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Muscular Dystrophy
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by DLW on August 30, 2008
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I have a Cal. King that seems to have Muscular Dystrophy. It spine has 3 cruves in it that last for about 3 to 4 inc's. She can's seem to move that part or her body. There are no vet's here that will see her. Dose anyone know if there is anything that can be done for her?
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RE: Muscular Dystrophy
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by Cro on August 31, 2008
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David, how long have you had the snake and how old is it ? Was it normal for a long time, then developed the problem resently ? Has it been exposed to any pesticides or chemicals. Have you been keeping it on Cedar shavings ? What have you been feeding the snake.
There are many possible reasons the snake is acting that way. The more information you can provide, the better.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Muscular Dystrophy
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by DLW on August 31, 2008
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She is about 4 years old now. When I got her she was about a year old and was in really good shape. She had a knot about 3 inc's from her tail. Took her to the vet and was told that someone slamed the cage top on her tail. It never seemed to hurt her. She has been keep on aspin only. She is eatting F/T mice and rat pups. this has just started about a week ago. The only thing that I can think of that is diff. is I let a friend keep her for me why I was out of town and she was keep in alot smaller cage then I use for her. It was the same floor space but only about 4 or 5 inc's tall, and he keep her on newpapper. but that was only for about a week.
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RE: Muscular Dystrophy
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by Cro on August 31, 2008
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David, it sounds like that knot from the prior injury might still be the problem. If the spine and spinal cord were damaged back then, there could be scar tissue, and possible sharp bone fragments that are putting pressure on the spinal coloum and causing the paralysis. It is possible that the snake was trying to get out of the smaller cage, and was pushing up against the top of the cage, which could have put a lot of pressure on the tail area. An X ray would probably tell you a lot. Hopefully, the snake has only bruised and irritated the nerve, and not actually broken it. With time and a larger cage again, hopefully, the snake will get well. Right off, I can not think of much that you can do that might help. I have heard of one thing that might be worth a try though. There was a study on humans with spinal injuries, and they poured DMSO (Dimethyl sulfoxide) onto the area of the spinal injury. The study showed that it greatly helped healing and prevented or reduced parallysis in many cases. DMSO is available in vitamin shops, health food stores, and on the internet.
There are gell forms of it, which might work better with a snake, but they are hard to find. They would not run off the skin so quickly, and might be worth looking for. As an alternative, you could wet cotton or gauze in regular DMSO and use first aid tape to gently tape it over the damaged area of the snake. The DMSO is a solvent, and will quickly go through the skin and will carry healing sulfer compounds to the injured area. If it were me, I think I might try the DMSO on the kinked area every day, for a couple of weeks, and just see if helps. It will surely not hurt, as it is a very safe product. I sure wish I could offer more positive advise, however, spinal injuries are a tough thing to deal with.
Keep us informed of the progress.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Muscular Dystrophy
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by DLW on August 31, 2008
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Thank you I will try that and see if it helps. I have her in a 30 gal long now. I think that should be good for her. I was looking her over good today and she dont seem like it is hurting her any but I know it cant feel good. Im going to try and upload a few pic's of it tomorrow. Then you will be able to see what im talking about. I'm just not that good and putting things into words. Thank you for all the info and I will give it a try.
David
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RE: Muscular Dystrophy
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by Phobos on September 3, 2008
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I've seen this in several specimens to date. It could be spondylosis. Snakes carry Salmonella (no duh) which can cause serious inflamation fusing the bones of the spinal column. The bacteria also consume bone and other tissues and make if very easy to break it's back.
Al
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RE: Muscular Dystrophy
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by Cro on September 3, 2008
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If the paralysis is being caused by inflammation from Salmonella, which is causing pressure on the spinal coloum, that it would suggest that antibiotics like tetracycline, penicillin, or Doxycycline might be of use in stopping the Salmonella, and reducing the inflammation, before permenant damage has been done.
Best Regards John Z
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