Can I Get Some Opinions and Advice Guys? Infected Hemipenes?

A

amyzon

Guest
I found this during a routine check this afternoon :( My supersnow has one very inflammed and swollen hemipenal bulge.

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It's clearly bothering him; he has his head turned toward it and is flicking his tongue at it. I did a little research and was initially concerned it could be a prolapse, however there is no part of the rectum or hemipenes pushing outward (I'm pulling his tail back in the picture for a better view). The vent is uninflammed.

I pressed (extremely gently) against the base of the bulge and after a few moments coaxed a drop of clear fluid out of the vent. IMO, he probably has a bacterial infection, from what I've gathered (but please feel free to let me know what you guys think!).

So main problem is, there are no reptile vets in the area. I don't feel comfortable taking the little guy to a non-qualified vet, especially after some of the ludicrous information some of them have given to people I know. Is there any way to treat this at home? My boyfriend has years of experience with snakes, however access to reptile antibiotics are obviously not possible. It goes without saying that I know I'm going to get more than a few responses that clearly state, 'we don't recommend treating your animals at home', which I totally understand since I've said the same thing before!, but I'd appreciate any advice you guys can offer.

Thank yous in advance.
 

malt_geckos

Don't Say It's Impossible
Messages
3,971
Location
Gainesville, Fl
Ouch! Looks painful. Could be a bacterial infection or maybe he got something in it. Has he been bred? Try soaking it in warm water to help ease the pain. I would take him to a vet and tell them what you think it is. They can atleast give you an antibiotic to help it.
 

LeapinLizards

It's a BEAUT Clark!
Messages
2,305
Location
Oregon
Oh wow...how painful looking! My husband went "eeeesh" when he saw that.

I definitely agree with Mallorie...any sort of vet care is better than nothing at all. I completely doubt there is anything you can do at home, besides soaking him in warm water a little that will help that.
 
A

amyzon

Guest
Ok, I will try soaking him. I highly doubt there is anything he could have gotten "inside" really... He's housed on on unprinted newspaper material. He's been housed with an adult female since near the end of the last breeding season and she has not as of yet become gravid.

It looks VERY uncomfortable. Poor lil guy :( I'll try to take him to a vet Monday morning. If anyone else has advice please let me know. If I had the balls (no pun intended :p), I'd attempt lancing it. I'm just concerned because I don't have an antibiotic.

Thanks y'all.
 

malt_geckos

Don't Say It's Impossible
Messages
3,971
Location
Gainesville, Fl
Yeah, he could have tried to breed her and he may have prolapsed For awhile and he could have bitten it or it got dry and irritated and that could have started an infection. I would'nt attempt to do anything to it accept a warm soaking. Make sure the water's not too deep. Good luck with him!
 

Golden Gate Geckos

Mean Old Gecko Lady
Messages
12,731
Location
SF Bay Area
It looks like it very well could be a large seminal plug or even an abscess in the hemipenile sack. I wouldn't recommend trying to exxpress it yurself... take him to a vet before it becomes infected.
 

Alusdra

New Member
Messages
475
Location
Washington, DC
I agree it looks like it might be a plug... but that bulge is pretty large. It's likely there is something else going on, too. It really would be best to take him to a reptile vet, even if you have to travel a ways to find one. Perhaps when you call you can ask to speak to the vet and try to get a feel for whether they know what you are talking about or not when you say things like 'hemipenes'. Pigs and horses can get this sort of thing as well, though it's a bit different.

A good link is http://www.anapsid.org/seminalplugs.html
 
A

amyzon

Guest
Guys I have fantastic news! Well I soaked the gecko this afternoon. After reading here and on several other sites about the possibility of the lump being a sperm plug, I discussed with it with my boyfriend.

We decided to try pressing gently on the base of the hemipenal bulge, the same as you would to sex a snake, either way we would know pretty quickly whether or not we had found an answer. A second later this lovely ball of happiness popped out.

gross.jpg


Um yeah... Gross. It's so hard. It must have been so uncomfortable. The gecko relaxed immediately. It must have been such a relief. The sack is still the same size, but the skin is soft, and I think it's just swollen and stretched out still from the plug. I didn't soak him again because I had just a few hours prior, but I put some antibiotic ointment on the vent area just in case. I'm going to soak him again in the morning.
 

LZRDGRL

Active Member
Messages
2,807
Location
Southern Illinois
Very interesting! It's good that you tried to get it out yourself before going to a vet. I feel sorry for the gecko on the Danish forum link which was put down. Maybe he could have been saved this way, even in spite of his infection.

Chrissy
 

Golden Gate Geckos

Mean Old Gecko Lady
Messages
12,731
Location
SF Bay Area
Actually, that looks more like a abscess. When reptiles get abscesses, they are very hard and encapsulated... not full of semi-liquid pus like in mammals. I'd keep soaking him a few times a day and keep antibiotic ointment on it. You can kind of push the ointment down into his hemipenile sack with a Q-tip.

If he starts getting more swollen, or acts lethargic, he may need systemic antibiotics from a veterniarian.
 

Baoh

New Member
Messages
917
Location
Saint Louis, MO
How did this end up?

I recently received a rescue Super Giant male while traveling in Florida. The male originally came from RT, but the current owner didn't even realize there was anything wrong with the animal. I pointed it out, as they had noticed it was moving much slower and he had lost some weight (he is still over 100g right now). He had trouble defecating and shedding. Rather sluggish and looked uncomfortable to me. I talked the person into giving him to me and I would provide all necessary care for free, so he came into my dominion. I waited until everyone I was staying with had gone to sleep and then soaked his vent in warm saline. Then, I used a finger cot with a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to try and ease out any obstructive material. I gently but firmly pressed against the base of one bulb, directing the force toward the vent. One quasi-spherical chunk, very hard and the size of a small knuckle, passed out and hit the glass of the container beneath him with a surprising loud/heavy clunking sound. I let him rest for a five minutes to calm him and then took care of the other one in the same way with the same result. They were so large that the tissue on the surface of the bulges' skin had developed a sore on each side, threatening to perforate (very thin remaining skin). I then irrigated the entire external and internal area with sterile saline, let him rest for a minute, and then used a small amount of antibiotic ointment within the bulges and vent area, finishing by putting a fine layer over the external portions as well. Someone I could trust mailed him to me today and he should reach my office tomorrow, as I couldn't take anything other than a bird, cat, or dog on the airline I was flying with.

This guy looked even worse than the one on the other forum. Was that male cleared out of built up material before being put down or not? A real shame. My new guy seemed to move so much more readily and drank a lot of water after I performed the procedure I described. He has not eaten yet, but that's understandable for now.
 

Baoh

New Member
Messages
917
Location
Saint Louis, MO
A day or so after he arrived, I expressed more material (a much smaller amount), flushed with saline, applied more antibiotic ointment, and let him rest. He proceeded to drink a lot of water and laid on his hot spot. He ate for the first time since I got a hold of him yesterday, wolfing down three pinkies. I tried to express more material today, but only the edges of clean, healthier looking tissue everted slightly, so I just flushed again, applied antibiotic again, and returned him to his cage. He moves around much more swiftly now for a big lug and I'm going to try to get him to accept other food items as he grows more robust.

I'm going to wait until the middle of next week to express any other material. If nothing comes out that looks unhealthy, I will flush, add antibiotic one last time, and call it good.

If anyone else went through this, how did it go? I hope this can serve to assist others.
 

geckoluv2187

New Member
Messages
125
Location
Los Angeles
same thing

Hey everyone today I picked up a gecko from someone who had the exact same thing. I just thought I would tell you guys what the vet recommended incase anyone else had this problem. The vet drained the area, which can be done by squeezing and using a q-tip. It looked really painful, but a LOT of material came out. The vet put him on Baytril (an oral antibiotic), gave us a cream called silvadine (silver sulfadiazine-- available at the vet), and told us to clean the area with dilute chlorohexidine (avalible at progeckos.com) 2x daily and apply the cream. This poor little guy is also very skinny so he said to force feed him (i'm going to try the slurry). The doctor said the prognosis is very good if treated in time. Hope that helps someone!!
 

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