Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey Yall,......Was sent a couple photos of a baby BP that appears to have a prolapsed cloaca. NOT great pics or I'd post them came in via camera phone..........Anyway, any suggestions?......I told her to clean the area well with cool water, place it on clean and damp paper towels..........Also suggested using sugar on the area to draw out the inflammation and potentially kill some of the bacteria at the site (hyper osmotic)...... What else can this gal do for her pet?...........Any particularly known causes......Never saw this in real life.....She plans to bring it over in the morning and I can take some quality photos....ALSO should the sugar work and reverse it are there any particular post prolapse care suggestions.....would you suggest neosporin to the affected area?????.....Thanks and God Bless,Lee Van hyfte...................... I can send the pics I have if you want to investigate it further email littleleeper23@hotmail.com

I would try re-inserting the tissue and placing a very sticky bandaid over the cloaca. The sugar paste method is only a theory, and in my experience and many others', it doesn't offer much help. If the tissue will not revert within 48 hours, a vet visit to suture the tissue is in order.

Good luck.
Brandon Osborne
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

Hi Brandon, It is a neonate, you don't think the bandaid will end up tearing the skin?.......I assume you are hoping it acts like a pressure dressing to hold it in place....Lee

are you sure its an actual prolapse and not the umbilical cord still left after hatching? If its fresh from the egg, that could be what it is, especially if it isn't located at the cloaca opening.

If an actual prolapse I think it is best to take it to a vet right away.
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PHLdyPayne

Hi PHladye, Nope definately not the umbilicus, RIGHT out of the cloaca. weird though. I wonder if it is due to over handling. I told the person to handle the animal minimally until it is at least a couple of months old and evidently she is handling it for hours at a time. I believe it was born in mid june....Personally I do not touch neonates except to clean cages.JUST LEAVE EM ALONE is my motto......Life is scary enough without some giant wanting to cuddle with you........Lee

I had to check since it sounded like the lady with the snake was new with ball pythons. Have read new people with baby snakes mistaking the 'belly button' for an injury in the past..so thought better double. Always better to panic about nothing then not worry at all about something serious...

Have to agree about minimal handling. Being hatched and shipped around the world is stressful enough but over handling definitely no good. Especially with babies.

I have two captive hatched BP's I bought last summer I rarely handle..they were tricky to get eating regularly..one was giving me a real hard time till I moved him from a clear sterlite container to an opaque one..now he eats regularly...just not quite on pre killed rats yet..but at least he isn't on mice anymore.
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PHLdyPayne

>>Hi Brandon, It is a neonate, you don't think the bandaid will end up tearing the skin?.......I assume you are hoping it acts like a pressure dressing to hold it in place....Lee

Lee, you are correct. It is only added for pressure to keep the prolapse in place. Sometimes the muscles are not strong in neos and need a bit of time to strenghten. I wouldn't worry about tearing the skin. Ball pythons are tough. I've done this with green tree pythons before with no problems.....talk about thin skinned. If it gets tough to remove, try some vegetable oil. I would keep the dressing on for at least 7-10 days if it will stay. Do not feed for 2-4 weeks so the tissue can heal. When feeding is resumed, start with smaller than normal meals. Again, if it doesn't work, by all means a vet visit is called for. Remember, not all vets are created equal and most of them suck when it comes to reptiles.

Good luck.
Brandon
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

Hi Brandon, Please review the photos I just added. If the bandaid works for GTP then surely it will work on the BP. It will act a bit like a truss. I will wait however to see what you think after you see the photos.......STRANGE..........Thanks Lee

I had this happen to my albino when he was very little , it looked a bubble, I put on paper towels misted it lightly and left him alone and within a day it went back and never happened again. He is now two years old and breed females and produced just fine. I would just ck to see the that it was going back in and it did slowly.

I have never seen this before!! it is almost jelly like and has few to no blood vessels in it. At the cloaca scale the tissue is fairly red! but what is sticking out is like jelly and translucent. GOT ME!!!.........................Lee <

>>I have never seen this before!! it is almost jelly like and has few to no blood vessels in it. At the cloaca scale the tissue is fairly red! but what is sticking out is like jelly and translucent. GOT ME!!!.........................Lee <
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The clear part is intestinal membrane. When GTPs defecate, they prolapse every single time. It's when the tissue doesn't retract that problems occur. Definately DO NOT let the tissue dry out. Grab some KY Jelly and keep it wet. A warm soak might also help, but it's all chance. If it doesn't retract on its own, re-insert and apply the bandaid. Keep us posted.

Good luck.
Brandon Osborne
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

Thanks Brandon,.....I had already told her to keep it on rather damp paper towels.....I will pass along the diagnosis and your recommendations.....Never would have tried the whole bandaid thing so I will suggest that as well...... Just never seen that occur in a BP. The original photos she sent were really bad and just looked like a dark pink blob out the vent......Once I got to see it in person I knew it wasn't the cloaca.....Kinda wondered about the intestinal membrane......... Lee