My Blood Boa is broken

Originally Posted by Cat_Eyed_Lady

I can actually answer this question for you. Chuck and Connie Hurley have done it with corn snakes... and it did work Not sure about the other kinds of snakes but if it works for one, why not another?

Interesting, does seem as though if you can probe you could inseminate....


The bruise is a worry if it wasn't there before though.... or maybe it took a day or so to show through scales?

I thought it looked like sore spots he may have worn because of how he is now having to hold his tail?

well we all know a bruise is burst capillaries under the skin so atleast we know its an injury and not a birth defect or genetic. It is very odd how long it took to show up, unless its secondary to the real issue.

Do you agree it looks along the lines of a bruise? To me honest, I've never seen a bruise on a snake before.

Bruise is what I'd opt for, looks like it's showing most in the skin between scales. Has it changed at all since you took the original photo? Bruises will, of course change colour and shape over time.

Hoping it is a bruise, Rick, and will heal over in a few weeks. Fingers crossed for you!

Just got back from the vet, and except for the obvious scoliosis of the spine, no signs of damage to the spine show up. Here's a couple X-Rays to look at. First is a rotated shot of the tail, with a magnified inset of the worse curve down by the tip...




Next is a comparison of it in relaxed position, and extended position. It took little effort to extend it since his tail is still sorta acting limp.




And just for the fun of it, since we took several X-Rays to examine the entire spine.





Going back next Thursday to draw some blood from the heart. Would have done it this time, but he had no pediatric vials, they're on order. Regular vials require more blood then we want to take from the little guy. Gonna be checking for Salmonella, Fungals, Mycobacteria, etc, etc, and do a reptilian profile as well since he'll have the blood, just to make sure all the plumbing is working right. As for the bruise, he says it's possible, and I'll monitor that until Thurs as well. He was thinking it looked like pigmentation until I told him to go view the picture in his email. It is pretty hard to see with the naked eye.

We talked at length about whether to let him breed or not. Given he was bought for a purpose, and there is a likelihood he won't recover enough to do the job later, unless it turns out to be something treatable, and from a medical stand point, would he still attempt it, and how awkward would it be, etc, etc.

He's back in quarantine for now, just in case, until the blood testing is done, as is Morrigan. I have my doubts I'll let him have anymore fun this season though, unless it does turn out to be some treatable bug. I just can't bring myself to put him through that when he's obviously not in comfort.

So not only do I NOT get to do my project, but I get to spend more money finding out what's wrong. Pretty groovy eh.

But is the spine actually damaged or not? In the close up on the first pic the vertebrae almost look like they are knocked off to one side. Don't see how an infection could do that.

Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus

So not only do I NOT get to do my project, but I get to spend more money finding out what's wrong. Pretty groovy eh.

On the plus side you've got something really unusual and interesting going on.... nah, I guess that's not really a plus side from where you're standing...

There is no damage. The magnified inset looks like they are, but the same region just below by the finger tip, shows them being right.