I have to say that I just love my vet! He is very knowledge and never hesitates to spend talking to me about husbandry and even shows my kids neat stuff during the examination...a true teacher. I hope all herpers had access to such a qualified herp vet.



Anyway....I know the topic of frequent urination comes up, so I just thought I'd post what happened.



My albino Burm is an 11yo supposed male (I haven't had him probed) who passes a lot of water and some urates at least 2-3 times a week. He has done this for the year and a half or so that I've had him. For his adult life before I had him, he lived in a 75 gal tank, screen lid, no obvious precautions made for humidity adjustment. He had a tub of water in the tank, and he went swimming with his family in the pool. He eats a med rabbit every 3-4 weeks, but he sometimes goes 5-6 weeks without eating (refuses food).



He is now in a 6' x 3' AP cage with 70-90% humidity and temps that range from 80-88. He drinks a lot and we still let him soak, but he has his own kiddie pool.



Anyway, the vet thinks the frequent urination is mostly likely caused by renal disease, and that may be a consequence of his previous care. He listened to his heart (good rate, so no potassium concerns), and he didn't show any signs of septicemia which goes along with renal disease. Since the snake seemed to be in good health, we decided against bloodwork at this point.



So, what do we do? Keeping meals small helps, and soaking as much as possible. Since I feed freshly killed or F/T prey, he suggested loading the prey item with fluids as well. If the weather was warmer, he would soak the snake daily, but the weather is getting cooler and the risk of RI isn't worth it. It is also important to keep the cage VERY clean since snakes with renal disease are susceptible to infections. Septicemia is a concern, and when circulation is compromised by electrolyte imbalance, then the end of the tail can become necrotic. The vet seemed to think that the situation would get better in time now that the husbandry was corrected.



I thought the appt was very interesting and I hope the info helps someone else. I don't mean for it to replace a vet visit if your snake is suffering from the same symptoms, but, serves to go into the "good to know" file.



It was also pretty cool because the snake was prodded, poked with a large needle for microchipping, his tail was accidentally stepped on while weighing on the scale, the vet tried to open his mouth, etc. I saw the snake pushed to the limits of stress and he never lashed out, struck, or anything negative. He just hissed as always and really, just tried to escape. That's nice to know!!!

[ Hide Replies ]

• Frequent urination-vet trip - laurarfl, Sat Sep 27 10:58:14 2008
• RE: Frequent urination-vet trip - rottenweiler9, Sun Sep 28 19:28:34 2008
• RE: Frequent urination-vet trip - laurarfl, Sun Sep 28 20:47:35 2008
• Spur sexing an adult.... - Kelly_Haller, Mon Sep 29 17:44:45 2008
• RE: Frequent urination-vet trip - HappyHillbilly, Tue Sep 30 08:56:42 2008
• RE: Frequent urination-vet trip - rottenweiler9, Tue Sep 30 12:36:47 2008
• RE: Spur sexing an adult.... - laurarfl, Tue Sep 30 12:45:05 2008
• RE: Frequent urination-vet trip - laurarfl, Tue Sep 30 12:48:16 2008
• No problem Laura, been there myself..... - Kelly_Haller, Tue Sep 30 22:57:31 2008
• RE: Frequent urination-vet trip - rottenweiler9, Wed Oct 1 11:44:06 2008
• RE: Frequent urination-vet trip - laurarfl, Wed Oct 1 16:05:49 2008
• Male/Female spurs? - knottydread, Thu Oct 2 11:27:33 2008
• RE: Male/Female spurs? - HappyHillbilly, Thu Oct 2 16:18:09 2008
• RE: Male/Female spurs? - HappyHillbilly, Fri Oct 3 01:09:40 2008