Simon R. Sansom
06-24-03, 02:39 PM
Well, my female Caver retained an egg. After waiting for a week for her to get rid of it, I decided to deal with it myself (since my local vet couldn't be bothered).
With expert guidance from several very knowledgeable, and qualified, herpers I was able to obtain the equipment needed from the vet, and performed the procedure at home.
The egg was very high up in the oviduct and I was unable to move it at all by manipulation.
So a "paracentesis" was indicated in order to drain the contents of the infertile egg to facilitate it's expulsion.
Equipment required;
1) 18 gauge I.V. catheter.
1) Small syringe (10 or 20 cc).
Some alcohol (for disinfection, not drinkin', lol!) and some betadine ointment.
It's also nice to have a willing helper, or two, or three!
Method;
The snake must be firmly, but gently, immobilized, and the section to be worked on must be held on it's side, because the catheter will be inserted between the scales at the junction between the belly scales and the side scales at a 45 degree angle from the rear of the egg.
Rubbing alcohol was swabbed liberally around the planned site of penetration and the the catheter was firmly, but nervously, pushed between the scales, through the snake's side and into the egg. The snake only flinched when I stuck the catheter in. I was quite amazed.
The needle was then slid out of the cannula and the syringe was then gently screwed onto the cannula. A gentle pull on the plunger was all that was necessary to get the very liquid yolk flowing into the syringe.
In this pic you can see the egg contents filling the syringe (Sharon, my better half, is holding the snake and the syringe so that I could snap a quick shot)...
http://image.inkfrog.com/pix/simonsansom/709235picture.jpg
It was necessary to unscrew and empty the 10cc syringe once before the "operation" was complete. I'd say that we got about 18 cc's or so out of the egg.
Then we just withdrew the cannula, applied some Betadine ointment to the wound (which didn't even bleed, by the way) and that was it.
Now it's just a matter of waiting for her to pass the deflated shell. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for looking and reading!
Cheers!
Simon
With expert guidance from several very knowledgeable, and qualified, herpers I was able to obtain the equipment needed from the vet, and performed the procedure at home.
The egg was very high up in the oviduct and I was unable to move it at all by manipulation.
So a "paracentesis" was indicated in order to drain the contents of the infertile egg to facilitate it's expulsion.
Equipment required;
1) 18 gauge I.V. catheter.
1) Small syringe (10 or 20 cc).
Some alcohol (for disinfection, not drinkin', lol!) and some betadine ointment.
It's also nice to have a willing helper, or two, or three!
Method;
The snake must be firmly, but gently, immobilized, and the section to be worked on must be held on it's side, because the catheter will be inserted between the scales at the junction between the belly scales and the side scales at a 45 degree angle from the rear of the egg.
Rubbing alcohol was swabbed liberally around the planned site of penetration and the the catheter was firmly, but nervously, pushed between the scales, through the snake's side and into the egg. The snake only flinched when I stuck the catheter in. I was quite amazed.
The needle was then slid out of the cannula and the syringe was then gently screwed onto the cannula. A gentle pull on the plunger was all that was necessary to get the very liquid yolk flowing into the syringe.
In this pic you can see the egg contents filling the syringe (Sharon, my better half, is holding the snake and the syringe so that I could snap a quick shot)...
http://image.inkfrog.com/pix/simonsansom/709235picture.jpg
It was necessary to unscrew and empty the 10cc syringe once before the "operation" was complete. I'd say that we got about 18 cc's or so out of the egg.
Then we just withdrew the cannula, applied some Betadine ointment to the wound (which didn't even bleed, by the way) and that was it.
Now it's just a matter of waiting for her to pass the deflated shell. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for looking and reading!
Cheers!
Simon