Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Have any of you guys here ever had a constipated snake? One of my little retics is constipated, and I'm trying to alleviate the condition. I've tried soaking her several times, which helped her pass some of the crud, then I took her to the vet. He gave her a couple of enemas, which helped her pass some more, but there is still one more hard little lump inside of her which is too far away from the vent to manipulate. He also gave me some Ceftazidime to administer every three days to prevent septicemia or any other related problems. I'm continuing to soak her every day for about an hour in warm water. Have you guys got any other suggestions? If you do, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.
Robert

The first thing I would do is check the humidity and temps in the cage, close to the floor at the warm end and in the cool end. Just to make sure they're where they should be.

Keep a decent size crock/pan/dish of fresh water available at all times.

Have access to a hypodermic syringe? NO, not for the snake! For the food.

If you do, feed her a couple of f/t food items that have been injected with spring water (neat trick). Also, f/t are easier to digest anyway since freezing ruptures the cells and breaks them down.

Good luck!

Bill

I do have a syringe, but why the spring water? Is it to provide extra hydration? Have you ever done this before? Surely an interesting idea. Thanks a lot.
Robert

The spring water (rather than chlorinated tap water) fills the food item and provides extra hydration for digesting and eliminating. The same as a healthy daily water intake can do for people. I have done this with a bound-up boa and a constipated chondro. Worked for them.

Bill

That makes sense. She finally managed to pass the hardened fecal matter yesterday, but I think I'll try that spring water thing to give her some extra hydration anyway. Even though I've been soaking her every day, I still think she's dehydrated. I never see her drink any water, but my other three drink every day. Thanks a bunch.
Robert