Gravid Penny should i be concerned?

[slipknot711]

so Penny is gravid. couldnt tell you how long. its ben some months since she has been with a male. i would have bet money id be getting babies by last night. she seems not herself (which is normal) she has been off food for some time yet her tongue starts when i offer food for everyone. (which is normal) i had noticed some blood on the papertowel she was on. not sticky looked like it was with some fecal matter (just a tiny bit) but i got concerned. should i be worried? i can feel atleast 2 or 3 big babies at her cloaca. could they be stuck? is there something i can do without stressing her out? here are some pics from this weekend. 1216912170121711217212173she looks so tired and uncomfortable. but the blood scared me.

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like she's preparing to deliver. It's good you're being so observant, sounds like she's in good hands. I'd say get ready for babies at this point.

[slipknot711]

ive seen her give birth last year but not all the fuss she seems to be going thru this time around. and i hadnt seen bloos last time. they seem prety big. well hoping to see a cpl babies soon. im still as impatient as last year haha

[Albert Clark]

Yep, looks like those scrubs are lining up for a fire drill, haha. Nice work Ashley!

[d_virginiana]

Sounds pretty normal. Just keep an eye out and make sure she's not getting lethargic (lack of tongue-flicking ect.) as that seems to be sign-number-one that a snake is going downhill. Otherwise, I imagine you'll have some nice babies soon :)

Beautiful female btw.

[slipknot711]

Thank you. thanks Lora. it was mostly the blood tht concerned me. and she doesnt raise her head. ust lays in the same spot. for past cpl days. i can update when i get home

[slipknot711]

still nothing. she sits same spot all day almost all night. idk. guess im just a worrier

[Albert Clark]

Relax Ash, and wait for the fire drill! Haha.

[Eddie]

She looks to be impacted more than gravid. I hope I am wrong. I would try a warm water soak if she does not pop soon.
Good luck with her!

[Albert Clark]

Hope it's that she is gravid!

[d_virginiana]

I hadn't thought about impaction. With an impaction I'd expect to see straining like you would if she were trying to deliver, so still keep an eye out for that...

[slipknot711]

so the firmness and tightness also bulging at her cloaca has gone down. she has been passing some poo rather odd looking poo. i had shown steve and tommy last night. im very concerned. i also do not feel like she has babies. i didnt want to stress her but had her soaking for a bit in warm water and pedialyte. she seemed rather comfortable. idk whats going on yet but its not looking too good. ill keep you all updated

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Agreed, it could also be a few retained slugs that have worked there way down and are lodged and i've also seen kidney disease making the kidneys swell in that same area. I hope it is just a couple of babies, but it don't look good in my opinion. If i was you with her being wc and this going on i would keep her separate until you figure out what's going on. Hope she is ok!
she looks to be impacted more than gravid. I hope i am wrong. I would try a warm water soak if she does not pop soon.
Good luck with her!

[Albert Clark]

Yeah, I kind of agree with Shawn. The excrement she had looked discolored and suspicious. At first I thought it might be a precursor to the delivery but if no slugs or scrubs are shed then its kind of a ominous sign? I absolutely hope not! Without the help of a vet is more difficult. :(

[slipknot711]

she was WC a year ago. i appreciate all the help and concern. love my girl and hate feeling like i did something wrong. 12190this is how i know my Penny to be. first to greet me at the door. im gonna cry. ill check back later

[BLUESIRTALIS]

She may be ok, to me though a gravid snake would be gravid all the way down and not just at the bottom next to the cloaca. I hope she is ok she is a nice looking snake!
she was wc a year ago. I appreciate all the help and concern. Love my girl and hate feeling like i did something wrong. 12190this is how i know my penny to be. First to greet me at the door. Im gonna cry. Ill check back later

[d_virginiana]

I've seen kidney damage before, and the poo has always been discolored. The main difference I noticed was that the urates in these animals had a green color to them and the poo was almost grey. If it's that kind of weird poo then I'd agree it might be kidney damage. I've also seen poo that looked pretty mucous-y before/during delivering slugs though.

It might be time for a vet visit... They can do an xray and figure out whether there's a blockage or slugs or something there.

[Albert Clark]

Then the other possibilities are parasitic, especially in w/c subjects. Then there is possible obstruction, but if she is having excrement voids I kind of shy away from it being a total versus partial obstruction. Something is there (cloaca) but what? None of this is your fault Ashley! When you care for living things they get sick. We get sick. Did you try the online vet advice? Keep us posted. Fingers crossed. It very well could be something easily treatable! :)

[slipknot711]

she is going to get another soak as i feel it helped her pass some of that gross fecal matter. and with a few days of no tongue flicking... we got tongue flicking this morning! makes me feel a bit better. i definately dont think she is gravid.

[d_virginiana]

If it was a blockage for that long, I could see that causing discolored poo. Hopefully she'll pass whatever it was and get back to normal for you! Keep us updated!

Also, if you can, post pics of any more bizarre looking poo she passes. That would help us get a better idea of what might be going on.

[slipknot711]

Lora ill post a poo pic in a few. Penny is still not herself. she has been flicking her tongue but not interested in food. i have done a few soaks which really seemed to help. her body looks just about normal now. no signs of a blockage or anything.

[slipknot711]

this is the last poo she had about a week or so ago. i had shown it to Steve Tommy and Albert. maybe someone can offer suggestions as to what the cause may be 12229

[d_virginiana]

Hm... Definitely not normal looking. That grey color reminds me of discharge I've seen that was slug-related (in that instance the connective tissues had been affected by parasites and that caused the slugs to develop improperly and kind of fall apart). But it caused her poo to look grey almost exactly like that for awhile. Do you think it's possible that something may have gone badly with the development of slugs and caused an infection of some sort?

When I've seen what I believe was kidney damage it usually made the urates look almost lime green and was accompanied by a noticeable increase in water intake.

[Albert Clark]

When I saw that the first thing I thought of was parasitic. Of course I hope not , but the consistency and color is suspicious. I know it was determined that a vet visit was not in the cards.

[slipknot711]

sadly not at this time. the only reptile vet is an emergency vet quite far away and the cost is just not gonna be obtained in time. but im trying to save for it

[d_virginiana]

If you think parasites may be the issue (didn't you say she was wild caught about a year ago? If so that's a definite possibility) then a regular vet should be able to do a fecal for you. Typically those cost under $30 and don't require an office visit. If it turned up as one of the more common parasites, you could probably treat fairly inexpensively at home with something like Panacur.

I thought I'd throw that out there as a possibility that's less expensive than an office visit to an exotic vet. I understand if that's still not an option though. If you're saving up, it's at least more likely that you'd be able to afford that in time to save Penny.