Rheumatoid arthritis in a young one

[guidofatherof5]

Last night I took a couple of my Plains Gaters to the Vet. One for a prenatal check-up and one for a spine that didn't look right. The prenatal went great and our girl "Lucky" has aprox. 25 eggs and is doing well. The bad news came with regards to the baby we took in. This was a wild caught baby that has always had bumps along its spine. According to the Vet. its rheumatoid arthritis or scoliosis. In any event the prognoses is grim. He doesn't think the little one will reach 1 year. He believes it will eventually affect the snakes breathing. My daughter asked if we are going to have to put it down. I told her that time may come but for now the snake is eating, drinking, shedding and of course pooping. We will have to keep a close eye on the little guy to keep it from suffering.
Have any of you ran across this situation before? According to the Vet it's a genetic disorder. Any help would be great. I would attach a photo but can't see to figure that out. I have a ton of rollover minutes on my
cell and long distance is free for me. Give me a call or get me your number and I'll call. Steve 402-319-3769

[guidofatherof5]

[/IMG][/IMG]Here's a photo of this little ones back problems. When holding him he has a lot of trouble moving across our skin. In his home he does very well. He has always been a great eater and has had no trouble shedding. Hope someone has dealt with this problem and can give me some advice.

[Lori P]

Oh, man, the poor baby. That sucks. Is he in pain, did the vet think? I guess that's hard to gauge. If he's eating and moving around, he must be tolerating it at the least. Sorry about the diagnosis... very interesting, tho. Wonder how many snakes end up with spine problems?

[jitami]

How strange. Unless those are very small hands holding him, he's a decent sized baby and seems to be growing well. I wouldn't be too pessimistic about his condition... I also wouldn't get the kids hopes up, but if he's done well this far I can't see why he wouldn't continue to do ok. I'm not a vet, tho... just an optimist

[Garter_Gertie]

Oh, that poor snake! It hurts to look at him. I'm so glad you're going to keep him happy. While in Nature he'd have prolly already become part o'the food chain, that's not how it worked out, is it?

It went this way and I'm so glad you have the heart and soul to consider a 'lowly' (kind'a pun intended...) snake important enuff to care for and make comfortable as long as it's deemed he should live.

I really like Tami's thinking. No one knows what's coming, but why not go with the good as long as possible and be optimistic? He didn't end up snake food, did he? He may out live your pregnant female. Who knows?

Skritch him on his back for me. You're doing the rite thing Guido.

[CrazyHedgehog]

wow that is odd looking, are you sure it is not a birth defect?

[guidofatherof5]

The Vet. didn't say anything about it possibly being a birth defect. I'm just not sure. The only course of action I feel I have at this time is to give the little one the best chance at life. For what ever time that may be. My kids have welcomed him into the family and only want the best for him. My kids also know that part of our responsibilities is to not let them suffer. It's aways a very difficult time around here if we have to put any down. I had a couple of babies(Plaines) that had "failure to thrive" and it came to a point that something had to be done for them. Their choice was to waste away and suffer the agony of starvation. I couldn't let that happen since they were in my care. I'm blessed to have children that have a heart for all the little creatures that end-up on our door step. My 12 year old son raised his first bird(mud swallow) this spring and had to watch it fly away when the time was right. Takes me back to my childhood.[/IMG]

[Lori P]

Oh, such a sweet pic. :-) You're a good dad!!!!

[ssssnakeluvr]

if you can keep it alive and not suffering, great!! kinda looks like a scoliosis type problem....if it's eating ok and surviving, not suffering, good job...just don't breed it and possibly pass on that gene if it's genetic.

[jitami]

What a darling pic of your son and his bird... yep, good job dad