Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just to let you know. I had a GBK lay 12 eggs on May 27, and 4 wre bad. She looked great after that. I pulled the eggs out and put them in the incubator. 2 days later, I fed her a small mouse, and she ate it. 2 days after that, she still had a hump in her. I thought it was odd, but I assumed it was the mouse. Turns out it is an egg, and she is eggbound. The egg is right at her cloaca now but won't come out. I took her to the vet and the gave her an oxytocin and calcium injections and told me to soak her in a warm bath for 48 hours. They said if that didn't work, she would require surgery. Does this sound familiar? Derek

It sounds very familiar..

If you do decide to push the egg out be very careful.. i have done it successfully on occasion, but i have lost animals doing it as well...

Although, i have waited on eggbound snakes to see what happends with mixed results as well..

it's a tough situation to be in, sorry that you have to deal with it.

Mike

Yes sorry to say but it does sound tooo familiar. My girl is doing real well though now after her surgery but it still is sad to see her with all those stitches in her. I hope your girl doesnt have to go through this. My vet sent me some pics of the snake being put under anestecia and a few others during the surgery. These are pictures I dont want to be adding any more of to my collection of cool photos ! best of luck to you. My Grayband is due to lay next week some time.

It is sad to see any one of our precious animals in this predicament but I am grateful to my vetrinary doctor for the great care and follow up she has given. She even sent me these photos to help me understand what she did.

I had this procedure done 3 times in the past and all three died within 2 months. Three different vets used. All came with "high recommendations". The only thing "high" was the money they charged.
I'm not impressed when they find the time to take photos to impress you with their skills.

I've had egg bound animals twice in the past 6 years and I just "drained" the egg myself with a syringe. Egg remnants passed within two days and the girls went on to breed successfully ever after.

My personal opinion is that these vets were incompetent morons. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a competent one, and I'll win the lottery.

Mike

I would like to do it myself, but I do not know where to get a syringe. Any Ideas? My Girl's egg is right at the cloaca, so I'm sure I'd be alright doing it myself. It is probably a good thing to learn for people that are going to breed snakes alot. I can get the glass tube to slide the snake in to keep it still from a local pet store. Derek

I imagine you could get syringes and supplies from a vets office with no problem if you wanted to do it yourself. If I were only dealing with the egg at the vent I would have done it myself too, but I was dealing with two much higher thus my decision to follow thru with surgery.

I do hope my little corner of the world stays brighter than some other peoples have. I dont want to bitter when all is said and done about this experience. Its been stressful enough already.

I understand. I also think you did the right thing. There are many choices to make, and you are the only one that can make them. You saved your snakes life. She would have likely died without egg removal. Derek

Update:

The "stuck" eggs were not near the cloacal area, but midway. It's not hard to do. Just "feel" for the egg's middle and insert syringe inbetween the scales, not through them. It's important to drain the egg's liquid contents (decreasing egg size) so it's passes thru the system. I've done this with multiple stuck eggs in one corn snake. Of course if the egg is allowed to harden or crystalize, the vet has you by the seat of your pants. If forced to use a vet's services, you should ask how to "drain" an egg, in case it happens again. For the money you're paying, they should show you, or take your business to someone who will.
I use a 25 or 18 gauge needle.
I have a large box of ea. size from 10 years ago, when one of my cats needed insulin injections, and the larger size from a hospital employee I knew.

Mike

Thanks for the info Mike. Its good for us to be able to share through our experience on here.

I've heard of people draining the egg and pushing it through the cloaca. You said let the egg be passed through; do you mean let the snake force the egg out or expell the egg on its own? I breed my hondurans, but have not yet had egg binding problems.
-Sean

Hi,
As we all have at one time or the other i've found myself with a similar problem. I've corrected it with aspiration in the past but, I always worried about infection so i stopped doing it. The least invasive and most effective way i've found is a good old fashioed enema. i have a 5 frank catheter and syringe that i got from the bean farm. i put about an inch of mineral oil in the syringe and insert the catheter into the cloaca. i put it about as deep as the middle of the stuck egg. I then inject about 1/2 the syringe on one side of the egg,remove and reinsert the catheter and inject the rest of the oil on the other side. At this point there's usually oil dripping out of the vent and she's gettin' pretty slippery. Then, with hardly any pressure needed I can express the egg and it just slides right out, with the female none the worse for wear. Knock on wood I've never had to have surgery on or lost any females to egg binding while using this technique. Good Luck.Whichever way you decide to go.
Russ
Snakeyes Herpetoculture
-----
Snakeyes herpetoculture

Dawn, what a day this has been! Had to take my candy cane cornsnake to vet today, she laid eggs Sat night and as of this morning , had 3 huge bulges left. We tried warm water and massage to no avail. The vet was able to aspirate the eggs, total cost $65 which I was happy to pay, I think I would possibly try it myself next time but I was just glad to get my poor girl home.