Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first time seeing my snake shed and i have noticed toward her butt there is a pink thing hanging out of what i think is her butt. and she wants to be held and feed if she is hungry during the shedding time can i still feed her? and what is the pink thing? Keep in mind I have no idea what sex the snake is also.

Sounds like you could have a male with a prolapsed hemipenis (his version of a penis). This hanging out could cause some serious problems. As I know of no home remedy to fix this, I recommend taking him to a veterinarian. There you could absolutely confirm the snake's sex, since the "pink thing" could also be the female's hemepenal homologue.

I also highly HIGHLY recommend pinking up a book or two on Ball Pythons. If you aren't even sure where the butt is (actually called the cloaca usually) you are in for some really big husbandry and health problems with your new pet.

These two are the top of the line books on ball pythons:

The Complete Ball Python: A Comprehensive Guide to Care, Breeding and Genetic Mutations by Kevin McCurley
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/

Pythons of the World, Vol 2 by David G. Barker & Tracy M. Barker
http://www.vpi.com/

And here is NERD's care sheet:
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBall.html
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.1 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

thank you is there any way the pet shop knew about this before i got the snake? If so is there something i can do i have had the snake for about three weeks

here are some pics of it I talked to the 24 hour vet and they dont treat snakes so i have to wait till morning to call the reptile clinic. I hope the pic comes through for you.

Image

uuuuhhhh yeeea--
thats prolapsed

Need a vet.

There are some home remedies but I don't even try home remedies on that type of stuff....

Good luck- and at the very least I'd be making a nasty phone call or appearance to said pet shop for selling unhealthy animals.... but that's just me.

~Beth
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Some people are like slinkies, Completely useless, but bring a smile to your face when pushed down a flight of stairs.

"Pet Shop" was his first mistake, but, how would they know, that the snake would prolapse in 3 weeks?

Yes, buying from Pet shops can always be risky business. However, I'm not sure they would have known such a prolapse would happen, so this may not be their fault.

The cause of a prolapse like that can vary from stress to rough handling to weakened muscles in that area. The vet will have to reduce the swelling of the organ, clean and lubricate it, anesthetize either the area or the entire snake, replace the organ, and possibly employ a method to keep the organ in place until it can heal. Whether this is expensive or not all depends on the vet office, but all offices offer payment plans. If you are lucky, you could also volunteer to work off some of the cost (if necessary).

Here is an article on hemipenal prolapse in Chameleons which is similar to your case. The information is intended for vet use but this could educate you on the situation and how your vet will handle it.
Prolapse
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.1 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

thank you to all. I have a vet apt all lined up for the snake. thank you all again.

This evening when i got home from work. I looked at the snake sence it was its normal time for a feeding and the prolapse is gone there is still an little opening and i am still taking to the vet aptment I made but what could have happend the snake ate just as well as it has sence i got it.