Not all blockages are the same (pics and necropsy)

[onna_shinigami]

While it sucks that the animal had to die, you did the whole community a service with this post.

Too many times, people make ASSumptions as to why their animals passed, and these assumptions ultimately result in a more ignorant community. Most people would have written it off to substrate impaction or some other mysterious issue.

By taking the time and expense to perform a necropsy and by taking the time to post the results here and share them with your peers, you are educating anyone who takes the time to read your post.

Very sorry for your loss. And thank you very much for making this a leaning experience for other herpers. So was it just undigested rat that caused the blockage?

I was thinking the same thing Skip. I had no idea what caused this issue nor the swelling. I wanted pictures to show others and hung around the vets office so we could talk about what he found. I did know it wasn't from bedding, at least from here. All ours are kept on either newspaper or paper towels and he hadn't ate the entire time he was here. I did forget to mention that the spot had became necrotic but from the outside you couldn't tell.