Need information on treating a prolapsed cloaca in a small ball python. Please help.
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Prolapsed Cloaca in ball python
smith04
Aug 17, 2004 05:51 PM
Replies (2)
oldherper
Aug 17, 2004 09:51 PM
>>Need information on treating a prolapsed cloaca in a small ball python. Please help.
In all likelihood, it will require a drawstring suture. You are going to need a veterinarian. Depending upon how severe it is and how long it's been that way, necrotic tissue may need to be removed and then that part of the bowel stitched before it is placed back in the cloaca and the drawstring suture applied. This requires a sterile environment and sterile instruments. The smaller the snake, the more difficult. The snake will need to anesthetized. Unless you are practiced in excising bowel tissue, stitching bowels, and drawstring sutures,and have the instruments on hand I'd leave it to a vet.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson
jfmoore
Aug 17, 2004 10:50 PM
A photograph would be helpful to assess how bad the situation is. But you could try the following:
Confine the animal in a small container with about an inch of tepid water. Occasionally, the situation might resolve itself. After an hour or so, if the tissue has not been retracted back into the body, and if it all looks pink and healthy and is free of debris, you might try to reinsert it with a perfectly smooth blunt metal probe. Push very gently as if you were pushing the finger of a glove directly back in on itself. If it is going to go back in easily, it will. If not, you probably won’t have done any additional harm, and a prompt visit to a veterinarian is your next step.
Meanwhile (and even if you don’t try to reinsert the prolapsed tissue), you most definitely want to keep that prolapsed tissue moist, as well as avoid having the snake subject it to further trauma by dragging it around. And that is most easily accomplished by confining the animal in a container smaller than its usual cage.
Even if a trip to the vet proves not to be necessary, you need to try to determine what caused the prolapse and correct the problem(s). Some possibilities are dehydration, too low humidity, parasites, or constipation/obstipation due to overfeeding.
Good luck.
-Joan
