Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

While checking on animals I came across this...

This snake fed yesterday. I appears to have prolapsed internal organs out of its mouth...?

Pushing them back in doesn't seem like a viable option.

Thoughts?

-Chris

Chris,
I am thinking more like tumor or abscess, however that is a guess at this point without being able to see it first hand. Be interesting to see what the vet has to say. Good luck.

Kelly

Looks like no one has ever seen this happen (still waiting on one more prominent herp vet to weigh in).

The snake died ~ 20 hours after I took the above photos. A postmortem examination found there to be a LOT of fat-bodies within the snake and that it likely suffered from lipidosis. This is a little odd since the snake was only fed once every 3-4 weeks (and was still a juvenile)... It could possibly be congenital though.

Cheers,
Chris

P.s. That is what I (and a MD friend) was thinking too Kelly...

I am sorry for the loss of your snake, but this is a very interesting case. Oral prolapses are pretty much unheard of. Was the prolapsed tissue sent for histology? Did the gross necro identify it as the stomach?

Ian

It wasn't sent to histology but I did send the photos to a histologist with a good background in reptile medicine. He though it was most likely a prolapse of the esophagus but had never seen anything like it...

-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

I have more photos if interested... E-mail me.

-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC