🚨 Cloacal Prolapse in Reptiles: A Vet’s 2025 Emergency Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention | Dr Duncan Houston BVSc

When tissue is visibly protruding from your reptile’s vent, it’s more than a shedding issue — it’s likely a cloacal prolapse, and it’s a medical emergency. 🐍⚠️

This guide walks you through what cloacal prolapse is, why it happens, and how it’s treated — so you can act fast and protect your reptile’s life. 🐢💉

🔍 What Is a Cloacal Prolapse?

The cloaca (or vent) is a common exit chamber for the digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts in reptiles. A prolapse occurs when one of these tissues slips out through the vent and protrudes externally. 🩸

Types of Tissues That Can Prolapse:

• 💩 Colon or intestines
• 🫃 Oviduct (in egg-laying females)
• 🫃 Urinary bladder
• 🍆 Hemipenes (in snakes and lizards)
• 🧠 Phallus (in turtles and crocodilians)
• 🧫 Rarely, kidneys

Any species and any sex of reptile can be affected. Cloacal prolapse is especially common in egg-laying females and reptiles with poor husbandry. 🐊

📉 What Causes Cloacal Prolapse?

Most prolapses result from straining. Common triggers include:

• 💧 Dehydration or low humidity → constipation
• 🍽️ Low calcium or metabolic bone disease
• 🦠 Parasites or gastrointestinal infections
• 🪨 Bladder stones or uroliths
• 🥚 Egg binding (dystocia) in females
• 🔍 Scent gland infections or smegma plugs in males
• 💥 Probing trauma (improper sexing techniques)

Without immediate treatment, prolapsed tissue becomes swollen, necrotic, and susceptible to life-threatening infection. 🧠🔥

🩺 Diagnosis

Most prolapses are diagnosed on sight. Your vet will:

• 📋 Take a full history of diet, habitat, lighting, humidity, and substrate
• 👁️ Perform a full physical exam, including identifying what tissue has prolapsed

Advanced Diagnostic Tools May Include:

• 📸 X-rays or CT scans to detect eggs, stones, or impactions
• 🧪 Blood tests for calcium, infection, kidney function
• 🧫 Fecal tests to identify parasites
• 📹 Cloacoscopy/endoscopy under anesthesia

Identifying why the prolapse happened is essential to prevent recurrence. 🧠📊

💉 Treatment of Cloacal Prolapse

Step 1: Emergency Stabilization

• 🚨 Keep prolapsed tissue moist with saline-soaked gauze or clean cloth
• 📞 Contact your vet immediately — don’t delay!

Step 2: Tissue Repositioning

• 🧴 Tissue is gently cleaned, lubricated, and reduced (manually returned to body)
• 🧂 Sugar solutions may help reduce swelling
• ✂️ If tissue is dead (esp. hemipenes), surgical removal may be required

Reptiles do not use hemipenes for urination, so removal typically doesn’t affect their health. 🐍

Step 3: Vent Suturing

• 🪡 Temporary stitches may be placed to reduce risk of recurrence
• 🚽 Reptile can still defecate while sutures are in place (3–4 weeks)

Step 4: Treat Underlying Cause

• 💊 Anti-inflammatories or pain medications
• 🧪 Dewormers or antibiotics for infections
• 🛠️ Surgery to remove tumors, bladder stones, or retained eggs
• 🌿 Correct husbandry issues (diet, lighting, substrate)

📈 Prognosis

• ✅ Good if tissue is healthy and prolapse is recent
• ⚠️ Guarded if prolapse involves the colon or has been present for >24 hours

Some prolapses require multiple procedures. Once a reptile has prolapsed, it is more likely to recur. 🧠

🛡️ Prevention Tips

• 🌡️ Maintain proper temperatures and basking gradients
• 💧 Provide proper humidity and hydration options
• 🍽️ Feed a calcium-rich, balanced diet
• 🧼 Keep enclosures clean and minimize cagemate stress
• 🛑 Avoid overbreeding or overcrowding
• 🩺 Schedule annual wellness exams

📱 Help Is Here with AskAVet.com

If your reptile shows signs of prolapse, don’t wait. Download the Ask A Vet app for expert triage, visual ID support, and emergency care instructions from experienced exotic vets. 🐾💬

Prolapses are painful and life-threatening — but with quick, informed action, many reptiles make a full recovery. Let’s protect their future together. 🐢💚