Is my snake pregnant?

[frostyftw]

I'm not the right person to ask, so I hope someone else answers that question.

[frostyftw]

Sorry, I replied wrong...

She's not acting normal...

But she will eat..

[jitami]

I'm not the right person to ask, so I hope someone else answers that question.

There are a few people on the forum who have experience trying to save snakes that are in rough shape. I think Steve already weighed in that the outcome doesn't look good, but hopefully he and the others can give you better advise than I can about what to do next. I feel so bad for both you and her

[frostyftw]

Don't worry, it wasn't your fault....

[ConcinusMan]

Sorry, I replied wrong...

She's not acting normal...

But she will eat..

She'll eat and yet for whatever reason, (could be that bulge is a heavy tapeworm infestation and intestinal infection) she isn't getting any nutrients at all and is literally starving to death. That doesn't take a vet or any special skills to diagnose.

I have decided to wait to see what happens.

Well I have to be honest and say there's only one thing that can happen. The snake will continue to suffer and get worse until it ultimately dies in agony. At this point, it's probably too far gone to respond to treatment and make a recovery. If you had any kind of heart at all you would buck up and euthanize that snake. It's not an easy thing to do, but to me, it's far worse and a harder thing to do, to watch the snake suffer any longer.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

That snake is in very bad shape.... I would not expect her to recover but you could try a warm soak and see if massaging can help push anything put that may be stuck? Is the swollen area hard or soft? If it is soft does it feel overly soft, kinda like puffed with air and baggy? The other thing I noticed is the alight swelling in the upper third. Has this snake regurgitated at all? Crypto comes to mind.... Honestly it does not look good.... Unfortunately though it looks like she's too far gone... The upper half even looks dehydrated....

[ConcinusMan]

There you have it. I beg you to euthanize that snake. Please. Don't let it go though any more suffering. I do believe there's nothing you can do at this point and you're only prolonging the suffering. The snake will die. It's just a matter of time.

[jitami]

Another experienced keeper sent me this privately when I asked for his help with this thread and gave me permission to share it here.

She does look thin in the front half, quite possibly gravid, people just don't realize how much of your body's resources are used in taking care of these babies. is she eating? if she is, feed her as often as she will eat. you can take a stool sample to your vet to test for parasites.... I don't think its an impaction or parasites.... looks like just an old girl with her last litter. as they age, they will lose weight and not gain, thats usually a sign of old age. not much can be done about that. she will need a lot of food te recover if she is gravid.
hope this helps.

[ConcinusMan]

I still say there's more to it than that and the snake is terminal. A snake doesn't eat all while starving to death because it is old or gravid, or even both, and there's no doubt in my mind at all that the snake is nearly starved to death. I've seen enough snakes die of old age in my care. This is something entirely different.

Also, I want to point out that by the time fertilization takes place, essentially NO resources from the mother are spent from that time on out. All she does is breathe for them. A snake does not, cannot, and will not produce those eggs to be fertilized if her own body resources are not up to par with plenty of reserves to produce yolks. OK, assuming she is gravid, that's not what's causing her to slowly die. Something very serious is wrong and it has nothing to do with a natural age related death or pregnancy.

[RedSidedSPR]

Even if it were gravid, i'd be surprised to see a healthy, or even alive, baby...