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An adult WC EA Gaboon hocked this beauty up... I looked through every refecence book I have and can't identify it...I will send the picture to Dr. Jacobson on Monday. The Gaboon was under treatment for Tape worms, I guess they didn't like the Pancur either...LOL Please note it seems to be filled with larve. EEEEEEWWWW

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Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
Abraham Lincoln.

Nasty,

Al,
It looks like a stuffed rigatoni!!!!

Al, they should put this picture against the word disgusting in dictionaries. That is ugly!
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We are the best GALATASARAY

I'm going to say its a Pentastomids ( Armillifer ). Real common in big bitis . When the snake gets hit with worm medication some times it drives the parasite up into the mouth and the snake spits it out.

Ernie Eison
Westwoodreptiles.com Under construction

Looks like you are correct......I found this along with a photo of one on Wikipedia. I would be a happy snake if I finally coughed that thing up!!!

Armillifer armillatus Wyman, 1848, a 4 cm individual colected from the respiratory system of a python, Python sebae. Specimen deposited in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
Subclass Pentastomida Diesing, 1836

Yes, you are correct..here's some additional info:

This is a primitive arthropod and the adult form is the worm like critter. They live in the lungs feeding on tissue and can bore through tissue. Eggs are coughed up swallowed and then passed in the fecal material. The ova can be detected through a microscopic fecal examination. The bad news, they can be really nasty and difficult if not impossible to eliminate by chemotherapeutic. Use of levamisole and ivermectin are possible but results inconclusive. Endoscopic removal is possible for specimens with high densities. The good news these parasites require an intermediate host so they may be self limiting. Wild caught adult reptiles are often asymptomatic.
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Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
Abraham Lincoln.

It almost looks like a piece of Pizza Hut's Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese Pasta to me. I hope your Bitis is soon without any parasites.

Just the way it looks makes me wince. The internal structure makes it worse! The other photos I find on the online look the same. I realize it isn't a parasite "bomb" about to burst and let loose a cargo of invaders. Are those organs you can see through its skin?

I think this is the same beast that graces the cover of Dr.Jacobsen's book....?

I have a pretty strong stomach, but I just threw up on myself a little
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Any time Tom...
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Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
Abraham Lincoln.