Abscess?

[Stefan-A]

Reminds me of the problem my male parietalis had, minus the abscess.

Looked like this after the snake shed:

[anji1971]

Thanks for the tip! I hope I can find a herp vet here.........I'll call the Exotic Pet store, they should know who.
My husband actually quite likes Stitch, I hope nothing happens to him.

[anji1971]

Reminds me of the problem my male parietalis had, minus the abscess.

Looked like this after the snake shed:

Did it just heal up on it's own? Do you know what caused it in the first place.....could it have to do with the last couple of bad sheds?

[Stefan-A]

Did it just heal up on it's own? Do you know what caused it in the first place.....could it have to do with the last couple of bad sheds?

Nope, didn't heal. He died.

The uric crystals would literally plug the snake's cloaca from the outside and it was a symptom of dehydration, caused by some form of renal failure. I'm saying 'some form', because the results I got back from the necropsy were about as vague, but I assume that it was at least chronic. More about that in the thread 'Dingleberry'.

[anji1971]

Well, that's not the most encouraging news. Sorry about your snake -- it's been quite a while since I read that thread, so I'd forgotten the exact details.
I'll talk to my husband when he gets home from work about the possibility of a vet visit. Hopefully it won't be too expensive for us.

[Stefan-A]

Thinking back, a vet visit would have been cheaper than the necropsy and a "replacement". Losing the snake held me and my breeding plans back about 3 years.

[drache]

for whatever it's worth
not that it matters in terms of treatment now, but . . .
Sean told me this thing today, that may have some relevance as a causative factor, particularly since someone mentioned shedding issues
he was telling me this in response to a breeding question and I don't remember quite whether he said that it affects only male snakes
he said that sometimes shed can be retained internally in the vent area and build up a plug that will prevent a male from mating successfully
so perhaps something like that could also be at the root of an abscess

[Zephyr]

I'm sure others have stressed this, but keep the little guy damp-er than usual and makes sure he's hydrated.

[anji1971]

Rhea, that is rather interesting. His two messed up sheds both tore off near that area, so it's a viable possibility that it's a cause.

I soaked him really good tonight, and squeezed a whole 'nother pile of crap out of there. This time most of it was pus mixed with blood, but the swelling isn't quite so ominous looking as it was earlier. I just keep hoping I'm not hurting him by doing that.
Kyle, how exactly do I keep him moister than usual? He's not one to soak on his own, and I'm not really sure how to raise the humidity level in his tank. You'd think that our humid climate would be enough..........

[Zephyr]

Add a bit of warm, moist peat or spanish moss and mist the tank with warm water. My main concern would be keeping the snake in a sterile environment, so maybe move him to paper toweling for the night.