• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Egg-bound Surgery

moreptiles

moreptiles

New member
I have read several posts regarding egg binding where the treatment by a vet was to surgically remove the bound eggs. I have had 2 females become egg bound, and I was able to take care of both nicely by either aspirating the egg with a large diameter hypodermic syringe or by manipulation of the egg when the aspiration didn't solve the problem. In both cases the snakes came through the ordeal without any sign of problems or issues. One has successfully bred and had a large clutch of eggs with no problems.

My question is why all of the surgery? Is it automatic for most vets to resort to surgery when by all intents and purposes this would be a much more drastic measure with much greater potential consequences?

Mark
 
Hi Mark. My vet (thankfully clued up on reps) advises surgery as a last resort and prefers aspiration if he can. If the egg has been inside the snake for so long that it has solidified, then it can't be aspirated. If it has "lodged" too far inside the snake to be manipulated out, or it smply won't budge because it's become adhered, then he'll operate.

He agrees with you though - he doesn't like it as it carries too many risks and will only do it if the snake's life is in danger and nothing else has worked.

On the other hand, aspiration isn't 100% safe. If the egg isn't fully aspirated, then residual contents can seep out before it's been passed/manipulated out, and you end up with a case of peritonitis. Vet reckons he's lost a couple of snakes like that over the years.
 
I had this same discussion with my vet earlier this year. I had my first case of dystocia in one of mine and took her to the vet who wanted to perform surgery and I was dead set against the idea. In the end she aspirated (her first time) and it was hugely successful and she double-clutched (boy was I unhappy about that) without any problems whatsoever.
 
well now, my Missy was egg-bound twice, in 1999, the eggs were solid in her and wre up way to far from her vent to syringe them, so they operated, the second time in 2000, she layed 13, had 8 pushed out of her by a bloke i know who breeds and seels them, had 3 eggs explode inside of her, she prolapsed twice and hadnt eaten for 4 months, so when i took her to see the vet for the hundrenth time he had no choice but to operate. it was a matter of life and death. the vet, my family and a local exotic herp specialist all advised me to have her put to sleep but i wasnt having any of it, she pulled through no problem and ate as normal, 2 years down the line, this year 21st july, had to have her put to sleep due to gaut, anorexia and kidney failure. :-(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top