Aspen stuck in hemipene?

[hypnoctopus]

I went to spot clean and change the water in my amel stripe, Blaze's, tank tonight, and he was following my hand around, so I decided to get him out while I was working. As he slithered through my hands, I felt something slightly sharp down by his tail. A very small piece of aspen appears to be stuck in one of his hemipenes. It's definitely going 'down' the tail, as opposed to up the vent.

I grabbed some small sewing tweezers and tried to gently pull it out, but it's such a small piece that I could not get a hold of it. I also tried to use my fingernails, but again, same thing. I don't want to accidentally push it in further or have it give him any splinters, but he's a very wiggly snake.

I gave him a room-temp bath to see if it might loosen, but no luck so far.

I don't know how long this has been there. I didn't notice anything when I fed him on Friday.

He's generally a very active snake and likes to climb all over his tank, and he's gotten aspen stuck in his nostril before (but it came right out). Should I switch his tank to paper towel? Would it be a good idea to use a different substrate for him in the future, and do you have any recommendations?

I definitely will take him to a vet if nothing else can be done, but I'd like everyone's input first. (Also, if anyone personally knows any good reptile vets in the Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa/Queen Creek area in Arizona, I would love their information.)

Here are some photos:

http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12636077/1024/Anonymous/IMG-4157.jpg

http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12636084/1024/Anonymous/IMG-4158.jpg

If you want ginormous photos, here are links:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12636084/img/12636084.jpg
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12636086/img/12636086.jpg

Thank you for any help!

[hypnoctopus]

Well, I let Blaze relax for a little while in a paper toweled container, and then I decided to try again. Good news! With very mild pulling on the piece of aspen, he everted his hemipenes and I was able to slide it out! Some white-ish fluid came out at the same time, and I don't know if it was pus or seminal fluid, but I took a photo, so hopefully someone might be able to offer me insight.

I currently have him in a long tupperware container lined with dry paper towel. One of the ends in near his heater, should he need the heat (and it's long enough that he can go to the other end if he doesn't want heat).

The scale near the vent does look slightly damaged, so should I keep him on paper towels until he heals? And should I switch him to a new substrate once he's healed?

Is there anything I need to do for the damaged scale?

Here are photos:

http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12636522/1024/Anonymous/IMG-4159.jpg

The actual piece of aspen was quite long! To the left of the brown dot is what was visible, and to the right is what was inside him.

http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12636559/1024/Anonymous/IMG-4160.jpg

Not a great photo, but here you can see the damaged scale right beneath his vent scale:

http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12636602/1024/Anonymous/IMG-4162.jpg

[Nythain]

Oh my god the poor guy. That piece was a lot bigger than I had expected. I really hope he heals up well. I can't help you with the fluid, sorry. Can just send my best wishes his way.

[Nanci]

I think I'd run it by a vet just to be sure. The white substance looks like a sperm plug. Actual semen is yellow like lemon meringue. For first aid I'd soak him twice a day in weak tea strength Betadine/water.

[LMS68]

Oh ouch! That was some splinter stuck in there. Glad you were able to take it out. I second the trip to the vet idea just in case the betadine baths (& polysporin applications) aren't enough. Putting him on paper towel until it heals sounds like a good idea too.

[hypnoctopus]

Can I get betadine at a drugstore?

[Guruofchem]

Yep - should be no problem getting it at any drug store.

[hypnoctopus]

Alrighty, got some betadine and I gave Blaze a 5-minute soak in a diluted mix of it. I made sure to give him a big drink of water beforehand so he wouldn't be tempted to drink it.

Should I give him a betadine bath once a day or more often? And also, would it be just as effective if I dabbed some betadine with a Q-tip on his one scale?

I'm not thinking that I will need to take him to a vet. The little injured area looks better already, but I'll keep an eye on it and if it does get worse or he acts unusual, I'll make sure to get to a vet.

He also had a big normal poop this morning.

Here's a picture of the scale:

http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12643113/1024/Anonymous/IMG-4170.jpg

[LMS68]

Wow, it already looks nice. Well done. Depending on how much betadine you mix in, just be careful as it can destroy the good cells as well if you use it too frequently. Maybe one more soak would help since the body is trying to rid of the bacteria, after that, just use the poly & gauge the site if it seems to need another bath.

Lookin' good.