Oral shots.

[serpenttongue]

Well yesterday i lived the nightmare of handing over yet another diamond to the vet to be sent through the polished and glistening gates of pearl. She had cancerous tumors in her mouth that had become attached to her jaw bones. X-rays revealed jaw bones so brittle that they had perished and been replaced by the tumors.

She was one bloody strong snake that was impossible to restrain. She didnt go quietly, struggling and spraying as the vet pierced her heart with the 'sleeping potion'.

Damn shame she had to go. She was a smashing specimen. Strong, alert, lean and docile. She also loved a good feed!

Anyway, after her passing, i managed to get some photos of the inside of her mouth which i'll share with you all.

Please note, there was no disrespect towards her corpse, soul or memory whilst taking these shots.

Here's a shot showing the Jacobsons organ.

Here's a shot of the tongue fully extended, showing the change in colour.

This shot shows the bend in the left jaw, due to a crumbling jaw bone.

In this shot you can see a lump just on the inside of the right jaw (left jaw in the pic).

Here the lump is clearly seen just above the glottis/windpipe.

-ST

 

[seumas12345]

Geez mate that's no good. it's never easy losing an animal! Thanks for the pics though, it's good to learn what these kinds of things look like.
RIP for your snake

 

[pinkmus]

So sad RIP

 

[Kersten]

So sorry to hear that Serpenttongue, especially to hear that this is happening to you with some frequency. Until it happened to one of our snakes last year I had heard nothing at all of snakes having cancer (the focus always seems to be on the O word anyway....anything else is seemingly passe), and so was unpleasantly surprised to find that it's more common that I would have thought. We've lost two snakes to it in the last year, a friend has lost one to it in the last couple of months also.

 

[ogg666]

very sorry to hear mate....

 

[Stephh]

Sorry to hear about your girl. Thanks for sharing the photos. How did you know that she wasn't right

 

[rash]

Hey, sorry for your loss, but thanks for the pics. its good for people to be aware of problems they also may face in the future with their reps. Any pics of her more happy days? she looks like she had some nice colour about her. How old was she?

 

[serpenttongue]

Kersten, i have lost several diamonds to cancerous tumors, as well as a coastal carpet python.

About 4 weeks ago i lost a diamond to leukaemia.

 

[disasterpiece7.0]

Sad to hear you've lost another one Nick, but fantastic shots.

I'd like to hear what sort of signs did she show in the developement of this cancer? Trouble eating I'd assume? Where the jaw bones brittle due to age, the cancer or do you suspect DPS played a part also? Or perhaps a combination of all?

Cheers for posting this up, losing an animal is never easy, she looks like a stunner too.

 

[notechistiger]

I'm not sure if anyone's said it yet, but thank you for bringing the information that you do to the community by keeping diamonds, despite their problems. Your efforts should surely not go unnoticed.

 

[serpenttongue]

Stephh, at first i thought she had a respiratory infection. She would hold her mouth agape and drool would come out the sides. So i took her to the vets, and she was put on a course of anti-biotics. But during a feeding session, i managed to have a good look in her mouth (just as the food went down) and noticed the lump.

Rash, nah no other pics. I rarely take photos of my diamonds these days. She was about 10 years old.

 

[DA_GRIZ]

sorry to hear about the diamond mate. such a shame she looks like such a good looking diamond.

 

[Kersten]

Kersten, i have lost several diamonds to cancerous tumors, as well as a coastal carpet python.

About 4 weeks ago i lost a diamond to leukaemia.

That's just awful. Amazing isn't it though....we hear so much about OPMV this, RI that, DPS whatever and IBD whichever....and next to nothing about cancer. The first snake we lost was a Jungle, the second was an Inland Taipan (and poor Kris' favourite animal in the collection), our friend lost his Coastal Carpet.

 

[serpenttongue]

Sad to hear you've lost another one Nick, but fantastic shots.

I'd like to hear what sort of signs did she show in the developement of this cancer? Trouble eating I'd assume? Where the jaw bones brittle due to age, the cancer or do you suspect DPS played a part also? Or perhaps a combination of all?

Cheers for posting this up, losing an animal is never easy, she looks like a stunner too.

Well apart from mistaking her illness for RI, she was starting to have trouble consuming food. She just couldnt work the jaws over the prey. Her last meal had me holding the quail for her and helping it go down.

When i opened her enclosure yesterday afternoon to take her to the vets, the poor girl got so excited and went straight into feeding mode(bless her!). Such a shame i had other plans for her. The guilt overwhelms.

I'm not sure about the jaw bones being brittle due to old age. Her skull, spine and ribs along the neck all appeared in perfect condition. I think the tumors just ate away at the bone. I dont suspect DPS, simply because she showed no other signs of DPS. There are a few earlier symptoms of DPS before jaw bones become brittle.

 

[serpenttongue]

the second was an Inland Taipan (and poor Kris' favourite animal in the collection),

Ever noticed how it's always the favourites that go? Whereas the ones which are just 'spares' that you dont fuss over, seem to last forever.

 

[Drazzy]

Poor snake T.T

Would of been even harder to restrain your own animal before it is to sleep forever

 

[Kersten]

Ever noticed how it's always the favourites that go? Whereas the ones which are just 'spares' that you dont fuss over, seem to last forever.

Sadly, yep. We've got the most cantankerous bugger of a carpet that we ended up being given by QPWS after a drug raid; it was subjected to nearly every indignity known to snakes, was in such poor condition when we got it that I was sure it'd be dead within days and yet he's is still thriving to this day - unfortunately with the attitude from hell. And yet with the exception of a few hatchlings which have died on hatching or soon after, nearly every snake we've lost has been one that's loved and doted on by all. Talk about ironic.

 

[marty]

sorry to hear of your loss serpenttongue. sounds like it was a traumatic time for you.
thoughts are with you

 

[pythons73]

Thanx heaps for showing those pictures Serp,i could only imagine what your going through,balls of steel.And it was such a awesome speciemen,gee it would be very hard to continue keeping Diamonds after everything you have been through with them.

 

[hardcorey007]

As already state by others, sorry for your loss and thanks for sharing. Pics are such a great educational tool as opposed to just trying to explain it. Those pics show it so clearly.

RIP