yet another vet visit

[drache]

took three of the snakes to the vet today
Drache - the PI King still hasn't eaten and in addition that slight lump he's had since I got him, has gotten more pronounced and feels tender
Sammy"s lump, previously mistaken for a double chin, has also gotten larger
it was clearly time to go
then this morning I found a weird sore spot on Coffee, the Xenochrophis that's a bit runty
So
Drache gets Flagyl 250mg, every other day, for both the bump and as an appetite stimulant
Coffee got a one time dose of flagyl
Samantha had to stay for observation and tests
it's not a cyst - no fluid in it
I'm worried
I sure hope it's something treatable
just now it occurred to me that I forgot to ask to see where she'll be staying
vets often just whisk animals away to some back room
he's not done that in a while
usually he does everything in front of me and explains it
but for Sammy to stay there I guess she had to be taken to some back room and I just automatically assumed that it was going to be off limits to me, so I never asked
she'll be fine of course . . .

[KITKAT]

Hope that all works out well... let us know, will ya?

[Snaky]

If your PI king keeps refusing and you're worried, you can always force feed him... But keep in mind that it's stressy.

Hope that it'll work out with the treatments.

[GarterGuy]

Sorry to hear about all your snake woes.:( Over the almost 16yrs. that I've had my PI king, I've had all kinds of issues with her as well. She's had a respitory infection that had to treat with injectable batryl, a horrible skin infection that I actually had a vet give me an experimental cancer med that did wonders for that (she's still got some scarring from it on her belly, it was really bad) and a fatty tumor at the base of her tail. There's also been the occasional fasts too that have lasted several months at a time. I think several times that she was going to check out, but always got through it. Don't know if you've tried this with Drache, but one thing that I had to do to get Babe to eat was actually give her live mice. For some reason, either the smell or the motion totally set her off and got her feeding again. After feeding like that for a while, she went right back to F/T mice again as well. Just something to think about. Hope everything comes out on the plus side with all your little ones.
Roy

[drache]

I found afresh shed this morning in the little guys' tank and wrapped a washed mouse with it - rodent maki
he did evince some reserved interest at first, but after careful investigation, I guess it wasn't sufficiently convincing
the little snake's skin didn't even cover a third of the mouse
I swear, he gave me a look before he moved off

[Snaky]

Have you ever tried givind them Mastomys natalensis (don't know the english name) instead of ordinary mice.

Picture:
http://www.rodent.be/DSCN4642.JPG
source: Veeltepeltmuis (http://www.rodent.be/multimammate1.htm)

They have a different scent and usually work very good on kings. But beware, never give them alive, they are usually very aggressive. It's like they miss a screw or 2 ( 3, 4, 5 ... ).You also can't handle them by hand... Such nice animals, I used to breed them awhile:D

[adamanteus]

Let us know how it all works out Rhea. Good luck.

[drache]

Have you ever tried givind them Mastomys natalensis (don't know the english name) instead of ordinary mice.

that's some kind of African mouse
I"ve never seen them here
not that that means much
for now I'll see what the flagyl will do
I meant to take a pic of his lump today
right now I'm too wiped
I just need to hang out with one of my healthy snakes for a change

[Snaky]

Yes, it's an African mouse, it has a distinctive smell and can be bought here... is you know where to go:)

[Stefan-A]

Aren't they usually referred to as Natal rats (Praomys natalensis)?

[Snaky]

I always refer to it in my language, so just looked it up.
Found this: Praomys (Mastomys) natalensis. So it's probably what your refer.

[drache]

I don't think I can get them in the US
also
at this point I suspect that it's not so much an appetite issue
that lump on his head is bothering him
it hurts when it's touched and it's located at his left mandibular hinge
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1202/529763677_3809a5ed07_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1170/529763607_7dd7b7bc1f_b.jpg

it doesn't photograph well - he's too shiny

[GarterGuy]

Did the vet biopsy (sp?) the lump at his jaw? I know my PI had (and has) a lump at the base of her tail that was tested and is just a fatty tumor type of thing.

Roy

[drache]

the thing is that he's had a lump on that side of his head as long as I've had him and all I saw last week was that it was changing
now I'm inclined to think that this is not the same lump, but a cyst or abscess in the same vicinity
no, he didn't do a biopsy on Drache
with the tenderness in the area, I guess he just pegged it for an infection
also he felt that it was most important to get Drache to eat at this point
so we're doing the flagyl treatment for both
it's a real pain to get that stuff into him, because it keeps clogging the tube
he doesn't much like it either and yesterday he musked me and it was a smell of quite a different magnitude than anything I've ever experienced with a garter

[GarterGuy]

yesterday he musked me and it was a smell of quite a different magnitude than anything I've ever experienced with a garter


Yeh, kings definitely have quite an oder to their musk....very strong! Even my little Thayeri kings are worse then garters of the same size. Must be something with Lampropeltis.
Roy

[drache]

I was supposed to medicate Mr PI King today
and I did try
it's not a problem getting that tube into him, but the darn thing keeps on clogging and then I have to do fancy stuff with the plunger, with Drache thrashing around
so the tube busted off twice and I wasted most of two doses, but I just didn't have it in me to go through the whole thing over again
I was beginning to wonder whether I could rig something bigger to stuff down his throat - like airline tubing
I'm dreading the next time I have to do this
I sure hope some of that stuff made it through

[VS7]

So when you bring your snakes to the vet how do you transport them? Is there such a thing as a dog carrier for snakes?

[KITKAT]

So when you bring your snakes to the vet how do you transport them? Is there such a thing as a dog carrier for snakes?

LOL!

I use pillowcases. One uses a rubber band at the top of the pillowcase. You must be sure that the snake's tail does not get caught when fastening it.:eek:

[VS7]

I'm looking for something more stylish...

[drache]

pillowcases are secure and you can put several individually pillow-cased, or snake-bagged reptiles into whatever stylish tote bag you choose
snake bags are usually roughly sewn cheap, sturdy pillow-case shaped string-tie bags
many people make their own

[KITKAT]

I go to Walmart in August when the white sales are on, and get cheap pillowcases... and yes, they can be placed in some sort of tote bag if style is important.