Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all...I have a question, ..you know the hard urates that our boas have...well I have a big female(big Momma) who has a rather large size ball of hardened urates in her tail end. First off is how can I prevent future happenings of this hard stuff or at least reduce it? Then,..how can I help her pass this mass? I have tried soaking her in the bathtub, and trying to gently but firmly try and squeeze the mass itself, it just feels too solid. I think she is having trouble passing it. It has been about 2 weeks now. Any home remedies? I was considering a home remedy we used for our children when they were constipated, ...a small pea size piece of ivory soap inserted up in rectum...within minutes the baby would evacuate waste...what do you think?

Sorry, to all those who sugest a Vet, as there are no capable snake vets within 100 or more miles from me...(I am talking more capable than me), unfortunately that has been my past experiences. The only one that I would have relied on, moved to Nebraska last year. Thanks for any help with this Andy Federico

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I can't help much with the poop issue, other than to say that I used to have to drive 400 miles round trip to get my birds and my iguana to a competent exotics and reptile vet. It wasn't the funnest thing in the world, but it saved my iguana's life once and once my cockatiel's life, so it was worth it. I took my iguana over Memorial Day last year, so in addition to the time and gas it took to get down there and back, I had to pay off-hours emergency fees. So you see, no vet within 100 miles just doesn't seem like a great excuse (to me) for not going to the vet.

Having said that, some vets will do phone consultations. Maybe you can find a good vet who would be willing to give you some advice over the phone without having seen your animal? Or maybe you can take it to a less than great vet who was willing to consult with a snake vet expert?

Just my $.02.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

warm water seems to work MUCH better for me. a lot of times, if i know one of my snakes is due to "go"...i soak them in warm water for 10 minutes or so. most of them will go right away in warm water, if they have something in them that needs to go. and that is a lot easier tham cleaning the cage.