Help! :P

[BoidKeeper]

Best of luck Marisa.
Tim man, no worries, even before the edit I didn't take anything you said as anything to get in a state about.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Tim_Cranwill]

I waited about 10 days before I did anything about it but it was her whole clutch... she was on day 25 after her pre-lay. An egg was "right at her vent" for almost a week... but this is YOUR call.

Let us know what you decide, Marisa.

[gonesnakee]

Unfortunately I have lots of experience with eggbound snakes. The following are the steps that should be taken & in the order they are listed.
#1 exercise & gentle manipulation of the eggs if possible & yes this includes lukewarm baths (check the temp not too hot).
#2 Oxytocin & fluid shots yep this means the vet. fluids keep her hydrated & the Oxytocin makes her want to push. This & the above will work in most cases.
#3 Aspiration of the egg or eggs. This should be done only if she can't pass them on her own & whenever possible thru the vent. When you go thru the snake you risk a secondary infection that can kill your snake. Aspiration may be the #2 option in your case as the egg is located at the vent & can save a vet trip. Remember an egg that is leaking out inside your snake will kill it MUCH faster than one that is intact.
#4 Surgery, not a desired option & should not be required for this snake by the sounds of things

I have had snakes lay their last eggs upwards of 2 weeks after the rest & have had females push out the last infertile eggs from the first clutch with their second clutches upto 6-8 weeks after laying the others with no ill effects in either instances.
Something else that has worked but is not recomended is the offering of a very small meal. This will sometimes help but is more likely to hinder. I've had snakes pass their last eggs with the fecal matter, but you also risk bunging them up even more.
People are fast to start messing with them when sometimes its as simple as gentle manipulation & a few luke warm baths. Heck I myself wanted to aspirate my one snake on 2 separate occassions this season, but went with the vets decision not too & went with the Oxytocin only both times instead & was 100% successful by doing so. Having the eggs pass with some of the contents left inside the snake is not a desirable thing & shouldn't be risked if not required. An internal secondary would likely be a very bad thing & can be very real when aspirating thru the snakes skin. My opinion based on personal experiences anyway. Mark

[marisa]

Well if I did have to do the aspirating, it would be through the vent. The egg is so close the end of it is almost visible. It's also fairly obvious that she has no more in there, I feel and see only this one.

I am going to give her a luke warm bath tonight, allow her to rest after that, then tomorrow look at the situation again. And decide if I wait more, vet or the aspirating.

Marisa

[marisa]

Hi guys. Well last night I tried a nice (CORRECT) temp bath. I hoped the swimming and water would get things moving but no go.

The egg hasn't come out at all, and she is seeming a bit more "tired" and less aggresive. This bothers me since she is a very aggresive corn normally.

So tonight I will do the aspiration. It should be easy as pie since the egg is RIGHT at the vent and I won't need to make any holes that aren't supposed to be there. We got some good gauge needles and all the stuff we need.

I have another question though...this snake is big and a double clutcher. I have read lots about infertile eggs being harder to pass than fertile. But after all this I don't really want to breed her again??? But should I to try to ensure fertile eggs? I am unclear on what to do about the next clutch.

Marisa

[marisa]

Update

We just did the aspiration. It wasn't fun. She was very upset when we took her out initially. I had my roomate hold her tail end, my boyfriend hold her head while I was hoping to go through the vent.

The egg was further up than I thought so going through the vent was impossible. I ended up going through the side between scales like I have been reading when researching this. (Everything was sterile BTW) as SOON as I started removing fluid she calmed down like 100% and let us do it. I got a HUGE amount of fluid out of this egg but unfortuantly I could NOT get the shell out.

Now I am freaking because I am afriad this will hurt her more. The egg is now invisible in her, we couldn't massage it out, I couldn't get hemos in deep enough to grasp it safely without getting flesh and I wasn't about to press the issue.

Does anyone have ideas for my next step of action? Should this snake see a vet since I couldn't remove the egg shell? I am more than glad to take her at this point if need be. I am planning on cleaning her cage OFTEN, paper towel substrate as always and keeping the tiny wound clean. What else can I do at this point?

Marisa