Spinal osteopathy

[Barney]

I have a 5 year female coastal python with this condition

She has only had this condition for approx. a year
slowly getting worse

This is wat info Ive been given by my vet

Spinal osteopathy. Causes that have been implicated are Viral, neoplastic and secondary to septicaemia.

Could anyone put this in laymens terms ?

As she has been a very healthy snake "I had her from a hatchling Has been vet checked & wormed regula Never refused food Been all good snake

heres some pics re xrays from her last February

 

[lutzd]

Geez, Barney! Have pity on the modem users! And you'll soon run out of posting space at this rate! And pics that big are annoying 'cause you have to scroll right and left to read the posts!

I suggest you investigate resizing!

http://www.aussiepythons.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-2263.html give you a couple of options.

Sorry I can't offer any advice re the snake, but thought I should mention the other, for yours and other newbies sake! ;-)

 

[peterescue]

It sounds like it has a degenerative bone disease in the spine.
When your vet tells you stuff like this,
(see I use words like stuff cause you and I understand what I mean), ask him/her
to explain it in lay terms. Problem is that the term is very broad and they probably thought that they were
expalining it simply.

 

[africancichlidau]

What does "stuff" meen, Peter?

 

[Moreliaman]

Barney, i'd be inclined to ask youre vet to be slightly more simplistic in his diagnosis, Although i must admit im a bit confused at his conclusion.

Viral : is obvious and needs no explination
neoplastic : i think is incorrect cell structure or abnormal growths, like tumors
septicaemia: is blood posioning, i presume he's saying it can set in at a later date

Not quite sure about his meaning of Spinal osteopathy, this is all i could find on it


Chiropractic and osteopathy:

Chiropractic and osteopathy are both manipulation-based therapies used for treating problems associated with bones, joints and the back.
The two therapies have much in common, but chiropractors tend to focus on the joints of the spine, and the nervous system, while osteopaths
put equal emphasis on the joints and surrounding muscles, tendons and ligaments.

How they work
Chiropractors and osteopaths share conventional medicine?s view that the human body is like a machine and that any disease is due to a
breakdown of part of the machine.

However, they also believe that many health problems can be caused by poor posture and misalignment of muscles and joints
(and, with chiropractic, particularly the spine). They suggest that if the structure of the body is improved and the spine put back
into alignment, the function of the body improves, problems will be alleviated and good health will be restored.

Misalignment is usually thought to be due to an external cause, such as a fall or other accident (even one that happened years before), or to long-term poor posture

I know the info above really refers to humans, but some of what is there will apply to your snake, spinal deformalitys can also occur early in life but not show signs until the snake reaches a certian size, this does happen in humans & animals

Ive had & seen snake's/lizards with spinal problems before but they were usually down to accidents like knocks/falls or things like large branches falling onto snakes/lizards . some spinal problems can also be down to poor nutrition or lack of D3


Barney, have you allways used this vet ? are they experinced with reptiles ?
i only ask because most vets over havent got a clue on reptiles.
cheers
mark

Barney, perhaps you or a mod could delete the bill board pics!! :lol: here they are a little smaller!

 

[Barney]

Thanks Moreliaman


very informitive