Think I'm going to lose him =( [Jonas died]

[Nafun]

I've had my milk Jonas for 6 weeks. As I've reported before, he's been sluggish and refusing to feed. Now he's in the middle of a very bad shed, which I don't understand, I've kept him on moist paper towels because of his prolapse, and he's got a large water dish that he soaks in. For now, I've got him wet bagged.

Anyway, today, when I checked on him, I noticed he's got a sizable bulge just anterior to his vent. This can't be good. First thing tomorrow he's going to the vet, but I know this can't be good.

I'm not sure what it could be. Egg impaction (if he is a she), bowel obstruction (which seems unlikely since he hasn't fed in at least a month and a half, aside from a tube feeding at the vet) or the big C, which has me pretty scared.

I never thought I could get so attached to a snake so fast.

[infernalis]

good luck... keep us apprised.

[bladeblaster]

best of luck at the vets.

[Feebo]

A "Wet bag"? Humidity is one thing for a prolapse but if you put it in a wet bag I can`t help but think that`s not a great idea. Have you got any KY Jelly? A bit of that smeared on the prolapse will keep it moist without having the snake in a potentially over damp environment.... I bet the swelling is going to be directly related to the prolapse, imagine you had something hanging out of your puckar lol it doesn`t sound super comfortable does it? Try not to worry too much though dude, as long as you make a bee line for the vet he`ll be just fine in a few weeks I expect :) Lets see a picture if you can too....

[percey39]

Dont mean to be rude but why are you tube feeding? it would be easier in most cases, other than a very few cases to force feed! Force feeding is not a nice thing to have to do, if you are unexperienced in it I would suggest it would be best suited to someone who has experience with it. I would do as feebo suggested avoid too much humidity and try and keep it nice and warm for him.

Im very sorry to hear about this as well. I hope it is nothing to get too worried about!!!!!!

[Nafun]

I'm not tube feeding. The vet tube fed, once, a mixture of food, antibiotics, and an appetite stimulant.

I wet bagged him over night because he's in a really bad shed. He's been over his prolapse since a couple of weeks ago, a round of injected anti biotics, and antiobiotic ointment on his vent twice a day.

[shaunyboy]

if giving meds via tube i always flush it down with food as the tubes in there already so it benifits in two ways (meds & food).over here my vet reccomends this high protien dog/cat food its designed to help animals recover after illness has took the best out them.you just add water until it fits through the syringe.ive found it really puts the wieght back on them through a period where they're withering away.imo its also less stressfull on the snake as said this is only my humble opinion.
cheers shaun

p.s.good luck with your king mate.

[Nafun]

Back from the vet.

Good news first, it's not impaction or cancer.

Vet tube fed him again, she was concerned because he's lost weight since his last visit.

She scoped his vent to see what the bulge was, and gave him an enema to rule out impaction. She says it looks like his infection is back (the reason for his last visit), so he's back on anti biotics.

So he's got an intestinal infection near the vent, which isn't good, but it's not cancer, which is good. Hopefully this round of antibiotics clears this up once and for all. I should have suspected it was a return of his previous infection (even though he never had a bulge before). I need to remember, when you hear hoof beats, expect horses, not zebras.

Oh well, nice thing about expecting the worst is that when you're wrong, it's wonderful.

[shaunyboy]

Back from the vet.

Good news first, it's not impaction or cancer.

Vet tube fed him again, she was concerned because he's lost weight since his last visit.

She scoped his vent to see what the bulge was, and gave him an enema to rule out impaction. She says it looks like his infection is back (the reason for his last visit), so he's back on anti biotics.

So he's got an intestinal infection near the vent, which isn't good, but it's not cancer, which is good. Hopefully this round of antibiotics clears this up once and for all. I should have suspected it was a return of his previous infection (even though he never had a bulge before). I need to remember, when you hear hoof beats, expect horses, not zebras.

Oh well, nice thing about expecting the worst is that when you're wrong, it's wonderful.


thats good that it was better than expected news mate.
cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

Fingers crossed mate - glad it was good news

[percey39]

Hope fully this is your last visit to the vets for a while

[Nafun]

Three new things today.

I noticed that he now has a bare/raw patch about 6 or 8 inches down his body, it looks like he lost 3 or 4 scales. I put antibiotic ointment on it. This is new since he finished his shed.

He also has another lump, this one looks like... well, it looks like something sticking out of his side It's hard/firm to the touch. I will post pics in a couple of minutes (still trying to figure out my new camera).

Finally... he passed his tube feeding from yesterday. As diarrhea. All over the living room floor. There was a little bit of gooey black, a little gooey green, some white urates, and a whole lot of liquid diarrhea.

[Nafun]

Here's a pic of the new bulge.
It feels hard to the touch, and is coming out of his side.

[bladeblaster]

that looks more like a blister than an internal lump. Have you had a fecal sample tested for parasites, and/or infections?

[Nafun]

It doesn't feel like a blister, it feels, well.... it feels like a bone under skin.

I asked if it could be parasites, and the vet said she didn't think so.

[Nafun]

Jonas died this week. I'm not sure when. I last handled him two days ago when I gave him his last shot. Today is feeding day and he's dead. I only had him for two months, but I was closer with him than any other snake, because he was so sickly. I'm not naive enough to hope he's in a better place, but I do hope that I was able to make his last two months on earth comfortable. This has not been a good day.

[percey39]

Im so sorry to hear mate. I know you make a strong bond when you have one like jonas.

[marvelfreak]

:no:Sorry to hear. :no:

[Feebo]

Ooooooh bugger. Really sorry to hear that mate. :( I know what you mean about being closer through care, I`ve got a huge Royal python who has had a few problems needing hundreds of pounds and lots of time and injections. I`ve been up many a night keeping an eye on her. Your care and attention to that snake will have made it`s last few weeks on Earth much more comfortable for sure.....

[Lankyrob]

Sorry to hear of your loss - just think that a lot of people wouldnt have bothered trying to treat the animal - your care can only have made things better.

[Freebody]

really sorry to hear of your loss,:( looks like you tries above and beyond what most snakes get from most keepers out thier. your a good keeper, i hope you have better luck in the future.

[Nafun]

He's at the vet now undergoing necropsy. I want to know what killed him, so it doesn't happen to another one of my snakes.

It sounds terrible, but I hope it was cancer, that way no one is to blame, and there's nothing anyone could have done.

I'm just lucky to have an inexpensive reptile vet. $60 for a necropsy is a good peace of mind to dollar ratio.

[Nafun]

Update: Just got off the phone with the vet. Preliminary results indicate he either had a severe infection (which they think unlikely since he had three courses of antibiotics), or cancer. He had an extremely swollen lymph node near his intestines. They're sending samples to Purdue University to confirm the diagnosis.

[presspirate]

Sorry to hear he didn't make it. You do develop a special bond when nursing your sick animals.

[emseeKAY]

sorry about the loss, i think we all get that feeling at some point whether it is a dog, snake, etc. it always sucks to lose a pet

[infernalis]

Condolences on the loss.... sucks.

[shaunyboy]

Im so sorry to hear mate. I know you make a strong bond when you have one like jonas.


like percy says mate you really do grow a strong bond with sickly snakes.ive been treating my jag for over 9 months now.he's now the family pet and if he gets better will be with us for life.

i'm sorry to hear you lost your snake mate.its so frustrating when you do everything possible and still have a bad outcome.

cheers shaun

[Grimleo]

Sorry for your loss :(

[Nafun]

Just got the lab results from the necropsy.

It wasn't cancer. He had a severe, drug resistant, infection of the intestines and pancreas.

I've cleaned and bleached everything I could think that he might have come into contact with. Only time will tell if it got passed to any of my other snakes. They've all been eating normally since Jonas's death, so hopefully it was an isolated incident.

[Freebody]

I hope it does not spread, and its just a single isolated case, i got my fingers crossed for you.