RIP Xena

[gregmonsta]

I'm thinking about doing an autopsy myself ... can't afford to pay a vet to do the job .... can anyone advise things to look for?

[Stefan-A]

I'm thinking about doing an autopsy myself ... can't afford to pay a vet to do the job .... can anyone advise things to look for?

Discoloration, growths, lesions and anything that moves. You're going to need a good microscope.

Note that I know practically nothing about the subject, but I have dissected fish to find out what they've been eating (arthropods and molluscs) and how badly they've been infested by intestinal parasites. But that's pretty much it.

[gregmonsta]

Thanks Stefan, I'm going to investigate shortly.

[adamanteus]

Greg, if you've never opened a snake before.... a knife won't do... you're going to need kitchen scissors.

[gregmonsta]

I've bought a set of sharp knives for the job. I did a lot of dissection during SYS Biology ... although ... no snakes but frogs mice and fish.

[Stefan-A]

So true, scissors are the only real choice. And you'll need sharp-tipped tweezers and if you can get your hands on hemostats, that'd be great. But tweezers and scissors are absolutely necessary. I find that even scalpels can be a bit tricky on scales.



I pulled these guys out of a large perch.

[gregmonsta]

Thanks again, got tweezers .... If I find any parasites I'll still need to get them identified as our Florida blue shares the tank ... fingers crossed.

[gregmonsta]

Result as it stands - death by gluttony ... or thereabouts.
- Rotten faeces towards vent
- intestine mostly clear
- very tight exit from stomach filled with tightly packed salmon (par-digested)
- stomach contained salmon, still pink from three feeds (so 12days) ago
- gall bladder stained surrounding tissues

I almost lost it twice ... glad I did it tho ... have kept the skin (currently stretched on a board and salted) to honour her memory in some way. Was interesting to see the anatomy first hand. I had a good look at the skull etc.

[adamanteus]

Brave man, Greg.

[gregmonsta]

Thankyou. Thanks everyone again for your support.