So Glitch has a kidney tumor. - Page 2

Skits · 04-14-14, 07:55 PM

Thanks for the info

I never knew you could judge on head shape. This is Glitch, I have two other CP's, one who came to me with Glitch and another that I've had for two years now.

Terranaut · 04-15-14, 04:18 AM

I was afraid of this. IMHO unless you have a vet surgeon that has performed this type of work before with success I would consider euthanasia. Like Derek said there isn't a very high success rate with this tupe of procedure. I know you want what is best for him but the stress of recovery only to pass anyway is not it. You do whatever you are compelled to do but if there were my snake I would keep my vet money and stop any suffering. Just my $.02. Either way you are being morally responsible and a good keeper. Good luck.

Will0W783 · 04-15-14, 07:13 AM

I'm so sorry to hear about Glitch. I commend you for trying surgery; that's what I did for my large female emerald tree boa. Once the vet got inside though, he found that her tumor had taken over her stomach and large intestine so she just didn't wake up from the surgery. I would do what you can; no one can fault you for trying to save your pet's life, but try to be prepared in case you have to make a hard decision. Best of luck, you'll be in my thoughts. Please keep us posted.

formica · 04-15-14, 09:17 AM

sorry to hear this, fingers are crossed for you!

Skits · 04-15-14, 11:51 AM

Thanks all. I'm going to have to think about my options today.

Zoo Nanny · 04-15-14, 04:22 PM

I'm really sorry about Glitch, hopefully the vet will find it to be something not as serious. There are credit cards available for veterinary care. In the US Care Credit is one, not sure if that is available in Canada. I did see one that one of my friends uses it's called Petcard or something like that. Best of luck to you.

Kera · 04-16-14, 11:38 AM

I had the same problem with my carpet, she had 3 tumors. We caught it too late, she stopped eating and was starving to death. The vet gave us the option to euthanize or surgery, but said she might not have even made it through surgery and recovered fully.

Consider the best options, if you caught it early enough and have the money, go for surgery if you trust the vet. Euthanizing (if done at a vets office) will still cost money but not as much as surgery obviously. But if you're attached to the animal, that's hard to do. That was one of the hardest things I had to do, handing her over to the vet, bawling my eyes out.

I hope Glitch gets better, and I hope it's only a fatty tumor or nothing too serious. Best wishes, we won't judge your choice, it's a hard thing to do.

Will0W783 · 04-16-14, 12:22 PM

Any updates on Glitch? How did the vet visit go?

Skits · 04-17-14, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoo Nanny

I'm really sorry about Glitch, hopefully the vet will find it to be something not as serious. There are credit cards available for veterinary care. In the US Care Credit is one, not sure if that is available in Canada. I did see one that one of my friends uses it's called Petcard or something like that. Best of luck to you.

Unfortunately I don't have credit built up yet, and my parents have bad credit so I wasn't able to get approved for one.

I called Petcard the first day I needed to get Glitch in and they denied.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kera

I had the same problem with my carpet, she had 3 tumors. We caught it too late, she stopped eating and was starving to death. The vet gave us the option to euthanize or surgery, but said she might not have even made it through surgery and recovered fully.

Consider the best options, if you caught it early enough and have the money, go for surgery if you trust the vet. Euthanizing (if done at a vets office) will still cost money but not as much as surgery obviously. But if you're attached to the animal, that's hard to do. That was one of the hardest things I had to do, handing her over to the vet, bawling my eyes out.

I hope Glitch gets better, and I hope it's only a fatty tumor or nothing too serious. Best wishes, we won't judge your choice, it's a hard thing to do.

Unfortunately I don't have the money for it right now. We're moving in less than a month (already bought the house and starting to move things in this weekend) and we're tight on money currently.

We already broke our budget for moving with the first vet bill and the scan. I set up a donation page and got 50$ but that's not enough to get anything done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Any updates on Glitch? How did the vet visit go?

I had to call the vet who seen Glitch and they contacted the vet who would perform the surgery to talk about price estimations and it'll be anywhere from 600-1000$ for the surgery alone, and 400$ for the ultrasound..and another 86$ for an examination at that vet. It's frustrating to pay for a vet and get pretty much nothing out of it other than a scan that determined nothing at all. I'm going to try and figure out if I can get money together and do payments with the vet or else I guess I'll have to put Glitch down.

I really didn't want to give up on him but I can't let him suffer.

Will0W783 · 04-18-14, 07:21 AM

I'm so sorry Skits. I hope you can work things out, but keep in mind that cancer in snakes is really hard for them to bounce back from, and I'd hate to see you pour months of money into trying to extend his life by a few weeks-months. Like I said earlier, I spent over $600 trying to fix an ETB, only to find out the cancer was too far gone once the vet got inside during the surgery. At that point, I had to pay for the anesthesia and surgery time, plus the euthanasia fees, plus all the prior exams....I'm trying to remember what it all came to, but it was somewhere around $800, and I still lost the snake.

You will need to make the decision that works best for you though. I can definitely understand not wanting to give up on an animal you love, and if I had to do it over again I'd make the same decisions to try as far as my wallet would allow.

You will be in my thoughts.

Terranaut · 04-18-14, 10:21 AM

IMHO your doing the right thing. Don't feel bad, you did more than the average Joe already. Glitch was luck you found him.

Kimmie · 04-18-14, 11:21 AM

thats a lot of money, both my BF and me work and it would still be hard for us to come up with that

, I will say don't feel bad you did your best, he is lucky that you found him. If he could express his feelings im sure he would be very happy for the time he was with you.

Skits · 04-18-14, 03:12 PM

Thanks everyone for the replies. It's definitely hard at times, and I feel horrible not being able to provide him with everything. I know it's a benign tumor so cancer isn't a problem, if it was, I wouldn't want to try getting it removed as I don't want him feeling pain. I also know benign tumors can turn cancerous though, so a hard decision might have to be made. I called the vet who does the surgeries and doing payments with them is not an option, so I'm going to talk to my original vet on Monday and talk about final options.

Zoo Nanny · 04-18-14, 04:46 PM

Have you tried contacting the veterinary college in Montreal, they may offer to do the surgery if you donate Glitch to the school. It would give Glitch a chance but at the same time help students learn about snake anatomy and care.

Skits · 04-18-14, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoo Nanny

Have you tried contacting the veterinary college in Montreal, they may offer to do the surgery if you donate Glitch to the school. It would give Glitch a chance but at the same time help students learn about snake anatomy and care.

No I haven't tried that, by donating it means to give him up to them? I will look into it if it can give him a chance.