Green Tree Python Uncommon Problem Information

If you are looking for something and don't see it here you may want to check our common problems page. Parasites are also discussed on a separate page. If you are having an issue or would like to ask a question please feel free to email us.

Disclaimer: What is presented here is our opinion based on lots of experience but we are not a veterinarian. None of what is presented here should be taken as a substitute for qualified medical advice, when in doubt go to a vet immediately. Do not pass go and do not collect $200. If you have trouble finding a "reptile vet" with experience we'd recommend you find someone willing to work with you and buy two books - The More Complete Chondro and Doug Mader's Reptile Medicine and Surgery - you can find both of these books on our recommended reading page. What happens then is that you use these books (Mader's is the vet textbook of choice for herps) with your vet to determine the best course of action for your animal. We have found most vets are willing to do this and like a challenge but consider that you are forming a partnership with a professional to care for your animals, your ability to communicate well with this person is critical so personality counts.

Prolapse

What's that giant red turd sticking out of my snake? Why , that's his insides Johnny.

Seriously - prolapse can be very scary if you have never seen it before. Untreated prolapse is always fatal. A prolapse occurs on a minor scale every time a GTP goes to the bathroom, the problem is when the bowel fails to retract and gets swollen.

If you feed prey items that are too large any Green Tree Python will eventually prolapse. It is also true though that GTP's can prolapse for no apparent reason, this is especially relevant for neonates. Sometimes parasite and constipation can play a role, egg laying can cause prolapse as well.

The first thing you want to try and figure out is how "fresh" the prolapse is. If it has gone on for more than a few days the tissue will be dry and often infected. The prognosis in this case is not good.

Step one is to get the tissue clean and hydrated - we typically do this by placing the animal in a small plastic container with a small amount of clean warm water in the bottom and a paper towel "island" in the middle. Let the tissue sit in the water for awhile and watch it - it should get cleaner and appear more red as circulation (hopefully) returns. Keep changing the water if you are getting stool particles.

After a few hours of a plain water soak it is time to make up the sugar solution. Make a thick paste with sugar and water (some folks like to use powdered sugar for this) and apply it with an eye dropper to the prolapsed tissue. After a while the animal will have moved around and dissolved the sugar, apply more. What we are doing here is trying to reduce swelling so that the tissue retracts on its own. You should see it working at least a bit. Keep doing it as long as it keeps working. Some folks use preparation H to reduce swelling but we never have. Caught early prolapses treated in this way often retract on their own which is the best bet for the animal.

After you've got the tissue clean and hydrated and you've applied sugar solution and given the prolapse a chance to retract you may find that it is still sticking out - and now you have a decision to make. The recommended procedure is to reinsert the tissue manually but it is important to know that if the tissue is infected or dry you'll cause sepsis even if the prolapse stays in which is almost always fatal.

Unless you know what you are doing don't try and reinsert prolapsed tissue - go see your vet. Reinsertion is tricky and a test of patience, if you force anything or move too fast you'll make the problem worse. We use lubricated sexing probes, half q tips, and blunt pieces of plastic coat hanger to slowly tease the tissue back into position. Do not use force.

You'll find that the process is frustrating - just when you think you've got it reinserted it'll spill back out. Light massage of the lower body can help. Some animals require a "purse string" suture to keep the bowel from prolapsing again. Some people place a small piece of tape (use surgical first aid tape) over the vent.

Hopefully you'll get the tissue reinserted. Keep the animal in a very humid environment (we leave them in that plastic container with a paper towel island for several days) and keep the stress as low as possible. Support the animal in every way that you can.

Reoccurrence is common - especially on the subsequent poop - and should generally be treated the same way.

Once you have things reasonably stabilized you'll want to wait quite some time before feeding again. Start with the smallest prey item the animal might accept and wait for a stool.

While a very serious issue full recovery is possible.

Bacterial Diseases

Bacterial infections are usually secondary to another problem like mouthrot or parasites. They tend to impact animals that are already weak or otherwise compromised - the major problem has got to be the priority.

While treatment is usually successful if the underlying cause is known identification of the germ can be tricky.

The best thing you can do to combat bacterial infections is to keep your cage very clean. Bleach, Nolvason, and Disintegrator are good agents to use.

GI Infections

Infections of the gastro intestinal tract are typically characterized by an inability to digest food. Seriously foul stools and regurgitation are often seen along with an increase in water intake and occasionally swelling of the last third of the body.

Sometimes these infections are caused by parasites so you want to consider that.

Having dealt with any underlying causes the first thing to do is to increase the temps by 5-8 degrees to get a hot spot in the low 90's. Increase the humidity as well.

Sometimes treatment with an antibiotic is needed, you vet can help with this. Another supportive thing to do is to provide electrolytes, this can be done by replacing the water with Pedialyte which you can find at any grocery store. This is basically gatorade without sugar.

Mouth Rot

Also know by the fancy name of ulcerative stomatis mouthrot is characterized by a swollen mouth that is often full of white cheesy pus. As with any ill animal you want to increase the cage temps to provide a hot spot in the low 90's.

The first thing to do is to clean out the mouth. Take some Q tips and break them in half. You want to use the non cotton "broken" end of the Q tip to remove as much of the pus as possible. Be very careful with the cotton ends or don't use them - leaving any sort of fibers in the mouth will provide a place for creepy crawlies to grow. So once you've got the gross stuff out of the mouth you want to wash it, there are a number of different solutions folks use - 3% hydrogen peroxide is common as is betadine/iodine. While holding the snakes head in a down position (gravity works) and paying attention to the glottis in the bottom of the mouth (the breathing tube) so that you don't pour liquid into the animals lungs and drown it - liberally apply your cleaning solution. This is done 1-2 times per day for a few days and you should see rapid improvement.

It is important to say something about mouth washing - some folks consider this to be a treatment for mouth rot. It's not. All you are doing is cleaning the infection site which can help any animal in using it's own immune system to battle the problem. Cleaning any wound is never a bad idea. Sometimes it can allow an animal to heal on it's own but it is not a "cure".

Most of the time antibiotics are required to clear mouth rot that isn't very minor to start with. The major agents that cause mouth rot are Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pasturella spp., and the fungus Candids albicans.

Snakes heal slowly generally but you should see massive improvement quickly , if you don't get to the vet right away.

Viral Infections

Viral infections have become more "common" recently - well, perhaps not really but our improved diagnostic methods are catching it much more often. Unfortunately there is often no reliable treatment for many viral infections. This is often the underlying case when the snake seemed fine for a long time and "just died".

Constipation & Dehydration

These two things tend to come together and they are cyclical. Symptoms include a restless creature, increased water intake, regurgitation, distress, and partial defecation.

Sometimes folks are looking for a more frequent stool and conclude an animal is constipated, it is important to remember that they have a slow metabolism and don't necessarily defecate frequently or on a regular schedule. By itself failure to poop does not mean the animal is constipated.

Most of the time dehydration is caused by environmental factors so you want to get that corrected. You can give electrolyte solutions to dehydrated or weakened snakes, pedialyte in the water bowl works well. In extreme cases a vet may want to give subcutaneous injections of solutions containing glucose - never inject more than 5% of the body weight. Water soaks and very high humidity are also common practices.

The best bet with a constipated snake is to swim it. Put a few inches of warm water in the bathtub and slowly introduce your snake to one end of the tub - the object here is to get the to swim across the tub. Support their body and go slowly, swimming is a natural and instinctive reaction. You'll often get a stool very quickly.

Another thing you can do is to rearrange the cage furniture - this always causes them to go exploring and that activity will help them pass a stool. You want to be sure and take everything out of the cage and clean it before putting everything back in a new way, moving a branch or two won't always cause "explore" moments.