Egg bound African House snake

[lolaophidia]

A little history... Female laid 7 eggs on 5/22 (they all look infertile like her previous 2 clutches last year). I could tell she still had a few more left in her so I left the egg box in the cage. On 5/30 she laid 2 more eggs and was definitely still retaining at least 2 eggs- one was quite large from the external appearance. I figured I'd give her a little more time and see if she could pass them. On 6/6 I tried to gently manually apply pressure to the eggs to help her expell them with no luck. I was concerned that if I applied too much pressure I might injure her and the large egg right above the cloaca won't budge. Made an appt. with the vet for tonight (6:45pm) but I'm hoping for some suggestions to help the vet with his treatment. I don't know his experience level with aspiration and I'm concerned that he'll recommend surgery. If surgery is the appropriate treatment, I'll happily do that but I feel that other options may be less traumatic and costly. Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,

[gonesnakee]

Surgery is not a desired option. Snakes do not sedate well & that alone can be a death sentence. I'd recomend shots of Oxytocin & fluids. Oxytocin helps them push & the fluids prevent dehydration. If oxytocin doesn't give her the push required then go for aspiration or the vet may want to do both right off anyway. Surgery is very expensive & dangerous & should be a last resort IMHO. Good Luck Mark
P.S. exercise is also good. She will want to just lie in her nestbox probably. Make her move around & don't be afriad to apply gentle pressure to the eggs & offer her lots of fresh water. Luke warm baths will help her pass them also. Make sure the temp of the water is appropriate. Many people will make it too warm & that will also be harmfull (or even deadly) to your snake.

[lolaophidia]

Thank you! You've confirmed my thoughts on surgery. I'm off to the vet- wish me and mrs. snake luck!

[tai_pan1]

Good luck!

[lolaophidia]

Here's the update. The vet was able to lubricate and expel 2 of 3 eggs remaining without aspirating. I have high hopes that the female will be able to pass the third egg, which looks to be of a normal size. I'll give her a nice soak tomorrow to help things along. Her breeding days are done, since her mate died last week of unknown causes- after nearly 500.00 in vet bills, tests, and a necropsy. Hopefully she won't keep throwing infertiles and we won't go through this again.
Thanks for the advise and for the luck!