Slash's Slithery Surgery Fund

For the past 3 years Slash has modelled alongside me and has worked with numerous photographers on extensive projects . Her calm temperament makes her incredibly easy to handle and it's impossible to not fall in love with her. She has also been an integral member of my family for over 10 years and she is now in need of our urgent help. 
Yesterday evening Slash was rushed to our local veterinary practice where she was x-rayed, given an ultrasound and then diagnosed with dystocia, a life-threatening condition where she is unable to pass her eggs. This was all very shocking considering Slash was thought to be male until very recently. 

Slash was bathed and given calcium injections in an attempt to calcify her undeveloped eggs but this unfortunately did not help her condition.  Slash had never laid eggs in her life  and it was vital that she received urgent medical attention as complications to dystocia include damage to the kidneys, peritonitis from the ruptured eggs and prolapse of the cloaca which can all lead to death. 


Slash was initially referred to The Royal Veterinary College of London for surgery by London's leading reptile specialist due to her complicated case and she was due to have her undeveloped eggs surgically removed. Unfortunately we were quoted a minimum price of £1500 for Slash's surgery and that didn't even begin to cover medication, accommodation and travel costs. At this point we felt like we had no choice in the matter but thankfully a good friend and reptile keeper pointed us in the direction of Nine Lives Veterinary Practice in Redbourne where reptile specialist, Dr. Chris MacDonald, took on our case and we left Slash in his capable hands. Hours later Chris rang us to inform us that with the help of sedation, anaesthetic, lube and probing Slash had been able to naturally expel her undeveloped eggs herself without the need for surgery. Initially, two different vets looked at Slash's x-rays and thought that they could see 2 eggs inside her but probing found that she actually had six, some of which had ruptured and one of them had amazingly gotten itself stuck in her colon. These ruptured eggs had become infected but fortunately Slash received her treatment before they the infection had had the chance to seep into her bloodstream. We hope to prevent this from happening with a course of antibiotics. 

After a successful procedure Slash is slowly but surely recovering from her sedation but she  is not out of the woods just yet and her road to recovery will be long and stressful but with love and her medication she will get stronger with everyday that passes. Chris has said that if she carries on as she is then she will be back home tomorrow evening, all thanks to the care of Nine Lives Veterinary Practice; without these guys Slash would not have received the urgent treatment that she needed and Lex and I wouldn't have been able to pay for her treatment without spending a huge chunk of my university fund that I will rely on to pay my rent and living costs whilst I'm working unpaid for the NHS for the next 2 and a half years.
We would both like to thank you all for your help and we want to express just how much we appreciate all of the immense support that we have received during this difficult time.