Bloated stomach
 

Hello. I have a corn snake about 1.5 years old. About a month ago she started developing a bloated stomach after digestion, so before pooping. I tried to massage her belly and give her a bath, and after that that bloating disappeared. I brought her to a vet. He checked her, did an x-ray, and didn't find anything strange. Just some bobbles of air in guts. After the vet visit, I decided to try to not feed her, but she again developed that bloated stomach. It happened 2 times in raw, after soaking she just urinated. She doesn't have problems with eating or pooping. She looks great. She is not lethargic. She just has this bloated stomach for 2 days a week. Can you please tell me what can it be? I want to go to a vet again, but what should I try first?

Bloating in the stomach is always really concerning! Was your vet a reptile vet? Do you feed in the enclosure?

Looked like he knew how to deal with snakes. I usually feed her outside of enclosure.

Bloating is a worrisome sign. Did the vet do a fecal check? If not, I would absolutely request one. This should not require that the snake actually be seen, if you can get a sample of the excreta in a bag or bottle. Of course you'd need to feed her. What did the vet say about feedings? It would be a good idea to put her on something like newspapers or paper towels so you can keep a close eye on what she passes.

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No, he didn't as she didn't have any poops.she is already on the paper towels. She poops ant urinates regularly. I fed her yesterday with a pinky. Will wait for her poop.

Hm. Even if your snake didn't have/produce any waste for the vet visit, it's possible for the vet ( or vet tech) to take a sample with a lubricated probe. There are assorted possible parasitic or infectious reasons why your snake might be experiencing abdominal bloating. You mentioned that she's going to have another vet visit. I do hope you are able to sort out the problem soon.

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I hope so. Thank you for your advice. I'll ask them to do a fecal check.

Best of luck. Please do keep us posted.

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So.....we visited the vet today. My snake had a diarrhea, which frightened me. After examination of faeces, they said it was protozoa. They said they would give her medicine for 7 days, and this would help. But I read some information that protozoa is the same as cryptosporidium. I asked the question. Waiting for the reply.

I'm glad you got part of an answer. I do want to clarify something, though if course I'm not your vet and haven't seen your snake's microscope slides. You've done some research, and it's true that cryptosporidia are ONE type of protozoan, but they are far from being the ONLY type. Some are much
more treatable than others. If you've been given a prescription, try not to worry too much at this point.

If you have any other herps, be sure to quarantine the affected snake away from them. In any case, wash your hands well before and after handling her or any of her things. (Should've said this before. I'm sorry.)

Fingers crossed for you and her!

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Thank you for the support. Unfortunately they can't say if it's crypto or not. Yes, I have more snakes and I try my best to not contact them after her. Unfortunately, I don't know when it started, so I'm not sure if they got it or not. I'll be waiting for their poops to check them too. I can ask the vet for the photo of what they found and post it in my album if it helps somehow.

Oh dear. Do you know what medication she is being given?

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Sulfa trimetroprim

That's a very good drug for a lot of protozoa.
It's usually very well tolerated unless the snake is debilitated, and it sounds like your girl has only recently become symptomatic. It's usually given until there's a negative fecal.
Hopefully your snake will make a full recovery soon! Fingers crossed!

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That's good to hear. Thank you for your responses and support. She started developing a bloating about 6 weeks ago and only recently had diarrhea. She also shedded yesterday. She looks good. I hope she will get better soon. Thank you a lot.

Happy to give emotional support. We care. Please do keep us updated on your girl. Hope she makes a full, quick recovery!

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Update. She pooped recently. She did it while soaking. It wasn't really watery as it was last time. It was very soft but like a sausage. I decided to check it out and found mouse bones. Not all of them, probably the biggest ones .

But last time she had a pinkie. And I wonder, may she
keep those poops for weeks?

Normally they don't retain food for weeks, no. As long as they have access to proper temperatures for digestion, the majority of the ways clears their digestive tract in a matter of days. That said, I am not sure how her parasitic issues might affect her digestion. The meds also change the gut flora.

Pinky mice do have bones, even though they aren't as fully calcified as older mice. I wouldn't worry too much about unusual waste at this point unless it's diarrhea. If you're concerned, a call to her vet will probably help.


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Yes. I understand about food. But could she hold feces? The thing is I fed her last time 23 of April. Then, I fed her with pinkie on Monday, 9. She pooped on Wednesday when she had diarrhea. And she pooped again tonight. She still has the bloating, which worries me the most. Doctor said that bloating might be because of her very slow metabolism. I also read that it can be a result of protozoa.

Update. She pooped today again. It was very very soft but at least not watery. There also were bubbles. Looks like she started passing out her gases.

Thanks for the update. I'm curious, are you giving her medication to her, or is she seeing the vet for that? When does she go back to the vet?

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Sorry, I'd somehow missed this. Normally the majority of a meal gets through their system in a matter of days. Cooler temps or gut motility that's slowed for some reason could mean that it will take longer for it to pass through. Like any species, some individuals have slower metabolic rate as your vet said. And you're correct that infection or parasites can slow digestion and cause bloating.

It is going to take a while for her to improve. It is hard to wait and can feel like forever. It may help to keep in mind that her metabolism is usually running at about 20% of the rate of human metabolism. Fingers crossed for her.

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I give the meds by myself. The vet told me to come on 20-21 when we finish with meds and I feed her.

Fingers crossed

So that they can check her feces again. I'll also bring my other snakes' feces to check.

I understand it will be a long way for her to improve. I'm okay to wait. I just hope she will make it. I read about probiotics for snakes, but can't find any on sale. I know that it's good to take some after antibiotics. Have you heard anything about those?

Your snake is fortunate to have you. Sounds like you're doing all you can for her.


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Your snake is lucky to have a human who's doing everything to care for her. I wish all of them were so lucky!

Yes, I'm familiar with probiotics. I use one called NutriBac with mine. It was recommended to me by Kathy Love herself (she's one of the pioneers in corn snake keeping and breeding). I am convinced it saved a youngster I once had who had gotten overheated and developed a dangerous pattern of regurges, even with proper regurge protocol. After gettingstarted with NutriBacthe regurges ended. He grew up to be a favorite pet, education animal, and sire.

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Thank you for your kind words. I really want her to improve as she is my first snake. And I love all of them. Unfortunately it's impossible to buy NutriBac in here. We have ReptiBac. They're probably similar. It's also an update. She pooped by herself last night. I can't tell if it was watery as it was smeared around. But the color has changed from yellow/brownish to dark brown ish. It doesn't have really unpleasant smell though. Bloating is smaller.

I'm not familiar with Reptile. I do know that probiotics are tremendously helpful for every species. I definitely encourage their use. My daughter who's a veterinarian does as well.

I think the fact that her waste does not smell awful is an encouraging sign. It has usually seemed to be the case when I've had an animal with digestive troubles that their waste smelled terrible. (At least, more terrible than usual, lol. ) It also sounds positive that the bloating may be lessening.

I also appreciate the special place your first snake holds in your heart. People who don't "get" snakes may think we're crazy, but they're just missing out. [emoji3059]

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Yes. Many people around me think I'm crazy.

I can relate to that![emoji1787]

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I received the ReptiBac. Looks like it is similar to NutriBac. Should I give it to her with water or pinky? I'm going to feed her tomorrow. I think it's better to give her pinky first.

If you're feeding her, I'd definitely dust the mouse. I usually pour out a little powder and dip the rear end of the damp mouse in. (For those who prefer starting with the rear end, as a couple of mine always do, I dip the shoulder area.) I've never had a snake reject a meal bc of this.

There's nothing wrong with putting the probiotic in the water if the label gives directions for that. You'd need to watch and be sure she's still willing to drink it. It isn't really possible to overdose on NutriBac. I assume Reptile is the same in this regard but you should ask her vet about that to be sure.

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Thank you for the answer. Tomorrow then I'll feed her with these probiotics. She also sometimes likes to start with the rear end.

I fed her today. It was so stressful. And it will be more stressful to wait for her feces.

So she pooped last night. I don't think that was from pinky I fed her yesterday. It was again really really soft, not sure if it was watery. It was darker than previous one. But the most important thing is that the bloating lessened a lot. I'll wait for her next poop. Probably it will happen tomorrow. And tomorrow we'll see the vet.

Glad her bloating is decreasing. That's got to be positive! Good luck to you at the vet.

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So....we just left the vet. He says there are no parasites anymore, but she has little useful bacterias. I asked him about probiotics, he said it would be good to give some. My other 2 snakes don't have parasites, too. I'm so happy. Thank you very much for your support. We made it because of you. I will update again after using probiotics.