Romeo the female snake and Dr Juliet
Dr Juliet sees most to the exotic pets at Pittwater Animal Hospital. When Romeo woke from hibernation and was not eating, he revealed a distinctively female problem.
Romeo was under weight and when Dr Juliet palpated along his abdomen she detected masses in his abdomen which may have been constipation.
Xrays revealed a few surprising things. Romeo had a deformity of his spine that was likely to contribute to constipation. There were also a number of unusual round masses in the abdomen.
Xray and ultrasound show us different types of images. The Xrays could show the deformity of the spine. Ultrasound showed the different abdominal masses. Some were faeces (snake poo), and others were follicles (snake eggs).
Romeo was a female snake and had an abdomen filled with unfertilized follicles – these were contributing to her anorexia and constipation. Here is how Dr Juliet located the eggs and removed them.
When Romeo started to wake up she was returned to her bag and slowly recovered. She had some follow up problems with constipation but is now going well.
