Floaty Water Snake??

[SnekAnenome]

Ok so I'm new to water snakes, I've had pythons for roughly 2 years and never had a problem with any of them. But one of my three Macleay's water snakes has a problem. When I first got the 3 of them, she had a bit of 'bloating'? I would call it, in the small bottom bit near her tail. When I asked about it, the original owner said she'd also gotten her looked at by a vet and tried a couple of things, but since she had no problem shedding, eating or pooping that she'd be fine since she doesnt seem to be in any pain and it doesnt hinder her life that much.
After a couple of weeks/months of having them, I noticed that it has started growing longer and longer and now her whole bottom half is 'floaty'. Unlike the other two (who both turned out to be boys) who can swim around, hunt etc just fine, she can only hide under the turtle docker and in the magnetic hide, which is up the top of the water for her. They all get about 2 goldfish each every week or so and had no problem shedding, but I was wondering if anyone else has had the same problem with water snakes? Their water is already semi warm and I have tried massaging it out (they have no problem being handled) but is there anything else I can try?? She has apparently been this way for some time but I want her to be able to swim and hunt like the other two, she cant be happy like this...

 

[ronhalling]

@SnekAnenome I don't know anything about "Water Pythons" but that looks suspiciously like some sort of growth, regardless of what the previous owner said about already taking it to the Vet i would be doing so now, it does not look good to me. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -ronhalling

 

[SnekAnenome]

Thanks, was definetly planning to get her to the vet, was hoping at least someone on here has had water snakes (or even file snakes??) Before could help me out or tell me a bit about them. Tried googling and looking in my snake and python books but theres not much info on them out there.

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

I agree with Ron. Whatever it is doesn't look right and might actually be quite serious.

 

[pinefamily]

I would be asking the vet to do a blood test. That sort of thing is not normal for any snake.

 

[Scutellatus]

While it is not normal it is probably more common than people think.
It happens to fish regularly, their swim bladder blows up and they can't maintain depth in the water. For aquarium fish a remedy that sometimes worked was soaking them in a salt bath. I am not sure that this would work for a Macleays though.

 

[SnekAnenome]

You know I think I have heard that in fish before, have her sceduled for a vet whos comfortable with venoumous snakes on Mon (its the soonest we could fit in) but will try the salt water bath to see if it helps before then. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[pythoninfinite]

Clearly there is air (or water, or both) trapped within the rear half of the body somewhere. Salt water baths will not be of any assistance. I would use a new syringe needle gently pushed under the skin to allow the trapped air/water to escape, and see how that goes. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, try and find someone who is experienced in husbandry/management to do it for you. Of course this won't tell you why it is happening, but it will alleviate the immediate, clearly serious problem at least temporarily. I would regard this as very urgent to be honest. I would probably remove it from the water as well, and place it in a container with damp sphagnum moss (floated in the tank for temp control) until you can have it seen to. I wouldn't wait till Monday.

Jamie

 

[pythoninfinite]

Any news, diagnosis or outcome with this animal?

Jamie

 

[SpottedPythons]

Could be digestion related... undigested food will cause gas as it decomposes and that can cause bloat/floating...

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Could be digestion related... undigested food will cause gas as it decomposes and that can cause bloat/floating...

My gut feel is its more serious. Liver disease/cancers can cause similar swellings that can present with what appears to be bloating.
Though it wouldn't be kind to the owner to discuss it would be interesting to know the outcome from the vet visit.

 

[SnekAnenome]

After an xray and an ultrasound, it turns out that it was indeed gas that she couldnt pass because of what looks to be a tiny piece of bone stuck in her rear, so one of her past owners must've fed her chicken neck. Vet was all booked out so couldn't do surgery till next week but syringed out most of the air so that she can feel a little bit more comfortable till then.

 

[pinefamily]

Great news. Great in the sense at least you know, and of all the things it could have been, this is probably one of the better ones.
Thanks for letting us know.

 

[pythoninfinite]

Excellent news. I wonder if surgery will involve an incision or a cloacal probe?

Jamie

 

[SnekAnenome]

Sorry for not getting back sooner guys but operation went well, he first gently pushed the blockage further up her stomach so that it would be easier to access, gave her a slight incision and pulled it out. It ended up being undigested fish bones all stuck together that were starting to get infected. She cant go in water for a week (except for an hour of excercise daily) so is being kept on damp paper towels and it still on antibotics for a while. Just means she cant have food for a few weeks till she fully recovers.

 

[pythoninfinite]

Thanks for the update. Good news.

Jamie

 

[Snapped]

Well that must have been a relief, thanks for coming back in and updating the thread. Hope she recovers well.

 

[Jonesy1990]

Wow great to see a happy ending. Thanks

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Just reading this and noted that you feed your snakes goldfish... I would seriously consider ceasing this practice as goldfish and carps (Cyprinidae family) are extremely high in thiaminase enzymes and will actually cause your snakes to have a thiamin (Vitamin B1) deficiency and it will kill them eventually by causing them to lose control of their nervous system, they will actually drown. There's a fantastic documentary by National Geographic called Zombie Alligators... It depicts the events leading up to mass Alligator deaths in a Lake in Florida... The alligators had succumbed to eating shad, a species of fish high in thiaminase enzymes.

In the reptile industry, it's widely advocated amongst turtle keepers to never use goldfish as feeder fish. I just wanted to share this here with you so you could be aware if it for your snake's well-being.