Prolapsed hemipene... Please help!

[ChynaAndMike]

HELP! PLEASE!
I HAVE A BABY BOY, I BELIEVE HE IS ABOUT 8 MONTHS NOW, I (LIKE AN IDIOT) ALLOWED HIM TO BE PROBED TO DISCOVER HIS GENDER AT THE FLEA MARKER ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO. SINCE HE HAS EATEN AND DEFECATED ABOUT THREE TIMES. ON HIS LAST FEEDING HE HAD DIARRHEA.
MY BOYFRIEND TOLD ME ABOUT IT AND WHEN I CAME HOME TO CHANGE HIS NEWSPAPER BEDDING (WE RECENTLY CHANGED B/C WE HAD A BAD MOLD EXPERIENCE WITH SOME BEDDING THAT WE PURCHASED FROM A FAMILY FRIEND)
UPON WASHING OUT HIS CAGE I NOTICED HIS BUT HAD A SMALL PINK BUBBLE.



BECAUSE i'M EXTREMELY STUPID AND DIDN'T THINK TO LOOK HERE FIRST, I IMMEDIATELY DEFAULTED TO HAVE MY BOYFRIEND TAKE HIM TO THE PLACE I PURCHASED HIM AT TO HAVE THE "EXPERT TAKE A LOOK" HE ADVISED MY BF TO SOAK HIM IN WARM WATER FOR 30 MINUTES AND USE VASELINE/OLIVE OIL TO LUBRICATE HIS HEMIPENE AND GENTLY HELP THE SNAKE PUSH IT BACK IN. MYBOYFRIEND TRIED ... IT DIDN'T WORK.
I CALLED THE VET, OF COURSE THEY WANT A RUMP, A MILLION BUCKS AND A HANDSHAKE, SO I CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE HIM FIXED PROFESSIONALLY(AT LEAST NOT CURRENTLY) IN THE MEAN TIME THIS ALL HAPPENED LAST THURSDAY(3 DAYS AGO)
HE'S BEEN CURLED UP IN HIS ENCLOSURE BEHIND A ROCK AND IT FINALLY HIT ME TO COME HERE.
THIS IS WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE TODAY WHEN I GOT HOME



HE WOULDN'T KEEP STILL. BUT I FOUND POOP IN HIS ENCLOSURE
I DIPPED HIS TAIL IN LUKEWARM WATER AND USED A FEW Q-TIPS TO CLEAN UP THE "LEFTOVERS" AND DEBRI, I REMOVED WHAT APPEARED TO BE A SCAB AS WELL


I ALSO HAD BY BOYFRIEND BUY PAPER TOWELS AND STARTED TO MESSAGE HIM AS THIS (http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...emipene!/page5) ARTICLE STATES. IT LOOKS TO HAVE GONE IN SOME AND I CAN TELL HE'S TRYING TO PULL IT IN, SO I AM ABOUT TO MAKE THE SUGAR PASTE TO SHRINK IT SOME TO HELP HERE IS A BEFORE PICTURE


PLEASE WISH ME LUCK AND DON'T HESITATE TO GIVE ME ANY... I MEAN ANY ADVICE. I'VE HAD A CORN SNAKE BEFORE, BUT THIS IS HUGE FOR US. I APPRECIATE ALL HELP

[ChynaAndMike]

i know this sounds silly, but am i supposed to rinse off the sugar paste immediately? If not, how long should it remain on before i rinse it?

[satomi325]

No. Leave the paste on until it disappears on its own.
The sugar is suppose to absorb all the liquid that causes the prolapse to be swollen.

[RobNJ]

Looks like the rectum, not hemipene...but yeah, sugar/water paste...keep it on clean paper towels. If it doesn't go down on its own, trip to the vet.

Not something to take lightly, but it doesn't look too severe. I'd probably skip feeding him for a couple weeks as well. Here's a picture of a baby that I produced that had a severe prolapsed rectum(months after leaving my care) that needed to be surgically repaired.

[ChynaAndMike]

Oh no! I thought it was a rectum to, the guy that we Purchased him from seems to know nothing at all! My ultimate intent is just to keep it from getting worse until i can afford to take him to the vet.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

[LLLReptile]

Rinse off the sugar - leaving it on can be extremely abrasive to the delicate tissues of the intestine and can actually make the prolapse worse (I've seen this in animals customers have brought in after being similarly confused). The sugar should not be left to dry on the prolapse; if it does not improve before the sugar paste dries, just rinse it off, as it is unlikely to help much more. Remember that the prolapse is the very delicate tissues of the animal's intestines...you want to make sure it's being treated as gently as possible.

Soaks in lukewarm water and gently trying to massage it back in can help. Keep it on very damp paper towels so that the intestines do not get too dry and scab again - you want to keep the tissue nice and soft and pink so it can easily go back in on its own.

Good luck, and as others have mentioned, you'll probably want to skip feeding it for a week or two to hopefully ensure it doesn't need to poop more and possibly make the prolapse worse. If the prolapse does get better, small meals would be a good idea for a while to help ensure that the snake does not have overly large bowel movements to pass.

-Jen