JenAnderson
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Swollen heart in YOUNG coastal carpet python. Help!?!
I have a proserpine coastal carpet python, female, aged roughly 18 months.
She got a skin infection (basically, the vet told me it was scale rot) which was initially misdiagnosed as a heat burn. That, or the burn she initially had healed up nearly completely, and then that same section of skin got infected. Regardless how, this infection worsened - she regurgitated a rat eaten two days prior for the first time in her life. The skin on her belly was pink and inflamed and on closer inspection I discovered that the area around her heart was all swollen.
The vet has me giving her antibiotic injections every third day, and soaks in diluted betadine to handle the skin infection.
He took a blood test. Her white and red cell counts were at less than half what they're meant to be. And this is after a month on antibiotics (her bloods apparently say there's still an infection raging on in there).
He did some xrays - here's where it gets weird. He guessed there might be some fluid aroud her heart, but no, the actual heart muscle is swollen (thinking that the infection got into her blood and progressed to her heart), so antibiotics are helping the skin infection, though after over a month of antibiotics her skin still looks hideous, but the heart swelling hasn't gone down.
The xrays show a solid small obstruction in her esophagus and also lung damage, neither of which is consistent with the infection. My vet is confused and cant give me any answers yet.
Next she needs an ultrasound.
I have spent over a grand in a month on tests already and still no answers since its apparently very uncommon for young snakes to have heart issues like this.
Has anyone experienced anything like this or uses an excellent and reasonably priced reptile vet in victoria that they can recommend. My vet has never seen this before and its costing me a fortune when I'm convinced this has probably become a terminal case now anyway.
Thanks.
I also have photos of the swelling and the initial infection if anyone needs those to get an idea what I'm talking about:
- - - Updated - - -
View attachment 311524View attachment 311525View attachment 311526
Photo 1 is initial finding of scale rot/infection.
Photo 2 is what happened to the infection during antibiotic treatment. Blisters have since been drained and scales are detaching from her belly now.
Photo 3 is the enlarged area of the heart. Which appeared out of nowhere in less than a week, I handle her often.
I have a proserpine coastal carpet python, female, aged roughly 18 months.
She got a skin infection (basically, the vet told me it was scale rot) which was initially misdiagnosed as a heat burn. That, or the burn she initially had healed up nearly completely, and then that same section of skin got infected. Regardless how, this infection worsened - she regurgitated a rat eaten two days prior for the first time in her life. The skin on her belly was pink and inflamed and on closer inspection I discovered that the area around her heart was all swollen.
The vet has me giving her antibiotic injections every third day, and soaks in diluted betadine to handle the skin infection.
He took a blood test. Her white and red cell counts were at less than half what they're meant to be. And this is after a month on antibiotics (her bloods apparently say there's still an infection raging on in there).
He did some xrays - here's where it gets weird. He guessed there might be some fluid aroud her heart, but no, the actual heart muscle is swollen (thinking that the infection got into her blood and progressed to her heart), so antibiotics are helping the skin infection, though after over a month of antibiotics her skin still looks hideous, but the heart swelling hasn't gone down.
The xrays show a solid small obstruction in her esophagus and also lung damage, neither of which is consistent with the infection. My vet is confused and cant give me any answers yet.
Next she needs an ultrasound.
I have spent over a grand in a month on tests already and still no answers since its apparently very uncommon for young snakes to have heart issues like this.
Has anyone experienced anything like this or uses an excellent and reasonably priced reptile vet in victoria that they can recommend. My vet has never seen this before and its costing me a fortune when I'm convinced this has probably become a terminal case now anyway.
Thanks.
I also have photos of the swelling and the initial infection if anyone needs those to get an idea what I'm talking about:
- - - Updated - - -
View attachment 311524View attachment 311525View attachment 311526
Photo 1 is initial finding of scale rot/infection.
Photo 2 is what happened to the infection during antibiotic treatment. Blisters have since been drained and scales are detaching from her belly now.
Photo 3 is the enlarged area of the heart. Which appeared out of nowhere in less than a week, I handle her often.
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