Cat001
Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2013
- Location
- Nottingham, UK
Eddy the corn snake had developed a hernia as a result of producing eggs after her surgery last year, unfortunately she's a particularly productive snake that produces very large clutches of eggs twice a year (normal corns produce around 15 eggs once a year and she produces between 20-35 twice a year). The vet puts this down to her high level of care. I was hoping she'd resorb the eggs but instead she seems happy to take them full term, even when infertile.
Last year she had two eggs merge into each other so she couldn't pass them naturally and required surgery. Unfortunately she produced another clutch of eggs only a month after surgery which weakened her abdominal wall and her next clutch earlier this year weakened it further. She was ready to lay this years second clutch yesterday but this time the hernia formed at the surgical site so she went straight to the vets to have it examined.
The first thing the vet said was "I like it when your name comes up because you present unusual cases", meaning it's never anything to do with poor care or husbandry which is what they usually see reptiles come in for. She was also referring to my JD who went in for surgery to have a tumour removed from her kidney. Apparently the internal skin in that area is already paper thin and the hernia itself may not be too bad of an issue but the concern was her passing the eggs. Fantastic news this morning however, as she managed to lay the eggs! So I'm going to e-mail the vet to see if she is happy to allow Eddy to heal on her own (which would be the safest option) or if she feels surgery is required (going by the discussion in seems that route would be last resort). I think this would depend on the hernia and weather it improves or not now that the eggs are out.
We discussed some interesting topics such as providing sufficient space for snakes as many owners don't realise that snakes (and reptiles in general) love the space to explore and move, as well as the provision of UV lighting for snake and nocturnal/crepuscular species of lizard who would all be exposed to UV to varying degrees and do utilise it. These are some of the things I strongly advocate and encourage.
I'm hoping that now Eddy has no more eggs due that she can finally focus on healing.
Last year she had two eggs merge into each other so she couldn't pass them naturally and required surgery. Unfortunately she produced another clutch of eggs only a month after surgery which weakened her abdominal wall and her next clutch earlier this year weakened it further. She was ready to lay this years second clutch yesterday but this time the hernia formed at the surgical site so she went straight to the vets to have it examined.
The first thing the vet said was "I like it when your name comes up because you present unusual cases", meaning it's never anything to do with poor care or husbandry which is what they usually see reptiles come in for. She was also referring to my JD who went in for surgery to have a tumour removed from her kidney. Apparently the internal skin in that area is already paper thin and the hernia itself may not be too bad of an issue but the concern was her passing the eggs. Fantastic news this morning however, as she managed to lay the eggs! So I'm going to e-mail the vet to see if she is happy to allow Eddy to heal on her own (which would be the safest option) or if she feels surgery is required (going by the discussion in seems that route would be last resort). I think this would depend on the hernia and weather it improves or not now that the eggs are out.
We discussed some interesting topics such as providing sufficient space for snakes as many owners don't realise that snakes (and reptiles in general) love the space to explore and move, as well as the provision of UV lighting for snake and nocturnal/crepuscular species of lizard who would all be exposed to UV to varying degrees and do utilise it. These are some of the things I strongly advocate and encourage.
I'm hoping that now Eddy has no more eggs due that she can finally focus on healing.
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