Prolapse

[caliherp]

Last night I was reading in my room. I heard kind of a pop sound. I looked where it came from, I saw one of my GTP's in the middle of a bowel movement. I saw a pice of its digestive track hanging out. This was my first prolapse in over 16 years in the hobby. I immediately put the snake in a tub with warm water. Within a hour the prolapse went back up the cloaca. I'm happy to report that the snake seems fine. I'm going to let it heal up and not feed it for 3 or so weeks. I have no clue why this happened. I feed it 15% or less of its body weight every week or two.(depending on a bowel movement) the heat is 87 hot side 75 cool side with a 5 degree night drop. I usually spray once a day. Humidity goes from 80% when sprayed down to 60% overnight. Once or twice a week ill take a my syringe and give them water just for peace of mind so I know they are well hydrated. They also get fresh water in there water dishes daily. I have a feeling I'm overthinkig this. I know they are livening things. Stuff can go wrong for no apparent reason. I just wanted to run this by you guys and girls who have experience with this, to make sure there isn't anything I'm over looking. I don't mean to be so blunt, and sound so rude, if you have never had to deal with a prolapse please don't waste your time and post. I only want to hear from people who have had experience with this. Sorry again for sounding so rude.

Regards, Patrick

 

[solar 17]

Patrick best of LUCK

 

[caliherp]

Thank you very much for your input. I'm about 70% sure it's not dehydration. It's not showing the signs. It's eyes are perfect not sunken in, skin is good not wrinkly,the inside of its mouth is looking normal. I've read that you can pinch there skin together and see how fast it returns to normal like humans. It went right back in place. As far as the food being to dry, I soak my rodents in hot tap water before I feed any of my snakes.I have for over 10 years now. Maybe it's slightly dehydrated. Again thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

My belief is that inactivity inherent in the captive condition is probably the major cause of prolapse - they move so little that passage of food matter must be affected by the stasis of captivity. We all know the stimulating effect that putting a python on the lawn outside has on bowel activity - the movement this generates stimulates the bowel. I occasionally take my chondros outside with the same effect. Even well-hydrated chondros fed wet rodents (which they wouldn't get in the wild) will prolapse occasionally, so it's my suggestion that hydration, while it may have some effect, is not a major factor in prolapse.

The fact that Chondros are so inactive means that the bowel contents can remain in the lower part of the tract literally for weeks (those who keep them know how long they can hang on for!), and as the lower part of the digestive tract is where water is absorbed, the fecal matter may dry out significantly and perhaps adhere a bit to the bowel lining. As snakes extrude part of the bowel when defecating (it normally retracts quite quickly) it's possible that with an adherant fecal mass, it extrudes a bit more than usual, and the sphincter closes before the bowel can fully retract.

You did the right thing by placing the snake in water, as the enemy of prolapse is drying of the extruded bowel, and the subsequent death of the tissue.

So, while prolapse is somewhat water-related, I believe it is inactivity that causes the initial problem of delayed defecation - the fecal matter then dries out somewhat and causes the problem. Chondros in captivity rarely even move off their favourite perch - coiled in repose during the day, and hanging off it at night in ambush pose. In their natural habitat, movenet would be far more extensive. Dehydration is only an indirect cause of prolapse.

Keep them active and you'll have no problems.

Jamie

Jamie

 

[Waterrat]

I go 100% with Jamie. While dehydration may well cause prolapse in some cases, so does the opposite, especially with hatchlings that are fed pink mice. When the stool is runny, they often keep pushing and pushing and prolapse follows as a result.
What you have done is correct, if I may suggest - use saline instead of water next time, it works better.

 

[caliherp]

My belief is that inactivity inherent in the captive condition is probably the major cause of prolapse - they move so little that passage of food matter must be affected by the stasis of captivity. We all know the stimulating effect that putting a python on the lawn outside has on bowel activity - the movement this generates stimulates the bowel. I occasionally take my chondros outside with the same effect. Even well-hydrated chondros fed wet rodents (which they wouldn't get in the wild) will prolapse occasionally, so it's my suggestion that hydration, while it may have some effect, is not a major factor in prolapse.

The fact that Chondros are so inactive means that the bowel contents can remain in the lower part of the tract literally for weeks (those who keep them know how long they can hang on for!), and as the lower part of the digestive tract is where water is absorbed, the fecal matter may dry out significantly and perhaps adhere a bit to the bowel lining. As snakes extrude part of the bowel when defecating (it normally retracts quite quickly) it's possible that with an adherant fecal mass, it extrudes a bit more than usual, and the sphincter closes before the bowel can fully retract.

You did the right thing by placing the snake in water, as the enemy of prolapse is drying of the extruded bowel, and the subsequent death of the tissue.

So, while prolapse is somewhat water-related, I believe it is inactivity that causes the initial problem of delayed defecation - the fecal matter then dries out somewhat and causes the problem. Chondros in captivity rarely even move off their favourite perch - coiled in repose during the day, and hanging off it at night in ambush pose. In their natural habitat, movenet would be far more extensive. Dehydration is only an indirect cause of prolapse.

Keep them active and you'll have no problems.

Jamie

Jamie

Thank you for your contribution. I think your onto something. I never really put to much thought into this subject. You deafeningly got my wheels turning. Years ago I always took my reptiles out for some sun time. Although at that time I didn't know why, it seemed to help there attitude, feeding habits, and overall well being. Over the years I changed my attitude towards handling my reptiles. I only take them out once a week to do a head to tail check. Other then that I only have a leopard gecko I hold on a regular basis. I guess I underestimated the value of regular exercise. Thank you again for your contributions, and making me rethink my husbandry practices.

 

[caliherp]

I go 100% with Jamie. While dehydration may well cause prolapse in some cases, so does the opposite, especially with hatchlings that are fed pink mice. When the stool is runny, they often keep pushing and pushing and prolapse follows as a result.
What you have done is correct, if I may suggest - use saline instead of water next time, it works better.

I would have used saline as I have read to use that before I just did not have any on hand. Thank you for the info though.

 

[Thyla]

Sorry to hijack your post a bit. On the subject, just wondering if this is prolapse too?

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[Pythoninfinite]

Mmm... I'd say it looks like a bladder prolapse. Unusual, has the frog had anything heavy on it or fallen or hopped from a height onto a hard surface? I'm no vet, but I'd think that for the bladder to be pushed out it may need some pressure or physical force, or maybe something on the inside, like a tumour of even a very large meal, displacing it.

Jamie

 

[izzys1]

Honey is great for shrinking prolapses to help them recede, and reduce swelling. I haven't used it in reptiles but I have in other natives.

 

[brian4749]

Along with all the other great suggestions I'd suggest maybe cutting back the size of the food items. How old is the snake? 15% of bodyweight amounts to a 150 gram rat for a one kilo snake which would be way too much. I know a lot of breeders only feed their adult GTP's mice. I use rats that weigh around 80 grams.

 

[Thyla]

Mmm... I'd say it looks like a bladder prolapse. Unusual, has the frog had anything heavy on it or fallen or hopped from a height onto a hard surface? I'm no vet, but I'd think that for the bladder to be pushed out it may need some pressure or physical force, or maybe something on the inside, like a tumour of even a very large meal, displacing it.

Jamie

Yeah it was being radio tracked with a small device attached around the waist. As soon as I noticed it, I insisted to the researcher to remove the tracker, give it some water, and release it back into the wild. You can see just above the pointy bony part where the fishing line was going around the body.

What do you think the chances of it returning to normal would be?

 

[jibbyt]

Humans doing damage once again! Be suprised if it survives. Great research!