VEILED WITH A HERNIA ??????Matthew help.

[charles]

Hello all,
Thanks for everyones help with Cali's URI it has compleatly healed. However after a recent fall in her cage I noticed that she wasn't climbing very high. When i examined her I saw a bulge , just about the size of a pencil erasor on her left side in the 7 o'clock position just past the midway point tward her vent. When I felt this mass it was not rigid, it felt more like jello than any thing else.There seems to be a tear/ hole in the abdominal muscles allowing a peice of her small intestine to poke through I'm speculating. She is eating and drinking normally and doesn't seem to mind my touching it any more than normal handling but I can tell when she tries to climb it causes discomfort. Would the problem show up on x-ray. Since it is just under the skin what could be done about it sergically, or would the course of treatment be to wrap a pressure dressing around her to keep what ever is poking out in, and let her heal. I have provided her a comfortable spot to rest and changed her basking spot so she doesn't have to climb to get to it. She seems perfectly content since she doesn't have to move she isn't, but she will chace down crickets. I have started providing them to her with forecepts so she doesn't have to chase them down. She deficated today and there was no blood or anything visually abnormal. We would love some of the experts opinions. As always thanks for your time in advance

Charles and Cali,

 

[kinyonga]

Sorry...but the only thing I can suggest is that you take her to a vet and have it checked out.

 

[MWheelock]

Hey y'all,

Been out of town w/o e-mail for the weekend or I would have answered earlier...

As far as it just being a hernia goes, it could be a lot of things too. Could be a bruise. Could be a seroma (fluid filled pocket that is like a bruise, but will go down over time.) But it could be a hernia.

Here is the problems with herniations. Hernias are just abnormal openings that allow things to slip though. This in itself does not have to be an emergency. If the hernia is too small to allow actual intestine into it, it will probably never cause a problem unless it gets bigger. If it is fairly large to allow intestine to easily slip in and out of, again it is not normal anatomy, but will not necessarily cause a problem.

The problem is with strangulation. If it is the right sized opening and a piece of bowel gets caught up into it and then turns, either cutting off blood supply, or preventing food to go through, you've got a real problem.

You say that your cham is still eating and defecating, so there is no occlusion at this time (though this could change).

I think it would be worth someone taking a look (preferably with oblique radiographs or u/s) to see what is in the bulge. I would think that most likely this is not a hernia, but I am not there. I like that he is still eatting, but if he is reluctanct to move and climb, this would concern me enough to take him/her to the vet.

Good luck,
You can e-mail me any time,
Matthew