blood in urine

[Jesse C]

hey guys and gals
i seem to be having the worst luck with my new ball
well today i noticed that there was some blood in her urine this morning
now about 2 weeks ago she ate a wood chip, which i've been worying about ever since, but she did go for lack of a better word, poo earlier this week which looked normal to me no blood or anything suspicious, i haven't seen any blood in her urine up till this point, shes been eating regularly, now i did just feed her last night, would it be normal for blood from the mouse to not get completely digested and just pass through and come out the same color?
now she doesn't apear to have any lumps in her body, and she hasn't been acting any different
i picked her up and around her vent area through the scales it looked a little red to me almost like blood, but not right on the surface
i am also currently treating for mites, with the olive oil technique that was told to me by another guy who owns alot of snakes(im not going back to the pet store i got her from, i think they're bad news now)
anyways please help

[jyjy103]

i would just keep monitoring it and if it happeneds again take her back to the store and demand they have her seen by a vet thats al i would do

[LadyParvati]

I've never had this happen. For one thing, snakes don't urinate like we do. They produce a stool that is composed of uric acid (the white part) and fecal matter (the dark part). This is usually fairly solid.

The internal tissue (inside the vent) will be pinkish, but it shouldn't appear bloody.

If your snake is having loose stools, it may have diarrhea. I personally would be very hesitant to wait very long if I thought I was seeing blood & loose stool and would take my snake or at least a stool sample to the vet.

Blood around the vent or in the stool (or loose stools) may indicate a protozoan or bacterial infection (or there could be some problem associated with the wood chip because it didn't get passed, which could lead to a bacterial infection). In any case, only someone able to do stool analyses can figure out what's going on.

You could start with a stool sample--collected within 24 hours of production and put in a plastic ziploc-type bag--and take it to the vet for analysis. The stool sample should have the dark parts in it; if it is only white/yellow, it is the urates & won't reveal the parasite, if there is one.

Has the snake eaten again in the last week? If not, will the snake eat? You may not get another stool until she does.

If you are unable to obtain a stool sample and you're still worried, you could take the snake. But keep in mind that this in itself is stressful. So you may want to monitor the situation for the next few days. Clean up the habitat thoroughly, be sure there's fresh water daily, and watch behavior, watch for any more loose stools.

Others may have some other helpful advice, too, so I hope more people will jump in on this thread.

Good luck.

[gonesnakee]

Don't have the time to get into it all right now, but will mention a couple key things. Olive oil or any other type of oil on your snake is a bad idea. It causes damage the scales & causes the snake extra stress. Might as well smear Peanut Butter or Mayo on there as it would work just as well :rolleyes: all it is doing is smothering them & damaging your snakes skin as well. Should go with either the NIX treatment or get some Provent A Mite. Both have the same active ingredient that actually KILLS not only mites but their eggs as well. Run a search of this site on mite treatment & you will get all the proper info required. If not post here again & I will dig up the proper link(s). As for the blood hopefully it is just minor & caused by the passing of the wood chip. The post above is good advice in reguards to following up on that. Mark

[Jesse C]

Ok wrll so far I haven't seen any more blood so I'm hopeing for the best, now about the oil affecting the skin, the treatment is over now will the skin recover from this possible damage or have I hurt my snake permanently I realy hope not

[Aaron_S]

I don't believe it will be hurt long term from the treatment. I wouldn't continue to do it though. Also, I've never experienced blood in the stool so I can't really give you advice on that. I do agree that some type of exam of the feces is in order.

[gonesnakee]

Are the scales coming off in big patches? Thats what can happen. Also the "treatment being over" comment. WRONG! Maybe using the wrong treatment is over (the olive oil :rolleyes:), but your mites are not gone. What about all of the eggs they have laid & the ones that were not on the snake that could be anywhere thru out the entire house? They will all be hatching/thriving soon. Heres a link to how to eradicate mites & ensure they are gone. The "treatment" used just smothered the ones on the snake. You could have done that with a bath in water or anything for that matter. Anyhow I can pretty much guarrantee there are still mites present whether you can see them yet or not. Mark

http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/caresheets/nix.pdf

if link doesn't work at first try refreshing the page, Good Luck.

[LadyParvati]

I'm glad you haven't seen any more blood--that's some good news! Having never heard of the olive oil treatment, I didn't know what to say, so I've learned some more good information today. I'm so glad I haven't had to deal with mites! :)

My BP is currently hanging out in his water bowl, hoping that some furry creature will wander by . . . he only ate a small mouse the last time I fed him & refused the rat, so he _should_ be getting hungry!

[Jesse C]

Ok well still no sign of any blood so that's good. I have seen some clumps of scales stuck to the side of the tank how bad is that for her and will it just eventually stop and fix itself?

[LadyParvati]

Jesse, I think that with time, the snake will heal, but I don't really know how bad its scale loss may get. From what I've read, the scale loss can be due either to the treatment or to the mites. I'm hoping someone will address the use of Nix on a snake suffering from scale loss--Aaron or Mark?

[gonesnakee]

If you haven't already you need to wash off any remaining oil from the snake. The scales will grow back over time as the snake sheds. Chances are it will go into a shed cycle soon. Partially to help rid itself of the external parasites & to repair its damaged skin as well. As for using NIX I would be cautious to use it on any areas of the snake where there is significant scale loss. It could likely be absorbed thru the skin in those areas? May want to hold off usng any NIX on the snake itself for a while unless it is obviously required. Then maybe instead of misting/spraying the snake with the solution maybe wipe it down with it instead missing the "wounded" areas. Make sure you always use NIX as per the link provided & NEVER EVER in conccentrated form! It MUST be diluted as per the instructions or can cause serious issues itself. Good Luck Mark

[LadyParvati]

Well, Mark, now I have a question regarding this situation. If Jesse cannot use Nix for awhile, will it be OK to soak the snake in water to get rid of as many mites as possible? Along with a very thorough cleaning of the snake's habitat, hides, etc., that should help _some_, but would the water bath just make this snake's current problems worse at this point?:confused:

[gonesnakee]

Can still use NIX in its habitat but I'd be hesitant to use it on areas of the snake with no scales. A bath will drown lots of them too yep. Mark