Please help my baby spotted python!!!

[CassyZ]

Hi all.
I have a 2 month old spotted python who has not eaten for 2 weeks.
His home is always maintained between 28-30degrees.
I have noticed that he has had a strange "lump" in his lower abdomen... And on gentle manipulation, I'm starting to think he may have ingested a piece of reptibark (which is his substrate).
Is this something that needs vet attention? Or is this common and will pass through his system eventually?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[andynic07]

His temperature is a bit low for good digestion.

 

[Renenet]

The snake needs 32 to 33 degrees to digest. He or she will not eat if the temperature is too cold. There is also a risk that anything the snake has already eaten will not digest properly and cause problems.

A few questions:

1) When your snake ate two weeks ago, did the lump go down? Did he poo afterwards?
2) What are you keeping him in?
3) What are you using to heat him?
4) Can you describe your set up or, even better, post a picture?

 

[CassyZ]

1. After he last ate, the lump did go down and he has defecated.
2. He is housed in a small plastic aquarium style enclosure. It is kept inside a larger glass enclosure which is lined with mdf walls and roof and reptibark floor.
3. Heating is supplied through a Reptile One 50w heat lamp, which is connected to a Eco Tech thermostat and timer.

I have always come across different temps to keep them at ( I also have a female spottie who's approx 1.5 yrs).
What is the best range for spotted pythons?

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

is she in the click clack in the enclosure? if so how do get a good temp gradient?

 

[yellowbeard]

I find Reptile One 50w heat lamps very limiting in the cooler months and they do not provide enough heat. I don't see any thermometers in the enclosures so you don't know what the Reptile One 50w heat lamp is actually doing.

Keeping an enclosure in an enclosure is a bad idea (no thermal gradient), from what I have read it is not hot enough for digestion I would have the "small plastic aquarium style enclosure" 1/4 of it on a thermostatically controlled heat mat so the hot end is 31 degrees C and not use the Reptile One 50w heat lamp, after you do this and the lump is not gone within a week maybe time to see a vet.

 

[andynic07]

Here is a care sheet for spotted pythons from Do Little farm , it is really good.

http://www.dolittlefarm.com.au/docs/spotted.pdf

 

[stimigex]

Here is a care sheet for spotted pythons from Do Little farm , it is really good.

http://www.dolittlefarm.com.au/docs/spotted.pdf

Just read it and from a long term keepers point of view some of it is ok but there is a lot of dribble in it as well!

 

[andynic07]

Just read it and from a long term keepers point of view some of it is ok but there is a lot of dribble in it as well!

I found it a pretty good starting point when I first got my Spotted python. Once the poster has the basics right and her snake is eating and shedding well they could read more posts on here and get some more in depth books like "Keeping and Breeding Australian Pythons". I don't mind you saying that from an experienced keepers point of view you think there is a lot of dribble in the care sheet but it would properly do the OP more good if you pointed out the good and bad points in the care sheet or give them another source of information.

 

[Helikaon]

i think we have forgotten the point that it has consumed a peice of bark which has not yet been evacuated. Funnily enough a friend of mines stimson did exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago, definitely need to stop feeding on the bark as it sticks to the pinky. they have an optimal body temp off 33 so offer a 35-40 basking spot and a cooler end. I will tell you exactly what i told my friend, she could not afford to go the vet and have it pulled out when it was in the ventral oesophagus. So what i reccomended to her was to watch it and make sure it does continue on its path to the bottom, you are lucky that snakes digestive tracks are pretty much a tube so not many bends to get stuck on. Also remember that bark is like hard paper so the more fluids it absorbs the softer it will become and the softer the edges, so i'd rec soaking the little one in a small tab with a few cm of warm -30degree or so water twice a day to encourage drinking but also for cloacal absoprtion. it certainly wouldnt hurt tube feeding a bit of parafin oil either. if it gets stuck you may need to treat it like a foreign body and have it surgically removed. but as long as it isnt to large then it should pass. Has it gotten out of the stomach yet?

 

[Grogshla]

you should also invest in a heat mat for 1/3 of the floor space and connect that to a thermostat. With snakes a heatmat is a great idea especially for antaresia

 

[yellowbeard]

i think we have forgotten the point that it has consumed a peice of bark which has not yet been evacuated. Funnily enough a friend of mines stimson did exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago, definitely need to stop feeding on the bark as it sticks to the pinky. they have an optimal body temp off 33 so offer a 35-40 basking spot and a cooler end. I will tell you exactly what i told my friend, she could not afford to go the vet and have it pulled out when it was in the ventral oesophagus. So what i reccomended to her was to watch it and make sure it does continue on its path to the bottom, you are lucky that snakes digestive tracks are pretty much a tube so not many bends to get stuck on. Also remember that bark is like hard paper so the more fluids it absorbs the softer it will become and the softer the edges, so i'd rec soaking the little one in a small tab with a few cm of warm -30degree or so water twice a day to encourage drinking but also for cloacal absoprtion. it certainly wouldnt hurt tube feeding a bit of parafin oil either. if it gets stuck you may need to treat it like a foreign body and have it surgically removed. but as long as it isnt to large then it should pass. Has it gotten out of the stomach yet?

This is good advice, how ever the keeper said "I'm starting to think he may have ingested a piece of reptibark (which is his substrate)." which is not very conclusive.

What is the temp of it's enclosure now as it is getting cooler in Melborne

 

[CassyZ]

Yes he is. I have the thermostat reader near his house, but not in his tank. However it is inside the larger enclosure.

 

[CassyZ]

Thank you for the link to the care sheet.

 

[CassyZ]

I have a heat mat, which I use in the colder months. But how can I check the temp coming off it?

 

[andynic07]

I have a heat mat, which I use in the colder months. But how can I check the temp coming off it?

You can use a ir heat gun or electronic thermometer with probe placed in contact with the surface. I usually place a tile over the mat and then the click clack on the tile, the larger mass of the tile helps regulate the temperature with the thermostat cutting in and out.

 

[CassyZ]

What sort of feed tube, and where can I get it from? I can't even get thin , tiny syringes from my chemist!

 

[andynic07]

I would not be worrying about a feeding tube or syringe yet. If and when it comes down to it maybe get someone with experience to help/show you. Maybe a vet or breeder.

 

[CassyZ]

The temp in his enclosure is 28-30 degrees. I'm pretty sure it is bark that is stuck inside him, purely by the shape and feel. I will post a pic tonight.

 

[andynic07]

The temp in his enclosure is 28-30 degrees. I'm pretty sure it is bark that is stuck inside him, purely by the shape and feel. I will post a pic tonight.

I have not had any experience with ingestion of bark so you may be better getting some information from someone who has or possibly expert advice. Is that temperature you quoted the temperature on the thermostat? I am just asking because you also asked how to check the temperature from the heat mat. I would bump the temperature up a little irrespective of the cause of the lump as per most care sheets.Hopefully you don't have too many problems with the foreign lump.