Posted by Steve Volk on January 25, 2010 at 01:44:36:
Recall that Eve was paired up with Sage last year. Although I saw
cuddling, I never saw any actual breeding. However, Eve ovulated and I
assumed she was gravid until I took delivery of my ultrasound machine
after which I determined she was not pregnant.
As her "due date" came and went, I became concerned if she was going
to pass or resorb these infertile ovum. I consulted with a number of
herpetologists in the US and finally deferred to my vet Roger
Klingenberg DVM and well known herpetologist and decided to try
oxytocin. We hydrated Eve, gave her a shot of calcium and treated her
with oxytocin. After spending several hours in the rain chamber, she
expelled three slugs but retained several others. After another dose of
oxytocin, she crashed and Roger performed emergency surgery to
remove the remaining infertile ovum from Eve's oviducts.
We determined during the surgery that most of the infertile ovum were
adhered to the oviducts and that contractions from the oxytocin
caused a rupture of the oviduct into the abdominal cavity causing Eve
extreme distress.
Roger did a masterful job with the surgery which Eve survived but died
later that evening.
I have seen infertile ovum before in some of my other females like
Abby but these were always absorbed. What I learned is that these fluid
filled bodies are of a completely different nature than the more solid
"slugs" Eve had. There was no way Eve could have resorbed the slugs
we surgically removed from her.
The other lesson I learned is that when it is determined that an animal
is carrying slugs, action must be taken fairly quickly before the infertile
ovum become adhered to the oviducts. I believe that if we have treated
Eve back in September (her due date) with oxytocin, she would have
expelled the slugs and be alive today.