Red Tail almost Seizuring (new update included)

So I had my little girl the the stripes out, and she started to almost convulse(sp). she could still move forward and all that junk, but she was like shivering but more intense like a seizure. She seems fine, I'm not really worried, unless you guys tell me I should??? hahah any thoughts input?

I would worry! But maybe I just overreact to strange behaivor.... how long did the shivering/convulsing last for?

maybe 30 secs....max. But I had just picked her up and set her on my bed for a quick second and she had her tail wrapped around my finger by just the tip. So she was stretched out all the way and then did it, getting back to a curled position.

Agreed, I would be freaking out! I would take her to the vet, definitely, and keep her away from your other critters for the time being... make sure you wash your hands between handling anything else!

Oh I Germ-X like crazy

Ibd???

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Originally Posted by jdmls88

Ibd???

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Oh good Lord... seriously, why is it that everyone immediately thinks the worst?

Yes, I agree the animal probably needs to be taken to the vet. But if she's shown no other signs of being ill, there's no reason to jump to the worst conclusion and scare people.

Just watch your procedure and make sure you don't handle anything else immediately after her without cleaning up well beforehand.


IBD is scary as hell... yes, it can happen. BUt it's like anything else... when one person has it, you start seeing more and more people that have it (kinda like shark attacks in the news). And then more and more people start asking about it...

Let's please try not to contribute to the panic.

hhahahaha its all good, I knew it would be said. theres fifty five threads within the last week about it. im uploading a video



and the background noise is MAD TV. so dont get no ideas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3iE9A20I4o
here is the vid

Wow pat, that looks pretty scary. It would seem a trip to the vet is in order.
Yes I agree, lets not all scream wolf here, as IBD is not the only sickness seizuring is attributed to. She may not be sick at all, and this could be neuralogical from breeding. Lets not jump on the IBD warhorse.

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

So I had my little girl the the stripes out, and she started to almost convulse(sp). she could still move forward and all that junk, but she was like shivering but more intense like a seizure. She seems fine, I'm not really worried, unless you guys tell me I should??? hahah any thoughts input?

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How on earth could you not be worried? Seizures are -never- something to be taken lightly. Get her to the vet right away.

how can i not worry, cuase shes fine before, fine after, fine during. shes not scared shocked or anything

And I tell you, as somebody who has worked in veterinary medicine for the last 5 years, that seizures are very serious. Until a good reptile vet has looked at her and told you not to worry, I'd suggest you take it very seriously.

well, now im starting to worry..... i definately need to get her to a vet soon.

If any of mine were doing that, the first thing I'd be doing is calling my vet. Hope you can get her seen soon. Siezures in humans can cause continued brain damage each time they seize.

whats wierd is she only does it when she is stretched out straight. she doesnt do it in her enlosure. doesnt do it curled in your fingers. she only does it when she is out stretched all the way

I can only tell you the same thing.. take her to a reptile vet. That's definitely not normal.

Is she able to right herself if placed on her back? If not, it could be something neurological. I'm not sure I'd handle her anymore until you can get her to a vet though anyway.

yeah she can right herself back out. and seems completely normal doing it

I wasn't able to see the video, but I'm not sure I want to. That would scare the heck out of me. I freak if I think anything is wrong with our snakes (like last night w/ the teeth).

I think you should get her to a vet ASAP - like today if you can find anyone. With the holidays coming, it will be harder to catch a good herp vet open next week.

If it's something you can bring on by straightening her out, please don't do that until you have a vet in the room to watch. You may even want to avoid handling or feeding her until then.

Good luck! She is in our thoughts. Keep us posted.

I would rema in calm and get the snake to the vet. Going into a conniption yourself is no good and could lead to a car accident!
I would want to get bloodwork done and see if the has been poisoned by some sort of toxin.

Sounds like IBD to me. I would quarantine her for awhile (3-6 months) and take her to the vet. The later stages of IBD will often involve the snake being contorted in weird positions and not being able to right itself. Try flipping her on her back and see if she can straighten herself. Also stargazing is another side effect. I've never owned a herp with IBD, but i have seen some with it. I hope for your sake its not as it is very contagious and has been known to kill of whole collections. And i kno what it feels like to lose a pet you care for due to things you can't help at all. Good Luck.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Siezures in humans can cause continued brain damage each time they seize.

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not true, my friends dad has had epilepsy for over 25 years, with countless seizures through the years with no adverse effects other than the seizure which is scary as hell, when they seize they get superhuman strength, one time i tried to hold down an arm, i got thrown across the room and hit the wall 5 feet up!! and i weigh 220 lbs! gran mal seizures can be dangerous though, but they are a sign of something worse

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Originally Posted by jeffjr464

not true, my friends dad has had epilepsy for over 25 years, with countless seizures through the years with no adverse effects other than the seizure which is scary as hell, when they seize they get superhuman strength, one time i tried to hold down an arm, i got thrown across the room and hit the wall 5 feet up!! and i weigh 220 lbs! gran mal seizures can be dangerous though, but they are a sign of something worse

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Epileptics can have gran mal seizures, in which case they are a sign of epilepsy.

Repeated or prolonged seizures can cause damage, it's well documented. I'm glad you're friend's dad has not suffered any long-term damage, but he is not representative of the entire spectrum of seizures.

Breathe...step away from the keyboard...repeat.:gj:

i don't think anyone wants you to be frantic, but if your animal is having seizures, you shouldn't blow it off just because "she was fine before and she's fine after."

I already have a vet to call, but they wont be in untill after xmas, so your right, im not worrying, becuase if i do, i will worry too much and drive myself nuts.

How is working yourself into a frenzy during the holidays help? I don't think he ever said he wasn't/refused to see a vet...

thank you connie, i thought i posted it here but it was in a message to jimi snakes about the vet.

Our thoughts are with you. Hopefully she pulls through this ok and all will be well. I'd be frantic if one of my babies were doing that. PLEASE let us know the outcome.

Chris & Tracy.

well, i woke up this morning and she looked like she had pooped out part of her intestines. they are like sticking about half an inch out of her vent. i called the vet, and they are not seeing exotics till after the 1st cause the exotic vet is out of town. now i am really stressed. i feel so terrible for her....and i have no idea what to do.

I think any vet would be able to help now, do you have a vet hospital nearby? This is an emergency. I dont know how to keep her insides moist, but you must so they dont start to dry up and die.
I really hope she pulls through, things arent looking so good for her anymore. :(

It looks like she did it in the middle of the night, they are definately not moist. and maybe look like they have poop still stuck to them.

i called the emergency clinic near me and they dont see exotics, i knew that before i even got her.

That sounds like a rectal prolapse. You can put some sugar water on it and it may go back in. This animal needs to be seen by a vet. Is there any way you can get another exotic vet to see her?

http://www.anapsid.org/prolapse.html
It says to soak them in water that has sugar added... pretty much what he said.

well, in that list of repti vets that is floating around here, that was the closest. how much concentration of sugar to water?


could this have caused her seizuring?


ok let me go try that

Just so I don't get flamed...

I have worked in teaching vet hospitals for over 6 years as a technician and am very familiar with seeing this type of thing.

You really really don't want that to dry out because you can open yourself up several more problems.

SO sorry this is happening to you.

Just put enough sugar in the warm water until it totally disolves. That should be good enough.

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Heavy concentrations of sugar in the water will act to draw out the fluids engorging the swollen everted tissue; this may reduce it enough to be inverted by the lizard. The tissue may be rinsed with fresh water and Betadine, and carefully pushed back in with a gloved finger lubricated with KY Jelly (the type without the spermicde). Extreme care must be taken in doing this as, if the colon contains fecal matter and the colon tissue is pierced in the attempt to replace it, severe, even fatal contamination and injury may result. If the soaking does not work within an hour, and you do not wish to attempt manual replacement, the iguana should be placed on a damp towel and taken to the vet as quickly as possible.

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http://www.anapsid.org/prolapse.html

That's for an iguana, but again, i think it'll work

That should work. I'd try soaking her first for about 45 minutes or so before attempting to put your fingers in there. It may just go back up on it's own. Doing it in a shoebox would be your best bet since you can just fill it with about 1 or 2 iinches of the solution and then put her in it with the lid on.

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

could this have caused her seizuring?

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i have a tupperware that she is in right this second with sugar and warm water. just so i dont get bashed here, i am concerned, and i am worrying.

I dont know. Would prolapsing be more of a symptom of something bigger?

That is a question I cannot answer. Your vet will need to rule out several things before he or she can answer intelligently...

I can say it may be a byproduct of the seizures.

Seisures cause severe muscle contractions so this may be what caused the prolapse.

Oh, Pat... *hugs*

I hope she gets better. But I agree, there's really no way to tell if the seizuring was a cause or an affect of this. I'll be thinking about her...

well what i was thinking, if there was something wrong with her insides to begin with, becuase she would seizure after i had let go of her tail from stretching her out. so maybe the pain of the organs cuaseing the siezure??? i dont know thats just what my gf and i were thinking, cuase its just like one thing after another, and they all seem to be like related

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Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

Oh, Pat... *hugs*

I hope she gets better. But I agree, there's really no way to tell if the seizuring was a cause or an affect of this. I'll be thinking about her...

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Thank you!

That is a possibility. Unfortunately, snakes are very stoic and we are unable to see if something is systematically wrong with them until it is in advanced stages. I seriously doubt a quick trip to the vet and a shot of Baytril is going to be the fix on this one. Has she been exposed to any type of chemicals such as pesticides or paint thinners?

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

well what i was thinking, if there was something wrong with her insides to begin with, becuase she would seizure after i had let go of her tail from stretching her out. so maybe the pain of the organs cuaseing the siezure??? i dont know thats just what my gf and i were thinking, cuase its just like one thing after another, and they all seem to be like related

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Has she defecated lately? Or rather, when was the last time? I don't know if constipation can make her prolapse or any other problems.... just thinking

no, i keep nothing like that around. i actually dont even own any of that. but i mean she came from petco like 4-5 months ago, so no telling then.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Has she defecated lately? Or rather, when was the last time? I don't know if constipation can make her prolapse.... just thinking

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yeah she did, this morning and a couple of days ago. but i did notice she was storing her food in her belly for a long time, like poop the day after the next weeks feeding. i didnt really think anything of it then comma becuase i know snakes that were starved comma will hold poop longer

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Has she defecated lately? Or rather, when was the last time? I don't know if constipation can make her prolapse or any other problems.... just thinking

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That is true. It could do that if she is pushing hard...

what i was feeding every other week, because i did see her doing that