose after 24 hours or so.

Also, I've had a bit of trouble with using dental floss... only because if you pull it tightly it can cut right through the cord. If you cut a thin rubber band and use it as string that works extremely well in my experience.

Update:
I pulled both out of the egg and the twist was very minor, i was able to correct it without cutting the cord.
I put them back in the egg and made sure to get some distilled water on them. They have quite a but of yolk to go but this should help.
Hope they pull through ok.
Would it have been better to just put them in a deli cup with wet paper towels and placed them in the incubator, instead of back in the egg? At this point i think there's some bacteria growth on the eggs, they look slightly discolored.
Thanks guys for all the help, hopefully they do ok.

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Hope they are ok for you! *fingers crossed* We haven't bred yet, so I can't answer your question though. :)

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Yes, I agree, great job Deborah! Is there any way that this can be made into a sticky? We've had to do this once, but it's nice to have the step by step available with the pics.

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Originally Posted by mues155

Update:
I pulled both out of the egg and the twist was very minor, i was able to correct it without cutting the cord.
I put them back in the egg and made sure to get some distilled water on them. They have quite a but of yolk to go but this should help.
Hope they pull through ok.
Would it have been better to just put them in a deli cup with wet paper towels and placed them in the incubator, instead of back in the egg? At this point i think there's some bacteria growth on the eggs, they look slightly discolored.
Thanks guys for all the help, hopefully they do ok.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

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At this point since you managed to untangle him without cutting I would suggest to have him in a deli cup (with some moist paper towel) to limit his movement and allow him to absorbed his yolk, if their is no signs of him absorbing it's yolk in the next 24/36 hours I would go ahead and cut the sac anyway.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

At this point since you managed to untangle him without cutting I would suggest to have him in a deli cup (with some moist paper towel) to limit his movement and allow him to absorbed his yolk, if their is no signs of him absorbing it's yolk in the next 24/36 hours I would go ahead and cut the sac anyway.

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Ok sounds good thank you so much!

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Wow thanks Deb!

And I agree with putting him in the paper towel. He can crawl right back out of the egg and drag the yolk everywhere.

Dealing this while still early in the egg is much more difficult. When I have tied and cut them, they had already exited and tried to move about, unsuccessfully. I hadn't considered scrapping the egg and transferring to a deli cup, that is smart.

Don't use a thin dental floss, as it can cut through too easily. Use a thicker brand, or some dental tape, and a slice through is less likely. That looks to be what Deb has done. We always have dental floss/tape and some tiny sharp scissors on our med station : )

I wouldn't use a rubber band for fear it would get sucked inside the body, I think tape is less likely to cause an issue in that case. I also trim the excess dental tape as close as possible to the knot.

This is by no means a foolproof process, there is still LOTS that can go wrong, but you do have a reasonable chance of success, and 1000x better than not doing anything, which is typically a death sentence for the knotted up baby.

Best of luck!