[adamanteus]

I know this is a very old thread, but it's probably worth reviving anyway, just to keep such dangers in mind. (It's worth reading back through the whole thread, if you don't already know it).

I just read through the whole thread, and it seems to me that a contributing factor to the animals sudden demise could have been stress, brought on by the vets rough handling of the snake.

I have come across cloacaliths many times in the past, in many species (often brought on by long term inappropriate diet, but don't get me started on that one again!). Even when it's quite advanced (as in the photos at the start of the thread) it can be cleared by soaking and softening the uric crystals (as suggested by Rick very early in the thread). It seems to me that the vet tried to condense several days of gentle treatment into one brief visit. It must be extemely painful to pass these things...pain = stress! Patience, time, gentle massage and copious soaking can sort this!

All that said, it seems that the animal in question was pretty old anyway, and maybe couldn't have recovered from even the gentlest of treatment. But for future reference...Slow, steady and copious lubrication! Works for me! Well, not me, but certainly for reptiles I've had!