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Patient is an adult albino Lampropeltis ruthveni. Recent meals have been regurgitated, and "lumps" can be felt approx 3 inches up from the vent. All indications were an intestinal blockage.

After an enema this evening, this small object was palpated out.

It is slightly pliable, but firm. Quite solid and slightly resistant to cutting open with a razor blade. It does not have the feel of fat - too firm. The texture is almost like a cow's tongue - firm and not slippery at all.

A final close photo of another side of the "object".

Other "objects" can be felt, but they are not free to be palpated out. They seem to be anchored in some manner.

Any info out there as to what this might be? Guesses?

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Ophidiarium Charieis

looks like an egg that solidified to me......But I am no expert by any means. I've had infertile eggs turn solid like that though in the incubator.

My dos centavos.....
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John Lassiter

"Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part....."

Have you had an egg shrink that small? And have such a "bumpy" texture? If so, that is helpful information. Right now, I'm not thinking it is egg related, but I'm keeping an open mind.
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Ophidiarium Charieis

a dud egg

they get wierd if left in the oviduct......'

they get solid and shrink up......yours looks sandy......wild.been in there awhile......

they may be stuck fast tio the oviduct bigtime.......

......good luck .......may have to operate to remove them...?

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that's pretty wild looking man..... You should post it in the herp health forum here. I bet you'll get some quality answers.

When I first saw it, I thought it looked alot like clumped sand or substrate, but it looks to have a membrane around it... If you feel several more, the other poster may be right... Could be eggs.
How old is this animal and is it a female??

Take care.

byron.d

>>You should post it in the herp health forum here.>>

Thanks for the suggestion - Done.

I'm not sure I would say the object has a membrane around it, but it is very tissue-like. Having played with it and cut it open with a razor blade, I'm confident it is not substrate (she's kept on kiln dried pine). It seems to be tissue more than it seems to be egg related.

I'm unsure of her age, but she could well be an old gal.
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Ophidiarium Charieis

gall stone?

gall stones would not have any way of getting into any ductwork......no way the gall could pass it into the intestines......??? does the gall bladder excrete into the intestines or into the liver itself?........tube is small.......

......still think ovum......

if she would have eaten them they would digest and have been excreted

........the fact that there are more helps the thought of ovum....and size differences would be normal with duds....

the odd outer (and inner ) look of sand could be partial odd calcium buildup???........they been there awile for sure so ....?....all kinds of stuff has been taken from them and deposited onto them by now...

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gallbladder secretes bile (yuk) into the small intestine (duodenum).

-at least as far as you or I are concerned. don't know if the snake digestive tract is named the same as ours or if it structured the same, e.g., does a snake have a duodenum...

daveb
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in the light, you will find the road...

Looks very much like a retained egg and the lumps you're feeling are probably more of them. This could be trouble, because it looks to me like they've been in her a while since it appears to have solidified. Sometimes eggs can be GENTLY pushed out---if not, it may be time for a Vet. Why the enama, has she stopped eating---if so, for how long. Has this snake laid eggs in previous years?

Good luck, Jeff

>>Why the enama, has she stopped eating>>

What I stated in the original post was: "Recent meals have been regurgitated, and "lumps" can be felt approx 3 inches up from the vent. All indications were an intestinal blockage."

I don't agree that it looks like a retained egg. The 'cellular' or papillae texture all throughout are unlike any ova or egg I have seen. Also, the regurgitation does not indicate the objects are in the reproductive tract. They are far smaller than an egg, and as such, should not be interfering with digestion and passing of scat if they were in the reproductive tract.
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Ophidiarium Charieis

My first thought was unfertilized ova. Is it possible she consumed her clutch of infertile eggs?
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Herp Conservation Unlimited
Mexicana Group Directory
Photography by Joseph E. Forks

It's entirely possible that she did consume infertile eggs. I would suspect though that such a meal would be highly digestible. Other snakes I've had that have eaten entire clutches of infertile eggs have never had a problem passing the wastes.

Something I wasn't very specific about was the size/shape of the blockage I have felt. The lumps I feel are not regular - nothing like a string of pearls or the like. It is irregular, consists of round and oblique objects, most of which seem to be independent of one another. The object pictured in the original post was the largest of them (quite small as you can see), and the furthest postier. As the object began to move last night as I palped it out, I fully expected it to be THE blockage, and all of the smaller and more irregular objects antior of it to be backed up feces.

Although not fully vascularized, there does seem to be some sort of vascular network and connection visible. Based on that, the texture, the immobile nature, etc, my best guess is some form of polyp or tumor.

Still, I'm interested in hearing all other's speculations before taking her to the vet (who I'm expecting will never has seen such an item before either).

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Ophidiarium Charieis

Yes,..that is pretty bizarre, and I certainly can't add much more to any of the other speculations that have already been mentioned. But even though the vet may, or may not have ever seen that particular situation before, a simple biopsy would certainly result in a definite answer as to exactly what it is.

best of luck with the snake!, I think the sooner the snake see's a good qualified herp vet, the better the odds for a good prognosis though, as I'm sure you are well aware.

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

It looks like an ovarian tumor, like women get, although of course very much smaller. I hope she will be okay. Please let us know what the veterinarian says.