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Please help my Dekays.

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M

Margulis

Chief Inquisitor
I found my Dekays brown snake three days ago. He was fine, no problems, no nothing. A day later, I go to check on him and see this weird thing poking out from the hemipenes area.. I've asked several people for help and showed them the picture I have (it's really the only picture I have, my camera sucks). Whatever this is, I've had people tell me it could be his digestive track (as it's pointed towards the tail and looks as though it's coming from the body portion) and others say it's an infected hemipene. I've soaked him in warm water for an hour, in hopes it would go back inside, but it didn't.. I've tried neosporin to no avail and now it's drying up and is a dark reddish color but there is no blood present. It's attached inside by a white-like band and is very thick. Can ANYONE please help? I don't have access to a veterinary clinic as I do not drive and I don't know what to do with him to help him. Regardless, he doesn't seem affected by it, but at this rate, what's going to happen when he eats if he can't defecate? If you have any questions, please ask. I'm sitting at my computer, so I will answer immediately. You can also find me on aim at EliteApathy. Thank you, any advise would be greatly appreciated.

0hsnakemtj
 
Oh my gosh I'm so sorry that I can't provide you with any help or advice. :[ I know enough about corn snakes but not about infections or diseases.

I wish you good luck with him that everything will be alright. :[
 
I moved this thread to the appropriate forum.

My advice is to let it go where you found it. Believe me, I'm not saying that to be mean. It's probably his/her best chance of survival.
 
If it's his hemipene, it will probably just dry up and fall off. I can't see any reason for it to be out, though, since you weren't breeding him. If it's his intestine, he's not going to make it without a vet. I'm sorry. WC (wild caught) snakes are just trouble.
 
I see this type of thing a lot as I work in a zoo medicine clinic. I completely agree with what Nanci says as far as the prognosis goes.

There is, however, something you can try on your own. You need to make a mixture of warm water and sugar...as much as you can. Dextrose is best, but you're probably just going to have to go with normal sugar you have around the house. Once it's all mixed together, soak him in it. The key is to keep the area moist. The sugar should help the tissue shrink. Once this happens, take a small cotton-tipped applicator or Q-tip and gently ease the tissue back into the cloaca.

It works in most of the cases I see, and it's worked for me personally on my basilisk.

Hope this helps!
 
Thank you, AshleyShadows. What temperature am I aiming for with the water and exactly how much sugar are you talking? Am I trying to make it thick like syrup? Also, how long should I keep him in this concoction? Whatever it is is dried up and shriveled and I have been soaking him, but..it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

Earlier, while he was soaking, some white, stringy stuff began to come out, but it was very little and looked as though it was somewhat able to be passed around the hemipene (providing that's what it is). Ugh, I'm sad.
 
You're welcome, and you can just call me Ashley.

I'd aim for lukewarm. Something that feels around 85 degrees. I'd add a few teaspoons full. It doesn't need to be like syrup. Just mix it well. The sugar should help with the shrinking.

The white stuff is probably just urates, and that's completely normal.

Also, I forgot to add that it's extremely important to keep it clean. I'm not sure what kind of set up you have for him, but substrate needs to be removed, and he should be on newspaper. Keep it as simple as possible.
 
Well, I hate to tell you this, but I have seen this many times before while working for Wildcare, a local rehab clinic for wild animals.
The snake looks as if it has been crushed and it's internal organs are being forced out through the vent. I am almost 100% sure that that's what is happening. It's very sad, but people need to know..
It's not curable at home. I would take him to the vet, or possibly your local humane society, for help. At wildcare, we usually have to euthenize snakes with this sort of injury - but his injury is not extremely severe. There may be hope.

Good luck! Keep us updated!
 
I'm not seeing what looks "crushed" about this. I see this happen all the time in wild and pet snakes, so I wouldn't say it's all over. It can be caused by a number of things, and one main cause is having too many gram negative bacteria in the GI tract.

I've personally have an animal pull through this, so I'd say there's plenty of hope.
 
No, I don't think he was crushed. In fact, he is in fantastic shape otherwise. I am doing all that I can and hoping he pulls through. I apologize for the shape of the photo, I'll try to take a better picture. It has changed quite a bit. Right now it's shriveled, there's no swelling anywhere and it has quite a bit of movement.. But I have to wonder. If I shove it back inside, wont that potentially cause more damage?
 
Not if you're gentle. That's the standard technique we use at the clinic (it's Texas A&M University...so it's state of the art over there). Just make sure it's moist. You may even use some more neosporin before gently working it back in.
 
Yes. Don't shove it back inside. That could cause more internal damage. Hopefully he wasn't crushed, but usually, snakes who have been smooshed don't looked damaged anywhere but the vent.
I'd continue with soaking him for a bit, but maybe without the sugar. I've never heard of that being used, and I imagine it could cause some internal damage. After a bit of soaking, I'd put the snake in a large(ish) tuperware with holes in the lid and make sure it's warm. Don't put paper towels in the bottom.
 
Ok well it's really me vs. Salvadorian thing here, so it's up to you to decide what to do. But everything I've said is what board-certified zoological veterinarians do at one of the finest veterinary hospitals and schools in the country.

I've seen this work countless times.
 
Yes, I'm not saying that you're wrong, Ashley, I also work with many zoological veterinarians, two of which specialize in snakes. I am saying, however, that it's unwise to instruct someone to perfom a medical procedure on an animal when they have no experience doing so and when the animal is stressed - just like you wouldn't want a newbie probing a snake.
 
The stress of captivity alone could prevent proper healing (I've kept the species myself, despite lack of id from the photo). If you want to own a snake that's suitable for captive-keeping, a w/c northern brown may not be the best choice anyway.
 
Well, regardless of what you do, Margulis, I would not recommend soaking (sugar actually can be added) for more than an hour. If you do attempt to push the prolapse back inside, be extremely cautious and try to use some kind of lubricant, such as KY jelly (NO SPERMICIDE!). Being cautious is especially important if the prolapse is cloacal tissue, as piecing the colon wall will cause contamination, infection, sepsis, and eventually death.

Can you tell us if the tissue still seems living? I think it would be a bad idea to try and invert necrotic tissue back inside.
 
P.s. The second picture shows him looking a wee bit flat around the injury. I can assure you, he is not actually flat around there. Oddly enough, there's no flatness or swelling really around the area, except for the injury itself.
 
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