:cry:
Dear all - happy new year - these forums are an excellent way to share case studies.
I would like to share the death of a 4 year old bredli female in our collection this week from obstructive dystocia [egg binding]. This was to be her first clutch in a 4kg healthy female.
Breeding went well, laying belly up and the usual behaviour. At around day 32, egg laying had not occured - no need to worry at this stage. Then came Christmas, vets closed for 4 days etc. Still no eggs, no interest in her lay box etc. By day 40 - boxing day - very concerned. Commenced warm baths to relax the muscles, and I could see her spurs bulging and wanting to push.
Taken to the vets as soon as they opened, where obstructive dystocia was confirmed.
The contents of the egg proximal to the cloaca were aspirated, and the first egg expressed.
Ketamine was given to relax the animal, and oxytocin and calcium to assist with contractions. A further 17 massive eggs were manually removed, with two high in the oviducts that could not be expressed manually.
Surgical removal was necessary to remove the final two eggs.
All eggs were very large. Fortum was commenced to stave off infection, and pain relief given. I took her home in the evening, where IC fluids and SC fluids were necessary due to dehydration. Recovery from the anaesphetic was unusually prolonged.
At the 24 hour mark, she began to shut down, and death became imminent. She died some hours later.
As devastating as this has been, you always try to review all husbandry factors to achieve lessons learnt.
It has been hard to find any, except for exceptionally bad luck in a primparous snake.
I wanted to share this story with you all, and welcome your similar stories.
Many thanks to the veterinary team who assisted throughout. Not a great week, of course.
Dear all - happy new year - these forums are an excellent way to share case studies.
I would like to share the death of a 4 year old bredli female in our collection this week from obstructive dystocia [egg binding]. This was to be her first clutch in a 4kg healthy female.
Breeding went well, laying belly up and the usual behaviour. At around day 32, egg laying had not occured - no need to worry at this stage. Then came Christmas, vets closed for 4 days etc. Still no eggs, no interest in her lay box etc. By day 40 - boxing day - very concerned. Commenced warm baths to relax the muscles, and I could see her spurs bulging and wanting to push.
Taken to the vets as soon as they opened, where obstructive dystocia was confirmed.
The contents of the egg proximal to the cloaca were aspirated, and the first egg expressed.
Ketamine was given to relax the animal, and oxytocin and calcium to assist with contractions. A further 17 massive eggs were manually removed, with two high in the oviducts that could not be expressed manually.
Surgical removal was necessary to remove the final two eggs.
All eggs were very large. Fortum was commenced to stave off infection, and pain relief given. I took her home in the evening, where IC fluids and SC fluids were necessary due to dehydration. Recovery from the anaesphetic was unusually prolonged.
At the 24 hour mark, she began to shut down, and death became imminent. She died some hours later.
As devastating as this has been, you always try to review all husbandry factors to achieve lessons learnt.
It has been hard to find any, except for exceptionally bad luck in a primparous snake.
I wanted to share this story with you all, and welcome your similar stories.
Many thanks to the veterinary team who assisted throughout. Not a great week, of course.
