# What is this......



## Wil (Feb 12, 2012)

This was coming out of the cloaca of one of my reds. Does anyone know what it is?


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Feb 12, 2012)

_My first thought was parasite, some kind of worm. If it actually came out I would put in a container or ziploc bag and take it to a vet to find out exactly what it is. 

I hope it's okay and something that's easily fixed._


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## Rhetoric (Feb 12, 2012)

I thought parasite too, but I've never seen that before. I hope everything ends up alright. Keep us posted!


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## RamblinRose (Feb 12, 2012)

I wont tell. : )


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## omgtaylorg (Feb 12, 2012)

That red looks extremely skinny too, could be a parasite...


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## JohnMatthew (Feb 12, 2012)

Definitely looks like some sort of parasitic worm. I first thought tapeworm but when I googled it all the images I found showed worms that're segmented which I'm not seeing on this one. With such a good picture I bet you could get a definitive answer if you post around a bit more.


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## laurarfl (Feb 12, 2012)

Is it a female? Oviduct and infundibulum pop into my mind. It looks more like pink tissue and definitely has a strong longitudinal blood supply with branching vessels as well. It also looks like some mysentery type tissue, too. Did she lay recently?


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## txrepgirl (Feb 12, 2012)

Hi wil. OMG. I hope that all will turn out well. I have never seen anything like this before. If it would of been shorter I would think it's a sperm plug. But I'm clueless on this one. Please keep us posted and good luck with everything. I would take him/her to the vet as soon as you can.


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## Khoilie (Feb 12, 2012)

Jesus Christ. Take that tegu to a vet immediately! and bring the pictures.


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## monstruo-the-tegu (Feb 13, 2012)

:O mother of gawd that looks like a tapeworm


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## laurarfl (Feb 13, 2012)

It's not a tapeworm. Tapeworms are segmented flatworms.


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## JohnMatthew (Feb 13, 2012)

laurarfl said:


> It's not a tapeworm. Tapeworms are segmented flatworms.



I noticed that segmented bit when I was searching images. Whatever it is, a reptile vet could probably identify pretty quick.


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## Wil (Feb 13, 2012)

I will post what it is after I get back home, hopefully tomorrow.


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## RamblinRose (Feb 14, 2012)

Have a safe trip home Wil.


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## reptastic (Feb 14, 2012)

Rose something tells me you know what it is and its not bad


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## RamblinRose (Feb 14, 2012)

Well........ kinda

Just a guessing game


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## Wil (Feb 14, 2012)

Any other guesses??


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## james.w (Feb 14, 2012)

Just spill the beans.


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## txrepgirl (Feb 15, 2012)

O man  . I was hoping to come on here and find out what it is. Please let us know either you wil or you Rose.


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## Draco D Tegu (Feb 15, 2012)

Proplapse? Or honestly it looks like an earthworm that didn't get digested.


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## Rhetoric (Feb 15, 2012)

Tell us!


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## Wil (Feb 15, 2012)

I will tonight. I'm not home yet, but when I get on my computer I will post it.


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## Draco D Tegu (Feb 15, 2012)

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) ....is the tegu ok?


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## Wil (Feb 15, 2012)

Well, Laura hit on it. Here is the history.

Those pictures were taken August of '09'. I received a pair of reds from a friend in Kentucky. She was gravid and we waited for her to lay first (reason she was thin) at his place. She had unknowingly retained about 9 eggs and ended up pushing out one of her uterine horns. I tried pushing it back into the cloaca with the hopes of it naturally retracting and attaching to heal. Well it didn't work because every time she passed urates it would just come back out. One day I came home from work and checked on her only to see that the horn had bypassed the bandage and was completely dried out. At that point the only option was to cut it. She recovered fine but I don't know the effects on reproduction as of yet. If she lays, it may only be half of her potential or it will take her longer to lay. I am hoping she goes this season.


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## Draco D Tegu (Feb 15, 2012)

Do you think it safe to breed her? If she were a dog, I'd have spayed her after an episode like that.


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## Josh (Feb 15, 2012)

Wow, Wil, that's quite a story. Glad to hear she's ok at this point. What a resilient little gal!


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## RamblinRose (Feb 15, 2012)

Just one of the many "down sides" to breeding tegu's, that no one ever hears about. Things that CAN happen, breeder don't usually talk about.
I admire you Wil for doing so.


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## JohnMatthew (Feb 15, 2012)

Crazy stuff, thank you Wil for the update.


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## txrepgirl (Feb 15, 2012)

What ? You took those photos in 09 and we just now get to see them in 2012. I'm sorry I don't mean to give you a hard time . But I was SOOOOO worried about her. Wow, what a story. I'm just so happy to hear that she is OK. 

Laura. Job well done  .


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## Wil (Feb 15, 2012)

Draco D Tegu said:


> Do you think it safe to breed her? If she were a dog, I'd have spayed her after an episode like that.



Reptilian reproductive systems set up a bit differently than mammals. Why would I not try to breed her? She only prolapsed one uterine horn, she still has another on the other side.



Josh said:


> Wow, Wil, that's quite a story. Glad to hear she's ok at this point. What a resilient little gal!



Thanks Josh, most reptiles are quite resilient. You would be amazed at some of the things I have seen them recover from without a whole lot of assistance. I guess when you have been evolving over millions of years if your not tuff your dead. Haha



RamblinRose said:


> Just one of the many "down sides" to breeding tegu's, that no one ever hears about. Things that CAN happen, breeder don't usually talk about.
> I admire you Wil for doing so.



Thanks Rose. 



JohnMatthew said:


> Crazy stuff, thank you Wil for the update.



Even if it is 2+ years. Haha



txrepgirl said:


> What ? You took those photos in 09 and we just now get to see them in 2012. I'm sorry I don't mean to give you a hard time . But I was SOOOOO worried about her. Wow, what a story. I'm just so happy to hear that she is OK.
> 
> Laura. Job well done  .



Sam, I have a few pictures that a lot of people haven't seen. Maybe eventually though.


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## laurarfl (Feb 15, 2012)

I know, it's hard to put your "stuff" out there and let the Internet have at it.

She may breed fine, or not, you won't not until she tries. It may be one oviduct, but it also depends on if there was any damage to the cloaca or other oviduct as well.

When I first saw the photo I was thinking she would probably end up needing to be spayed, but I guess cutting the exposed tissue worked out. Surgery is so tough for these guys.


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## Wil (Feb 15, 2012)

laurarfl said:


> I know, it's hard to put your "stuff" out there and let the Internet have at it.
> 
> She may breed fine, or not, you won't not until she tries. It may be one oviduct, but it also depends on if there was any damage to the cloaca or other oviduct as well.
> 
> When I first saw the photo I was thinking she would probably end up needing to be spayed, but I guess cutting the exposed tissue worked out. Surgery is so tough for these guys.



I wouldn't think that any damage occurred to the other side and there was no visible trauma to the cloaca. But then again, it is all speculation until proven one way or the other.

I agree with you 100% that surgery on reptiles is tough. A lot can go wrong and there aren't many vets that are truly "reptile" vets. I'm just glad to have some of the resources that I can reach out to because there really isn't anyone around here.
Here are a couple of pics of her from last year.


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## Draco D Tegu (Feb 16, 2012)

Oh no, I'm sorry, please don't mistake me, I wasn't having at it with my question about breeding her... I haven't bred reptiles and was merely curious. I do have plans on seeing what I can do with my gu's, so I'm always curious about such matters.

I know dogs, as I breed BC's......In my experience I would automatically spay any female that had an issue out of safety for the dog or to prevent any genetic weakness from getting into my lines. I do understand that surgery is not an option for reptiles most times because ..... well in additon to as you mentioned it being too hard on them, there just hasn't been as much research into the herps as with other domestic animals.

This is just meant to be friendly discussion so here are some other thoughts I wonder....please do not take offense, I'm not judging, merely curious about different points of view on the breeding subject.

I was curious if you felt the risk of losing the animal was worth breeding her? Or why not just try another female red? What is the cut off point for determining the outcome of the female for a reptile vs. that of say...a dog? I guess what I'm asking, is do you view them as pets or breeding stock? Either way is fine with me, I have had both breeding stock (cows) and pets and understand the differences and the necessities of each. I lost breeding stock that I was upset at, but for much different reasons than the loss of a cherished pet. Hopefully that makes sense 


PS she looks nice and healthy now!


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## laurarfl (Feb 16, 2012)

I didn't see any offense in your post. Of course it also not my tegu, lol. I love discussions like this because they make us all think about different things.

I spent my summers on family farms and treating stock is much different. My tegus are my pets. I take them out and play with them. For me, the pet value is greater than the breeding value. But if someone was breeding, and the tegu was not especially pet tame, it is a different decision.


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## Draco D Tegu (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks, that's the sort of info I was curious about.


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## Wil (Feb 24, 2012)

Well said Laura.

Draco, not a problem. I didn't see anything offensive about your post. Most of my tegus are not tame as they don't get handled on a regular basis. I am just as content to watch them do their thing without being disturbed. Now about if the risk is worth the reward, I feel that it is. She is the best looking female red I have and I would hate to not try to pass on her genetics. It's not that I don't care what happens to her, I just don't want her beautiful colors to never have at least the chance of being passed on to offspring.


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## Dana C (Feb 25, 2012)

I don't see why a Tegu with only one uterine horn could not conceive and bear eggs. I remember, what is almost in a past life, we had a OE Mastiff, ***** which we had shown to a championship. She was bred and as is the case as often as not with Masiffs she needed a c section. Unfortunately, one of the puppies had died in one of the uterine horns which the Vet removed...sort of a partial hysterectomy. She recovered after a very expensive surgery. The following year she conceived and gave birth to three healthy puppies.


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