Successful and unsuccessful nonsurgical removal of ingested golf balls and an artificial egg in four rat snakes ().

Case Description: 4 wild adult rat snakes () were evaluated after ingesting spherical or ovoid foreign bodies.

Clinical Findings: Physical examination revealed a large, firm mass at the level of the stomach in each snake. Radiographic findings were consistent with ingestion of a golf ball (3 snakes) or an artificial egg (1 snake).

Reptilian and Amphibian Ambulatory Practice: Challenges and Opportunities.

Herpetology specialists may find a rewarding model in production medicine, where patients are evaluated on a population basis in an ambulatory setting. Ambulatory medicine combines clinical advantages, such as being able to evaluate patients and their living conditions in situ, with the benefits of building close client relationships and tethering the growth of the business with that of an increasingly popular niche industry. Ambulatory medicine does present some logistical challenges when working with reptiles and amphibians, but they represent surmountable growing pains for the veterinarian committed to growing alongside the ever-evolving practice of reptile and amphibian medicine and surgery.

Dorsal laminectomy in a two-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma means).

An adult male two-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma means) was evaluated for kyphosis and a self-inflicted ulcerative dermal lesion at the site of a midbody spinal deformity. Radiology revealed a proliferative bony lesion at the 39th vertebra. A dorsal laminectomy was performed to alleviate pressure on the spinal cord believed to be secondary to bone remodeling.