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I think she's egg bound!?

AdamR

AdamR

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I was so excited this year because my favorite female, a 2007 Spider, was finally interested in breeding. She locked many times and has since laid 2 good looking eggs on the 23rd of this month, but there are visibly 3 more bulges in her and she has shown no signs of trying to lay them! I am very concerned because the bulges have become larger over the past 2 days and I do not believe that she is going to be able to lay them. I am no longer concerned for the eggs, I simply want my girl to be ok! Any tips as to what I should do? Do I need to have the egg closest to the cloaca drained or should I palpate her until she lays?

Please Help! I will post pics shortly.
 
Something like this, I would be getting her to the vet. I'm sure there are plenty of ways to extract eggs from a female, I personally wouldn't mess with that though.

Good luck, I hope she pulls through okay.
 
I would take her to a vet. If an egg bursts or rots in the oviduct it will kill your snake. Those eggs probably need to be surgically removed.
 
The pics aren't great but you can clearly see the 4 bulges.

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Definitely eggs...or slugs. Something though. I wouldn't waste time, I would get her to the vet. Her health is #1.

Good luck I really hope she ends up being okay.
 
I just got back from the Vet. She gave "Jill" a shot of Baytril and another shot of Oxytocin. In addition, she gave Jill a catheter with Saline and orally tubefed her Glucose and Calcium in a solution. She said she wanted to give Jill the night to lay her eggs naturally and if not then she would do sugery to cut them out. She wasn't familiar with the practice of draining eggs and asked me to send her some info on it. Can anyone help me with that, or is draining eggs not a good idea? I have only read about it in a couple books but never seen or done it.
 
I have been attempting to palpate her for the past 20 min. I'm afraid to be too rough because I dont want the egg to burst inside her.
 
they can take alot I used my probs with some lue to go around the vent & work it out the one I did it too is alive & well,mine was more serious because she pulled ou her oviducts with the eggs removed part of the duct,she healed fine & eats like a pig no worse for the wear.happened over a year ago.
 
I am unable to palpate the eggs out and the oxytocin has not worked so she will be going into the vet tomorrow to take the eggs by aspiration or surgery. The vet believes that the eggs have likely attached to the uterine wall which is why I cannot get them to move. Jill looks to be in pain today and I cannot allow that any longer than is necessary. Please pray for her tomorrow. I have raised her from a baby and she is the most personable snake I have ever seen. Thanks for all your support.
 
The surgery went well this afternoon. She was on the table for a little over an hour. There were 4 very large eggs inside her and 1 dud. The eggs had adhered to the uterine wall so they each had to be cut out, but the vets were able to bring them through the same incision so at least Jill didn't have to be cut open in multiple places. The vet believes that the reason she was not able to lay them was because the egg furthest down was blocked by her kidney which was pressing right on the egg. This girl certainly knows how to make some big eggs!

Jill is recovering now and seems to be doing well. She looks like an empty sock after getting those out lol.

I am concerned that she may have complications if she produced eggs again next year. Doeas anyone know if they tend to have problems or if they heal up nicely? I don't plan to breed her after this but if she does produce some eggs then I hope she will be able to lay them without complication.

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I'm happy to see that your vet was able to get them out, and I hope Jill recovers with no complications. Poor girl!

No idea on the effect it would have on future clutches. If the vet did a good job closing her, I wouldn't think it would mechanically pose a problem. But like you, I wouldn't breed her again just for fear of what might happen next time.

As far as recovery, I'd treat her like any other animal with a wound. Keep her warm, and on clean paper towels or unprinted newsprint. Keep the wound clean, and watch for swelling, or other indicator of infection in the area.
 
Glad to hear she's alright! I also don't know about breeding her in the future. Perhaps your vet would know? I personally don't think I would try it, considering the rough time she had.
 
The incision post op looks great. I do agree that she should be retired from breeding.

I just wanted to say great job with stepping up to the plate and doing what needed to be done when your snake was in distress. I am glad she is recovering well so far.

I wish there were more reptile owners like you.
 
I'm so glad that this went well!

I don't think that ball pythons will produce eggs if they are not bred. It is the copulating act that stimulate ovulation.
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words. She seems to be feeling better because she is moving around and of course messing up her paper towels as best she can!

The vet instructed me to remove her large water bowl (Jill loves to soak) and give her one only large enough for her to drink. I hope she doesn't produce eggs next year, that's good to know that they shouldn't without copulation.

Maia, Thanks! I just couldn't stand to see her in pain that way. I believe that if we take a creature into our homes then we are completely responsible and obligated to give it the best care we possibly can so that they can live a full life free of worry. The vet did a very good job stitching her back together and keeping the wound clean. She was pretty excited to be doing a "C-Section" on a snake lol.

Lauren, Yes I did keep the eggs! They are in the incubator and look pretty good. I candled them while waiting on her to wake up and they all had pretty decent coloring and vessels. Everyone at the vet's was so interested in this opperation that most of them were at the window watching the whole thing! I was allowed to stay in the room and monitor her heart rate during the op which I was very grateful for.
 
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