Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi - I moved us up here so it doesn't get lost. For anyone interested the original post/threads are: forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=576081,577483 and here: forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=580216,580216

I brought Luna to the vet for an x-ray and she laid a week or two later. It was good to see what was going on inside and I was even able to do a rough count of the eggs. It was about $100 but was worth the piece of mind. The weather was still quite cool here and I debated about the stress of the trip, but MY stress needed to be lessened! I warmed up the car, had her nice and cozy (it's about a 35-45 minute ride) and the staff was nice enough to through her travel towel into their dryer to warm it up before we left!

Anyway, it is up to you but for your own piece of mind and for her health a vet trip may be a good idea. You said you have a good herp vet right?

keep me posted

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

Luna looks really nice. And that "gravid girls" forums is a great idea. haha. So, no change in Lola except that she decided to go ahead and eat like 10 crix yesterday. I made her a vet appointment for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get this thing figured out. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sounds like Luna, that's why it went on for 5 months! She never got as big as Aurora (melisondra's preggie girl).

Hopefully he will take an x-ray - I'll be waiting and thinking good thoughts

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

I saw that pic of aurana. wow. we just got back from the vet. he took a few x rays and sure enough she is loaded with eggs. He gave her a cacium injection and was going to give a shot of oxy-something to induce egg laying. We then decided to wait 24 hours to see if the calciun shot does anything, first, before the next shot. He also gave me some liquid calcium to give to her orally over he next few days. I had Lola at the vet about a month ago, and since then she had put on 40 grams! I thouht that was an awful lot. Anyway, any thought? Thanks.

Hi - isn't it nice to just know what the heck is going on in there??? ;-/

Luna was on the liquid calcium daily. When I noticed her gravid again I began giving it to her again and just didn't dust any food she was eating (which wasn't much).

I think it is oxytocin (sp?) that induces. Hopefully she will do it on her onw later tonight. Glad you saw the vet

thinking of you!
lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

No laying last night, so it was off to the vet today to get a shot of oxytocin. The vet thought it was neccesary because the eggs look pretty well formed and she is getting bloated. She was also given a vitamin A shot. The oxytocin is supposed to take place within the next 36 hours, i think. i really was hoping that she would lay naturally, but i'll take the vet's word for it. Doc says that next step is surgery. Man, do i hope it doesn't come to that. Me or my wallet couldn't handle it! I'm already minus $150! It's cool, though, she's worth it. Anyone thinking of getting a cham or any animal for that matter should seriously take the cost of vet visits into account.

I hope this works with no more problems.

Your comment about the vet bills is one that always needs to be stressed to potential new cham keepers. Having a vet in a reasonable vicinity AND having the money for unexpected visits is crucial. There have been posts from keepers who do not feel it is worth spending more $$ than the animal is worth - which is all quite subjective. There have been some rather heated threads! Personally, I cannot understand that way of thinking. When you make the choice to become the caretaker of another living being they are now your responsibility. Granted, everyone will vary with where they will - or need to - draw the financial line, but for routine (and, as we know, gravid female problems can be routine) visits and health concerns need to be provided.

I am glad that you are one who will go the stretch. Fortunately, I think (or like to believe) that most of us will.

keep me posted!

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

I agree that if you want to become responsible for the life of another creature, you need to be able to step up when the time comes. Anyway, on friday she got her shot and still no laying. my vet says that if she doesnt lay this weekend, then i need to consider surgery. geez, this is getting frustrating for me. i cant imagine how she must feel. i just hope that the vet isnt just trying to get paid and that all this worry and money is warranted. ill keep you updated.

Well, the plot thickens. Called the vet today to see about an estimate for the surgery. The answer...(drumroll please)..$600-$700!!! Certainly more than i budgeted. Certainly more than i can actually afford. The crazier thing than the actual price is the fact that I'm leaning forward to breaking the bank and going for it. I dont think my landlord will understand why his rent is late. I have to let them know my decision by tomorrow morning. I really could use your opinions now. Thanks.

That seems awfully high! I am only going by what Lindsay and Erin paid which I think was $300.

Remind me where you live? Is there another vet in the area to get a second quote? I know time is of the essence. Here is another link that might help you out. As for going for it is really an individual decision. Personally, if it had come to that with Luna and I had to make the choice I probably would go for it. I am single, student, work for myself = not much money. But as we spoke before, a commitment is a commitment with the other option being to watch, wait and hope she is OK - a tough one for sure.

Another suggestion is for you to email privately both Carlton and chimbakka (Lindsay, Orion’s Mom) for some input. You can do this by clicking on their name in a post by them. You might also want to begin a new thread asking for input from others and their experience as well. You and I have been having this “private” conversation and our thread is so far down no one else knows of your troubles anymore. but I think getting other opinions. I haven’t check today’s new posts yet so you may have already done this.

If you start a new thread, include the date she first starting showing signs and the rest of the details. My online connection keeps crashing for some reason (and is really infuriating) but I will keep checking in with you!

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

Well, it's done. I made the decision this morning and took her over. The final bill I'm told will be $588. The doc called this afternoon to say that all went well and that the way her eggs formed, she would not have been able to lay them on her own. I have to give her some sort of pain medication as well. After reading the price that some of the other people paid, I kinda feel like I got screwed, but apparently I saved Lola's life and that's the important thing. I have to go pick her up in a little while, so I'll let you know how she is. Btw, I live in New Jersey.

Whew! I am glad all went well! I do know that when Lindsay had Orion in last year they kept her for a few days, but that may have been b/c she had additional problems, I don't recall.

Can he give you any idea of why this may have occured so it can be avoided in the future? Could it have been over/under supplementation of calcium? One suggstion I would make while you are there (or at another time) buy some neo-calglucon to have on hand. It is liquid calcium. I gave it to Luna everyday while she was gravid if she was not eating. After her last clutch I gave it to her for a few days to make sure she was getting enough. Easy to over due but if she is not getting calcium any other way it is good to have on hand. it is not expensive and has a very long shelf life. Luna LIKES it and will take it readily from a dropper/syringe.

A note: if you are giving her the pain medication as a liquid be sure to get it far enough back in her mouth so as to avoid her esophogus opening. You may already know this so I apologize if I am repeating info.

$600 is a hard pill to swallow, but I truly do commend you for holding true to your committment! Many others would have said you are nuts. Years ago I had a cat with a thyroid condition. If other treatments didn't work I would be faced at deciding on a $2000 surgery to remove her thyroid. Fortunately the meds worked, but I would not have hesitated on the surgery.

good work
lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)