Patience is a virtue...

Aww honey, I'm so sorry to hear about her passing. I too am glad that you have the baby to remember her by. Hugs :/

I had asked the vet for copies of the xray for my records and to share; they had to take 2 sets because she hadn't been positioned correctly during the first set. They sent me the disc with pics and they were all from the first set, totally useless. So I finally just went down there with my camera today after work and had them pull the xray so I could take my own pics...

finally here it is:

The top is her tail. The red arrow is showing the oversized slug that she was not able to pass. Below that are the babies that died in utero (correct term?) and the yellow arrows are pointing to the pockets of gas buildup from the dead babies, which led to the septicemia that killed her.



Closer look at the slug area and you can see on the far right side one baby that had been pushed partially out around the slug & also lead to the blockage.





Trying to look on the bright side, I can say that I have learned don't pass go, don't collect $200, just go directly to the vet at the first sign of trouble during labor. Her little baby Solstice is doing fine so I'm happy about that. I hope someone else can maybe one day learn from my experience.
Thanks for looking and again for all the sympathy, it really helped.
-April

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

I had asked the vet for copies of the xray for my records and to share; they had to take 2 sets because she hadn't been positioned correctly during the first set. They sent me the disc with pics and they were all from the first set, totally useless. So I finally just went down there with my camera today after work and had them pull the xray so I could take my own pics...

finally here it is:

The top is her tail. The red arrow is showing the oversized slug that she was not able to pass. Below that are the babies that died in utero (correct term?) and the yellow arrows are pointing to the pockets of gas buildup from the dead babies, which led to the septicemia that killed her.



Closer look at the slug area and you can see on the far right side one baby that had been pushed partially out around the slug & also lead to the blockage.





Trying to look on the bright side, I can say that I have learned don't pass go, don't collect $200, just go directly to the vet at the first sign of trouble during labor. Her little baby Solstice is doing fine so I'm happy about that. I hope someone else can maybe one day learn from my experience.
Thanks for looking and again for all the sympathy, it really helped.
-April

im so sorry April.

Man, that slug is enormous! No wonder she had such a hard time. Don't suppose the vet has an idea as to why it's so over grown?

Glad you were able to at least get some pictures of the X-rays for yourself to look at. I know for me it would be a closure of sorts.

Sorry again. Hope it's all getting easier for you.

Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus

Man, that slug is enormous! No wonder she had such a hard time. Don't suppose the vet has an idea as to why it's so over grown?

Not really, basically he just said it's one of those random things.

Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus

Sorry again. Hope it's all getting easier for you.

thanks, it is; her cage is still empty though, just haven't had the heart to put anyone else in there yet.

April, I remember reading this as one of the first threads I saw when I started checking Fauna regularly. I'm so sorry for your loss, and appreciate the fact you were willing to share the experience and knowledge to help others. I hope Solstice grows into an absolute stunner for you as a tribute to a fine Mom (in fact, two fine Moms!).

Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus

Man, that slug is enormous! No wonder she had such a hard time. Don't suppose the vet has an idea as to why it's so over grown?

it doesn't really give a reason why, but I did hear from two other people on another forum I posted this on that also lost females due to oversizes slugs. So just thought that was interesting...

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

it doesn't really give a reason why, but I did hear from two other people on another forum I posted this on that also lost females due to oversizes slugs. So just thought that was interesting...

Interesting... Just was a bit curious about it. Sure would be neat to understand why it happens on occasion. I could understand if the follicle was fertilized twice, and twins were to happen. But a slug hasn't been fertilized at all, so...

Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus

Interesting... Just was a bit curious about it. Sure would be neat to understand why it happens on occasion. I could understand if the follicle was fertilized twice, and twins were to happen. But a slug hasn't been fertilized at all, so...

twins was my first thought as well! I've heard theory that sometimes the ova are fertalized but die before development happens and speculation was that the darker orange slugs were previously fertalized ova and the lighter ones are unfertalized.. but I have no idea

You might be right. I have had two partially formed ones in my meager experiences. Both had a fair chunk of solid dark yolk mostly surrounding them too.