Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my ball python naga had an accident 1 month ago in which someone left the latches off of her cage overnight. she got of the way out of the cage but her tail got stuck between the top of the tank and the screen top... she was there over night and when I got her out a little of her intestine had come out from her flap. I took her to a vet where they x-rayed her and told me there were no bones broken. I was told to watch and see if she would still poop and 2 days later she did. they then told me to try to feed her and she ate. that was 3 weeks ago. she ate 1 small mouse. then the next week I fed her another small mouse. she did not poop after the first mouse and then the second mouse left a lump in her for 4 days. at day 2 I began to soak her hoping to get her to poop. I have been soaking her for 5 days and now the lump is not there but her whole back half is swollen and you can see skin between her scales. I am still soaking her for .5 hours a day. her tank has pretty much perfect temps (basking spot of 92) and keeps ambiant humidity at 65% without the substrate being wet. her belly got a little red where the lump was but that is mostly gone now and it is just a little pink there.
is there anything else I can do for her?
is there anything a vet can do for her? (I would take her again but I am a college student and I have paid almost $500 in vet bills in the last 3 months I have already had to get a job just so I can feed myself...)
I love my snake and would do anything for her but if it is a lost cause please tell me. It is my fault for buying her at a pet shop. I bought another one and he is doing fine so if I lose her I could save for another. but the new one would never replace her.
sorry I am rambling now...I am just worried about my baby girl...god help me if I ever have a child...

Thank you for any help you can give!!!!!!!
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1.1 ball pythons (Draco and Naga)
coming soon (I hope)
1.0 blood python (lestat)

It's not necessarily abnormal for her to not poop after eating 2 mice. I don't think soaking every day is needed. You may be adding more stress by soaking daily. It sounds like you've given her good care by taking her to the vet. And, she did poop before you feed her the mice. I would suggest observation for a 7-10 days without food. Just give fresh water and keep temps and humidity within range. Hopefully she'll poop and continue toward normality, whatever that may be for your ball python.

but the fact that she is swollen to twice her normal size in the back half of her and the fact that her belly was turning pink seemed bad. she has been swollen for almost 3 weeks since she ate the first mouse but I didnt notice as much until the second mouse didnt digest at all...
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1.1 ball pythons (Draco and Naga)
coming soon (I hope)
1.0 blood python (lestat)

When you say "she's swollen to twice her normal size in the back half of her and the fact that her belly was turning pink seemed bad."
I don't think that the "mouse didn't digest at all" It probably is digesting especially if your temps are good. When you say she is swollen in her back half, do you mean that it's about the same size as her widest part in the middle? The pink belly, is that still pink? Could be a sign of shed.
Well, it sounds to me like she has two digested mice and is waiting to take a dump.
I still say don't feed her for 7-10 days and observe.

I would check back with your Vet. A pink tummy can mean a shed but it can also mean an infection. The swelling doesn`t sound too good.

Hope your BP does OK.

i havent had the swelling happen in my balls but my emerslds are a different story. if they get a lg meal sometimes they digest just fine but for some reason they wont poop and their back end swells up and sounds hollow when i tap it. i have found that they are full of gas from the poop sitting in their intestines that hasnt passed. to remidy this i usually gently massage tehm on the belly starting above where the bloating starts. just go slow and dont press hard or you could do some damage. most of the time a very hard piece of urates is blocking progress. with just the right pressure it will shoot out and then watch out all the backed up poop and gas usually finds its way out quick. i dont know whay it happens sometimes and not others my humidity is fime and i know they arent dehydrated they drink all the time and i have rain systems set up. hope this helps. i wouldnt feed until you get the old poop out and then let her settle down.

joe

Well I kept soaking her and did some light massaging, and this morning found two very large uraites from her. she already looks much better but still is bigger then she should be. hopefully she will poop in the next few days...

thanks for everyones help!
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1.1 ball pythons (Draco and Naga)
coming soon (I hope)
1.0 blood python (lestat)

that is good that she passed them . the poop should not be to far behind. you can still gently massage and help things move along and to relieve the gas pressure.once you get her back to normal size i would let her rest a few days.

joe