Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It's that time of year and we've already had a couple of posts..So here's my 2 sense..
Do not wait!!! As soon as you suspect it, do something..A soon as the eggs get into the oviduct they begin to dessicate a bit..It turns the surfaces into velcro.I've seen it on autopsy..You have to peel the eggs from the oviduct..All of the suggestions have been very good as to quick, easy things you can do to try to stimulate things..Aspiration, as Fred A described, is scary but certainly not something that is hard to do. Usually getting the lead egg out fixes things, but that and the remaining eggs are rarely fertile..
Surgery almost always renders the animal unable to ever pass eggs again..Another big thing is the animal becomes exhausted and when that happens you've got to get invasive, so don't wait until that happens!!
Calcium administration may help..
Vasotocin is better than oxytocin but is hard to get in the US. Last time my vet had to get it from South America..And in reality, it is not all that great..A snake's oviduct is not nearly as muscular as a human uterus, so the stimulation is not that effective..
Animal weight and exercise..I don't know the answer to those..I've had heavy and thin females became egg bound..
Anyway, those are my observations/recommendations for what they are worth..Hope they pass the Steve B test..
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Carl W Gossett
Garage Door Herps
Monument,Colorado...northern territory of the Great Republic of Texas

Good grief Dr. G,

I do not know how long ago that was, but Phoenix Pharmaceutical, in St. Joseph, MO has been carrying it for some time now. I am aware of another Pharmaceutical supplier, in California, that carries it as well.
I am in complete agreement with you, regarding the urgency of providing care for a female that is possibly egg bound, as once the eggs adhere to the wall of the oviduct, nothing is going to stimulate contractions strong enough to move the eggs on through. External, manual manipulation of the eggs, as has been described by some, can be quite dangerous for the female once an egg adheres to the wall of the oviduct and forcing such though will most likely cause a great deal of internal damage, which will eventually lead to further complications, such as infection and septicemia.
While it’s possible to deal with egg binding on your own, should you harbor the experience and recognize the symptoms early on, it is by far more conducive to allow a veterinarian well versed in herpetofauna handle such an event, without delay…

Best regards,

Jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947