Re: PTS Ultrasound Question

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Posted by jess b on April 19, 2003 at 21:37:26:

In Reply to: Re: PTS Ultrasound Question posted by jess b on April 19, 2003 at 21:33:09:

Here is my ultrasound/x-ray tracking of Gertie and twins.
Purchased in 12/00 530gm
Noticably fatter 5/01
Ultrasound 5/30/01: 1 round homogenous structure 2-3cm in diameter in sitting in caudal abdomen. Rads: Soft tissue dense round structure in caudal adbomen/coelom. At the time I did not know whether I was looking at a tumor, cyst, or yolk. I was hoping for yolk! If yolk, she could have been ovulating or in an early gravid state.
7/6/01 U/S: Two round structures, about the same size. Now I think I am looking at yolks. Gertie is ravenous and active.
8/3/01 U/S: Two round structures, same size, surrounded by fluid, within a walled structure. On the bottom on one I can see a focal area of
increased density (probably embroyo) Gertie is ravenous and active.
9/12/01 U/S: Two similar round soft tissue structures within fluid- one sitting more cranial than the other. One has an associated struture
about
1-2cm long which looks like a spine. We decide that she is definetly gravid. Gertie looks like a whale. ~700gm.
10/5/01 U/S: Can see babies moving on U/S. Can see a beating heart that is not Gerties! Can see blood flow in the heart. Rads: 2 faint
calcified
heads. Can't see spines or legs. One is head toward Gertie's cloaca, one is 'breach'. ~750gm. Gertie is heat seeking, not eating well, and her
respiration rate is elevated. I am worried about her.
11/21/01 Rads: Two calcified skeletons, both facing head toward Gertie's cloaca. Gertie is not eating well, poops are tiny, spends most of her
time
in warm spot. 820gm. Her abdomen is lumpy and her skin is stretched. She must be uncomfortable. She is increasingly aggressive with the
male
and lunges at me when I removed food/water bowls.
12/29/01 Two healthy twins born during the night. 88 and 86gm apiece. Gertie is very aggressive and remains in the birth area for several
days.

From my limited experience with this one PTS- I can say that for Gertie- from when I first detected ovulation or early gravid state, it took 7
full
months for her to give birth.

The things I saw in her from the outside as the pregnancy progressed were obvious girth increase, weight gain, increased then decreased
appetite
(no room for food in stomach and GI tract?), heat seeking, and increased aggression. I did not see her soaking in her water bowl, as I have
read/heard that they can do shortly before giving birth.

On the inside 2 months before birth, I could see partially calcified skeletons on x-ray and beating hearts and wiggling bodies on ultrasound, 1
month before I could see fully calcified skeletons, 3 months before I could see a small spine, 7 months before I could see a yolk or follicle.
I got the sense that there is a large period of time when the embroyo is very small, and during the last 3 months it grows very quickly.
Gertie may have 'shown' her pregnancy on the outside more than some, as she had two large babies.

:Me- It was very effective for my female- I tracked her from the first month to the month before. I will find my ultrasound post and re-post it. If your PTS is in fact gravid, and within a month or two of giving birth- get an x-ray done. The fetal skeletons will be calcified by this point, and you can see how many there are. Ultrasound towards the end was harder- the babies were so big, it was hard to tell what was what- but I could see they were alive and moving (you can see the hearts beating). Your vet surely will be honest about whether they think they can do a quality herp ultrasound- but again, I think X-ray would be more useful at this point for Grady. Ultrasound cost will vary depending on the practice- 75-200$. But you might be lucky and find someone who would do it for cheap or free, because it would be FUN!!! This is a bonus of having a good relationship with your local vet- has Grady been seen by any vets before?
:Jess b

::Who on the forum has used ultrasound to determine if their PTS was pregnant? Was it an effective mode of determination? I have one female PTS (Grady)who looks to be quite large (possibly pregnant?). I observed Grady and the male (Tripp) mating last July and August, but would have expected young'uns by now if the gestation period is 7 months (which has been suggested, but not proven).

::Also, I'm not sure my herp. vet has an ultra sound. Would it even be worth the time to have a non-herp experienced vet do the ultrasound? How costly is an ultrasound as well?

::Thanks for all your help.
::Best,
::Fritz

::PS-I'm located in Sarasota, Florida

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Re: PTS Ultrasound Question n/p FritzW 04/20/03 (0)