Sick coastal update

[OuZo]

ok well looks like luke got it a bit wrong :?

the stomach wall is thickened and doesn't feel quite normal and the fatty lumps were just a bit of fat i think. he still wants a faecal sample cos he thinks all he'd get out of the cloaca is urates. but we're just gonna try and give her a pinky mouse and then maybe another one half an hour later to see how she goes. he got us to read a bit about crypto from a helen mckracken book and the description of symptoms was exactly what she has: regurgitation of food 3-5 days after feeding and a swollen stomach. if it is crypto he basically said we shoud probably put her to sleep cos it's incurable

she looks ok atm, the wound is about 10-15cm long at the side of the belly scales. she'll need the stitches in for a month before we can take them out and we had to take her hides out cos they can be a bit abrasive apparently. he said a cardboard box should be ok for her tho

 

[OuZo]

oh yeah he also said that crypto can be carried in food like rodents or lizards but would be killed by the freezing process. and she could have had it for a few years before now so maybe she had it when we got her cos we've never given her live or fresh killed. and it terms of contagiousness he said it's quite a heavy parasite if u know what i mean. it's not like a virus that can pass thru to another room thru the air, she'd have to have direct contact with another animal or to be sharing food/water bowls etc which we don't do. we just have to make sure she's the last one when we feed everyone. i'm thinking of keeping separate feeding tongs and even sponge for cleaning her cage to be extra safe

 

[pugsly]

Very sad news OuZo if you have to put her to sleep..
Good luck if the vet finds anything else it could be, damn nasty desease that, damn nasty..

 

[zard]

i have just read this thread and OuZo my heart goes out to you. what a damm nasty disease!
I wish you and your darling snake all the best of luck and hopefully she will come right.

i have just learnt some invaluable lessons from reading this and i will stop feeding my babies fresh kills in favour of frozen food. (this seems to be a case where fresh is not best)

 

[serpenttongue]

Ouzo, of course it is possible that your snake has crypto, but not definate. There are other illnesses that have the same symptoms. For instance, gastroenteritis has symptoms almost identical to crypto. It is caused by drinking contaminated water usually when the snake is kept at low temps. Protozoa inside the gut can produce a lot of gas to swell up the gut and lower intestines. Regurgitation is also a symptom. This illness is treated with flagyll. Did your vet ever give her a dose of flagyll when you first approached him/her with your snake. Many gut illnesses are cured with flagyll. When my diamonds became sick (and still are) i convinced myself it was IBD, then crypto, then DP syndrome. Its turned out to be none of these. Like i said it may be crypto, but hang in there just in case its not.

 

[macka]

For those interested, here are links to two informative articles called:

CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS IN REPTILES.

http://www.aazv.org/idn_cryptoreptile.htm

and

Cryptosporidium: Health Threat to Humans and Reptiles

http://www.anapsid.org/cryptosporidium.html

They cover prevalence, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options (not many I'm afraid to say).

The most important message is wash your hands often and well. Your reptile may have it and give it to you or your whole collection.

We had an outbreak in the local council swimming pool and a few years ago and a lot of people got sick but didn't die. Good luck to both OuZo and serpenttongue - it must be horrible to watch.

Mack's mum.

 

[OuZo]

nobody ever gave us any flagyll st and now i'm starting to get a little annoyed that neither vet we went to suggested trying it BEFORE surgery. especially if it is crypto, we ended up doing exactly what i didnt want to do...have her spending her last days recovering from a surgery. i'm still holding out hope it's not but we wont know til we can get a sample.

you said it didnt turn out to be dp syndrome...do you know what it is or have you just eliminated that?

thanx mack's mum i'll have a squiz at those sites

 

[serpenttongue]

Ouzo, a far as my vet and i can tell, my diamonds had a protozoa infection that was cleared but the infection did some damage to the gut lining in one particular snake. Antibiotics were given for one week but theres been no change. 7 of my 8 diamonds appeared fine for several months after being treated with flagyll but are now showing signs of the illness again. They are slowly catching up to my sickest diamond and are starting to make those gut movements that your snakes doing. My sickest snake also has a swollen eye which has really made my heart sink. So, i have two 11 year olds and six that are 7 years old (which i bred myself) and all are sick. On monday i'll be seeing the vet to discuss him going into the gut of my sickest to see whats going on, and also check its eye. I believe its tear duct is blocked in the roof of the mouth but he thinks its a tumor or cyst in the saliva gland which is in the muscle behind the eye. I have an overwhelming feeling this will be my last moments with her.

Also, as shown in the photos i posted in my thread you can clearly see the distention of the neck skin. My vet and i believe theres a problem in the first half of her body causing her to do that. I'll be discussing with him the possibility of going down the windpipe and also in the lungs to see if any bacteria is present. Needless to say i havent slept much lately, and am now becoming very scared.

 

[soulweaver]

sorry to hear that mate, we know how it feels.

 

[beknluke]

Oh it's all just so bloddy sad!
Guys, I'm thinkin of ya
Bex

 

[OuZo]

awww ya poor thing! that must be so terrible for you to go thru . i had the same feeling when we dropped nymph off on thursday but at least we have her back with us...even if it's maybe only for a short time

i guess in some ways tho because they all seem to have the same thing, if you operate on one you should be able to diagnose the others based on that. i really do wish you the best of luck and my heart is goin out to you and your babies.

 

[earthmother]

So sorry to hear about the snakey Zoe.

It's very sad and I hope you and Luke are both okay.

 

[instar]

Sad news, very best wishes Zoe and ST