Will my python ever recover?

[leosantare]

Just speculating here, but if euthanasia is mentioned to the vet as often as it is in the thread, or arbitrary 'last chances to get it right' are mentioned, I suspect the vet might be in a position they don't like to be in or want to be in.

What a thing to say, thanks anyway.

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[Bogertophis]

Why do the enema, when we don't know the cause and it can just happen again? I wasn't doi g anythong wrong. Plus, the risk of death from anthesia with an enlarged heart.

Plus, she just did poop without an enema. I posted pictures.


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It wasn't clear when that picture was taken.

Note, the vet's report said that the enlargement they thought they were seeing might be a normal variant for this species- it is also possible that there is some issue, but since that's not definite, it would not deter me from getting her necessary medical help. For all living things, just waking up in the morning carries a risk of death, if you know what I mean?

Snakes can get constipated without anyone doing something wrong, & without involving any big health issue- just like humans do sometimes. It doesn't necessarily recur, though an enclosure that encourages her to move around more would likely help to prevent recurrence. Constipation is not the big deal you're trying to make it sound like. Get this snake the help she needs, or find another responsible owner who will.

Bottom line- I've never heard of anyone, ever, that euthanized a snake for being constipated. (And I've been keeping many snakes for decades.)

[bcr229]

Hello,

I really need your help people. This is it, her last chance to make it. Well, my last chance to try and get her better.

I have a lot of things to say and never want to go back to my vet again. Look at what they did to her mouth from the past 2 days! I had a very hard time watching her after they gave her the oral medications. She will not be getting anymore from my vet and I can't do it myself.

What kind of oral meds? If they were administering something like mineral oil for the impaction, that can be injected into a f/t feeder.

The swelling in the picture - is that right at her vent or is it further up? If at her vent did the vet check for impacted glands? One of my king snakes gets that periodically and the glands just need to be expressed (beware - the smell will run you out of the room!) and then she gets antibiotics afterward. The vet said it's just something that happens with certain individuals, though it's more common in colubrids than pythons.

[Malum Argenteum]

Just speculating here, but if euthanasia is mentioned to the vet as often as it is in the thread, or arbitrary 'last chances to get it right' are mentioned, I suspect the vet might be in a position they don't like to be in or want to be in.

What a thing to say, thanks anyway.

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If you're offended by what I posted, either you've misinterpreted me or I'm terrible at wording things. I did work on the wording in that post for quite some time, but I'll take your response into account in the future. I only meant to make suggestions to help make the situation better for the snake.

[leosantare]

She is still alive, still eating but still losing weight.

She looks the worst she ever has. I swabed her mouth and feces. Her boid and crypto panels were all negative from RAL. I'm fed her (2) medium rats, (350g total) last and she is no longer impacted with feces.

Does anyone know how I can make her gain weight? Can anyone make sense of why she is losing weight when she is eating more, test negative for most things and never has been in contact with another snake. She had mites when she was a year old but if anything were to come of that, it would have happened much sooner, correct?

[Homebody]

Does anyone know how I can make her gain weight? Can anyone make sense of why she is losing weight when she is eating more, test negative for most things and never has been in contact with another snake. She had mites when she was a year old but if anything were to come of that, it would have happened much sooner, correct?

I'm sorry. I don't have any suggestions that you haven't thought of already, but I sympathize with your frustration and hope you find a solution soon.

[Bogertophis]

She is still alive, still eating but still losing weight.

She looks the worst she ever has. I swabed her mouth and feces. Her boid and crypto panels were all negative from RAL. I'm fed her (2) medium rats, (350g total) last and she is no longer impacted with feces.

Does anyone know how I can make her gain weight? Can anyone make sense of why she is losing weight when she is eating more, test negative for most things and never has been in contact with another snake. She had mites when she was a year old but if anything were to come of that, it would have happened much sooner, correct?

Weight-wise, she looks fine to me in the photos you've shown. Gaining weight is a matter of eating, & some snakes, just like some humans, are more prone to overeating than others (& hence more prone to gaining unnecessary weight than others.)

Also, her weight may seem to fluctuate & be lower now just because of how much food & water is currently in her body. As you said, she's no longer impacted with fecal material- therefore she's going to weigh less now. The same thing happens with all creatures, humans included. Weights fluctuate daily- it's normal.

I agree that having mites when she was a yearling (some 10 years ago) is very unlikely to cause anything now, & besides, you just ran some tests that are negative (ie. show she's healthy).

Sorry but I can only conclude, at least from "here", that the only problem with this snake is your perception of her, & that's pretty hard to adjust. Since you seem so unhappy with her- apparently you really want a snake with more muscle mass & that's just not who or what this snake IS, this might be the wrong pet for you? Ever think of that? You've already said your vets find nothing wrong (other than what's already been addressed)- so what does that tell you?

As far as I can tell, the problem, if any, is not with the snake (and the stress of too many vet visits is not doing her any favors either). Our pets deserve our love & acceptance for who & what they are, & to do that, we have to be realistic, & not expect them to conform to some idealized notion of how they should look. Living creatures don't all look exactly the same (or have the same build), but that doesn't mean they're not as healthy as they can be.

[bcr229]

Do you have a recent picture of her? Once my snakes get up to adulthood I look more at body condition than weight. Some of my retics weight has varied +/- five pounds at vet visits from year to year.

[leosantare]

Hello,

Again, I've owned my python since she was 3 months old and she is 11 years old now. I have never been concerned with her body condition or weight until recently. It should be obvious that I wouldn't be concerned for no reason.

I did take her to a different vet for a second opinion. He can see that she is underweight and suggested to increase the temperature a bit. I'm not going to change the temperature from what is has been for years nor will I be going back to any vets. I had a lot of people confirm the temperature is ideal.

My python is underweight, that is not my opinion, that is a fact. About 2 months ago at her last vet visit, she weighed her lowest, 7.3kg. I suspect she may be even less than that now. Remember, she was about 9kg before this all started which is a significant amount of weight loss.

Stress, I don't really think so, she hasn't been to the vet in a while and most of the visits were stress free. She is processing food differently and I read that is a sign of illness. Every time I feed her I wonder where it goes. It's as if it dissappears.

Her activity level is still very low even when she is outside of her enclosure. For example, now that it's summer time I been taking her outside and I let her in roam the house a bit. She does move around a little bit more outside her enclosure but not much. Although, I think taking her outside her enclosure helps motivate her to go to the bathroom. As if she is too depressed to do so on her own, in her enclosure. This makes things even more confusing. By eating larger meals along with very little activity should make her gain weight, not lose weight. I know my enclosure is pretty bare, but she has the necessities. I'm making a PVC jungle gym to put in place of the blue tub/hide box.

I also wanted to point out that there are no labs with accurate testing for most viruses on live animals. Anyone deal with RAL before?

Thank you for all the help. If there is anything I can do to help her gain weight and become more active, please let me know. Here are some recent pictures..





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[leosantare]

This is a picture of her within 24 hours after she ate (1) 300g chick. As you can see, I'm definitely feeding her large enough meals every 10 days.

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