Sick python - Lost cause...?

[barbed_wire_dove]

Hey there,

Firstly, i am so sorry about writing a novel here... but here goes:

I have a 7 year old coastal carpet, named Akiva (sold to me as a girl)lol. Ive had him since he hatched and was my 1st snake.
He was born with a severe backbone deformity, and very limited movement in his back end...
i took him because the breeder was gonna kill him and i have no probelm putting in the hard yards for the little guy.

To me, hes more than a snake - hes my friend.
But i need some oppinions...

Over the last 9 months or so hes been sick, :cry:
it started with a bad shed, (hes never been able to do it himself due to the bendy backbone), but this one came off all patchy. so i took him to the local snake vet and he said it was because of too much moisture... though ive had him in the same tank his whole life - same water bowl - same place - same heating - same everything, and never had a problem. He also said the shed wasnt too bad, id just have to pick off the leftover scales.

So i picked off all the scales i could, took out the water bowl and put in a tiny one, and he was ok for a while.
Then a month later he started whistling while breathing, and off to the vet again. This time it was pnumonia. He got a set of antibiotics for that, and because of the bad shed, his immune system was down and he still had a plug left in his left nasal cavity, and alot of retained scales. another few weeks went by with an antibiotic shot everyday and me spending all of my spare time working on getting the leftover scales off.
Scales came off slowly, and he was still whistling and back and forth to the vet with a new type of antibiotic every week or so. and still not much improvement.
Throughout this he lost more movement, and was drawing air in his back and puffing right up.
Back to the Vet, he said this was because he'd lost all of the muscle tone, and that he would never be able to poop by himself again, and showed me how to do it manually... so sure enough, i took him back home with another dose of antibiotics and a poop stick, :shock:... and kept working on the scales.

Eventually i got off all of the retained scales and the nose plug too!
and the whistling stopped.
and he was all good again!
still hadnt eaten since the 1st bad shed - but hadnt lost any body mass.
After a few weeks he even got back his butt muscles and started pooping by himself again :lol:

He was fine for a few weeks, still not showing interest in food, then his eyes went milky and he was ready to shed again.
He shed perfectly normal (as normal as possible with the back thing, anyway), and i was really happy and thought he was getting better.
After that shed, he shed another time, and another - in a period of 2 weeks!
and in the second 2 sheds, scales and skin started comming off in clumps.
so back to the vet... he said that the reason the scales were comming off was because the ones undernieth didnt have time to form properly before the next shed, and they grew together and made skin legions.

So now, hes starting to lose weight because he hasnt eaten in almost 9 months (despite my constant trying), hes bordering blind because of the rapid shedding, has legions on his skin, and on my last trip to the vet, i was told hes a gonner...
But hes still generally happy, gets out of the tank, and goes in the grass, loves the sun and climbs all around the place, like he always has...
So i dont know what to do... the vet has been wrong plenty of times in the last 9 months as im sure its hard to diagnose a reptile and i dont wanna put my little friend down without due cause.
has anyone had anyone gone through this much crap with a snake??
Is this something that will fix itself over time, if i keep trying?? or should i get him put down?
If anyone has any suggestions, id love to hear them and so would Akiva :lol:!!

Thanks.

~ Amanda

 

[redbellybite]

I think only you can make that decision...your the one that knows him the best ,you have had him for 7 years ...you would know if he was in a lot of pain or not and you would be able to read his movements and over all well being best ,if you feel he is happy and is doing the best he can considering his setbacks ,then good let him live out the rest of his life happy as ,if you think he has more problems and keeping him alive is only for your emotional attachment and not for his well being ,then you need to make that call ...all the best for you both

 

[serpenttongue]

it started with a bad shed, (hes never been able to do it himself due to the bendy backbone), but this one came off all patchy. so i took him to the local snake vet and he said it was because of too much moisture...

Too much moisture doesnt cause a bad shed (but may lead to scale rot/blisters), they need a reasonable amount of humidity to shed properly. An enclosure that's too warm and dry will cause bad sheds.

 

[pythons73]

Exactly right S.P. The vet you taking him to does he specialise in reptiles at all,it sounds as thou he doesnt have much of a idea,only speculating.It would be a very hard decision to put him down,BUT you wouldnt want him to live in pain for the rest of his days.Best of luck with your decision...Its a HARD choice...

 

[barbed_wire_dove]

The vet ive been taking him to is the only guy around here that will even look at a reptile, he said hes had a fair bit of experience, but i dunno...
theres one other guy but he charges $150 per consult, and thats wayyy to much for me to afford every second week.
Anyways, my snake seems happy for the moment... when/if things get worse, i'll re-consider the situation then.
Thanks for the help guys :lol:

 

[Sarita]

Hi there, I know how you feel it can be frustrating not knowing what to do for your little friend. I cant help you in regards to what is wrong however I recently had a few health problems of my own with our olive hatchling. My personal opinion is to stick it out. We did, however unfortunatley we ended up loosing her in the end anyway, however my partner and I made that decision as we had a few moments where she started to get better as well and we loved her, she was a real darling. I wish you all the best with him.

 

[notechistiger]

Sounds like your vet doesn't know what he's talking about. Just as serpenttongue, moisture is needed for a proper shed, and it's possible that having a smaller water bowl is now causing your snake to not shed properly. Also, it shouldn't have taken very long for you to get off all the scales. A couple of days at the most. Did you get a damp cloth and wipe it over him to remove the scales?

If there were normal temperatures and the like, there shouldn't be any reason for him to have gotten pneumonia (I've never heard of retained sheds causing low immune systems). It's entirely possible that the whistling was coming from the nasal plug in the first place.

Did the vet say anything about why your snake was shedding three times within two weeks? That's very unusual for a seven year old snake. You need to find out what the underlying problem is, or the snake may continue to shed.

If I were you, I'd find another vet before making any further decisions.

 

[tenacres1100]

So i dont know what to do... the vet has been wrong plenty of times in the last 9 months as im sure its hard to diagnose a reptile and i dont wanna put my little friend down without due cause. ~ Amanda

Amanda, I think you answered your own question, I'd be getting another vets advise before doing anything else.

 

[serpenttongue]

I think your vet has brought much of this on himself. What were the signs of pneumonia? Just the whistling? A snake with pneumonia will be balooning it's throat, drooling, resting it's head upwards, holding it's mouth agape etc. As you found out, the nasal plug caused the whistling. I cannot see one good reason why antibiotics were administered. Repeated administering of antibiotics would stress the snake, and stress leads to a lowered immune system. And as for the poop stick:shock:.....well now i've heard it all!

Sometimes a herpers gut instinct is better than a vets brain!

 

[Hooglabah]

id say you need to save your money and take him to the herp vet or if he doesnt improve in time do the kind thing a herp vet will cost more due to the increaded dificulty in diagnosing and treating a snake or reptile as they often show no obvious outside signs that anything is wrong like a dog or a cat will.

 

[Ramsayi]

There are a few good herp vets in the newcastle area.That would be my first step if I were you.

 

[Slytherin]

I applaud you for the time, patience, and care you have put in to look after your little friend, especially where others would have given up . Imho I would follow the advice of others and look for a good herp vet. I really hope he pulls through. Please keep us informed.

 

[barbed_wire_dove]

okies, sounds like i should be seeing a different vet i'll start saving my pennies!
thanks for the help everybody!!
i'll keep you posted with progress!

 

[daniel1234]

[quote=notechistiger;

I have started misting my coastals with a nebuliser for 20mins when they start trying to break the skin for a shed or when it starts lifting from their body. These guys are an adopted pair and have been through a bit, not as much as yours but enough. We read so many new owners say "if I had known about this I would never have got started" for things such as not eating for a couple weeks. I think problem snakes can be the most rewarding especially when they thrive as yours has for seven years. That is my point proberbly, you have not had a "normal" snake and have had him for seven years which makes you more of an expert than many others on this forum (especailly me). Bonnie had an RI and so I know the difference between a "wet hiss" over a loose scale. I also know (now) what eggs feel like in a skinny gravid snake (which apparently my rep vet did not). To know and not to do is not to know. Our loved ones always get us talking don't they.

Got any pics?

All the best.

 

[seumas12345]

Too much moisture doesn't lead to a bad shed.....
Hmm, I think that if he hasn't eaten by the 1 year mark then it really is time to think about making the decision.... Have you considering assisted feeding yet??? This might stimulate him to start eating by himself again, and give him some energy to fight off his sickness.... Just a though...
Also, I'd search for a top reptile vet and take him there at least once... it can never hurt to get a second opinion...

 

[elapid66]

just another nob vet

 

[PhilK]

Put the poor thing down...

EDIT: it's funny whenever something comes up in Herp Help asking advice almost every single reply is "vet"... but when someone posts their story like this everybody is an expert and a vet isn't needed because they have no idea :lol:

 

[brettmo]

but when someone posts their story like this everybody is an expert and a vet isn't needed because they have no idea :lol:

I think its quite obvious on this occasion that the vet has no clue though.

 

[PhilK]

Maybe you should all be vets. You're all so very clever!

 

[coz666]

every time you go to the vet you could buy a new carpet, cut the loss and start enjoying a healthy python
put it down. it will never be the same.
poor thing