Emergency - Lump on snake's throat.

[legitimatehypnotist]

I cannot stop crying, I just took my yearling female out of her tank so I could clean it, and there is a medium sized lump on her throat, just beneath her jaw.
Has anyone ever heard of this before?? Could it be a gland?
I have to take her to the vet but I have no idea what this could be in the meantime, it looks like swelling but it's soft to the touch. She did jerk quickly as I grazed it, could it be hurting her??

[legitimatehypnotist]

Okay, I just went back and looked again, and maybe it's not as large as it seemed when I first saw it. But it's still not normal looking at all.
It just looks like so strange. It's larger than usual, I'm thinking swelling of some kind.
I'm trying to get some pictures of it right now.

[legitimatehypnotist]

Here is the best picture she would let me get of the growth beneath her chin:
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l277/pooppeepoop_2006/wonderfuls/IMG_7798.jpg
So I put her back into her 'holding cell' for ten minutes while I went to soak her tank, and when I came back in the lump had gone down drastically. There is only a slight protrusion now when she angles her head downward. What the heck?
Is there such a thing as a snake allergy?? That might be insane, but I know I was touching chemicals I don't typically use HOURS ago, could this have possibly been a reaction of some sort?
She is strong to the touch and grips intensely, very active, she just went number 2 last night and it looked totally healthy, she is eating fine and her schedule as far as when she sleeps and when she's up is normal. I still plan on taking her to the vet, but I'm baffled as to what this could be.

[Lennycorn]

When was teh last feeding?? You think that maybe she hurt herself while eating??

[legitimatehypnotist]

Her last feeding was six days ago. She'd been fairly elusive for the past few days, but last night when she was out and about I didn't notice anything strange either. Like I said, the swelling has gone down considerably since I've taken her out of the tank, but I'm extremely concerned.
I had a friend suggest it may be an impacted tooth, does that happen often?

[Lennycorn]

Sorry but I don't know. I've been very very lucky with my snakes. Nothing but lenny injury has occured. I hoping someone will chime in that has experince in this.
But the swelling has gone down which is good!! I think things will be fine.
As you know, keep and eye on it and call a vet if it continues.

[SnakeAround]

Recently there was a post of someone with exactly the same thign occuring I think, not sure what it turned out to be though, I think there have been no posts anymore since the first few. So I think it was not something bad after all. Have you done a search for swelling throat on here already?

[beautifullywild77]

I believe it was OkeeteeMom's thread.

[SnakeAround]

Yeah I think it was! I disappeared and then it got worse again. Mmm... just keep an eye on her hypno, I don't think it is life threatening at the moment.

[AliCat37]

You know, I wouldn't worry about the looks of that. Sometimes my female anery will do that, and I noticed a few of my babies do it. I think it may be some sort of stress response since it only happens once in a while. I was really, REALLY worried the first time I saw my anery have that, and it was huge (probably like you're describing) and it went down a bit as I held her. I poked it and squished by it and I felt nothing hard, so I figured it was something she was doing just because. Though I am not 100% sure.

[legitimatehypnotist]

Thanks, I'll be keeping a very, very close on eye on that. You guys are great.

[AliCat37]

Thanks, I'll be keeping a very, very close on eye on that. You guys are great.

No problem, it is definitely something to keep an eye on, especially if it doesn't go away or gets larger.

[legitimatehypnotist]

Well, the size of the lump has gone way down, but it is still visible. It sort of resembles a pelican gullet now, strangely enough.
My question is, should I go ahead and feed her as usual, or should I wait a few days?

[RobbiesCornField]

I would say try to feed as normal, or maybe something a little bit smaller than usual.

I've had corns before that did something similar to that as a stress response. Or, if they had just taken a drink and were hanging down in my hand, would spit up some water on me (as if it hadn't completely made it's way to the stomach) after holding it in that area for as long as they could.

Keep us posted on what you find, though!

[ratsncorns]

My bairds had the same problem, but the lump was bigger... http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117820

[legitimatehypnotist]

Thanks, she's acting like she's starving lol, I felt sort of bad not feeding her for the past two days while I watched her.

And @Ratsncorns - I'm really hoping it isn't an abscess at this point. It keeps going down, which is lucky but I have to admit that I've been obsessively watching and skipping out on being social and having a life just so I can stay home and monitor her lol.

And she's still a little firecracker and feisty as ever. She coiled around my steel shelf yesterday and refused to move for 40 minutes, just sort of stared out the window rattling her tail. She's a trip, I love her to death, so I had a really panicked reaction when I saw her lump. Seeing everyone else's experiences with this same type of thing has helped a lot, though, and I'm really glad your snake pulled through. :)

[HMSTL]

I have a similar issue...

I just fed my ~1 year old corn snake a couple days ago and went to check on her today and found a big lump on her throat! I panicked and tried to research the matter, which brought me here.

I deduced that she either hurt herself when she was eating or that it's because she is about to shed. I've noticed that her skin has been loose lately and her eyes are starting to fade.

I went back to open her mouth and the lump was gone! Within just minutes, she was back to looking completely normal! I looked inside her mouth for good measure and didn't notice anything strange, though I'm no expert.

Anyway, this has never happened before so I am very concerned. I will keep a close eye on her and if it persists after the shed I will have to take her to the vet.

Is it okay to wait that long or could this be a serious problem? I don't think something like an abscess would just pop up and then go away just like that.
She also doesn't seem to be irritated (any more than usual) when I feel the area in question.

[legitimatehypnotist]

Nyx's lump has disappeared and the skin under her chin is now tight to her face again.
I was afraid there for a few days but she's back to her sweet, adventurous, territorial self :)
Thanks, everyone!

[Naagas]

Yay! That is great news.

[pandabj0rn]

Hi. I want to tell my history.
I have hade around 150 snakes trough my time, the last 3 snakes have had this exactly the same lump. Different size on different snake. So it is contageus i think. But it also have something to do with envirement. When i clean and handle it, and makes sure the terrarium is 100% free (clean with some desinfection ), then the lump gets better.. It now comes back if im lazy for some time and dont clean. I think one of mine ( this is the one i actually killed, cause i was afraid he was suffering from it. It was MUCH bigger lump than what you have on that picture, and it seemed to make problems for him to eat. I tryed different kind of antibiotic, but it didnt help anything. Im not sure what this is, but i keep it under control with desinfectin hes invirement. I will not have more snakes now until my last one dies (hes old) and i can trough away the terrarium and start over again. If anyone find tretment, please let me know (i live in a country were snakes are not realy allowed, so i cant take mine to the vetrinarian, cause they are obligated to turn them into the police, who kills the snake..)

[mishima25]

(i live in a country were snakes are not realy allowed, so i cant take mine to the vetrinarian, cause they are obligated to turn them into the police, who kills the snake..)

I'm sorry if I'm taking this so negatively, but is it wise to keep "illegal" snakes in Norway if you know you can't go to the vet if they have any problems? They will eventually get something and then what will you do...? You just can't go quelling your snakes when they get ill or leave them suffering to their fate.

Owning a snake is not a cheap business once they get ill, so you should take responsibility.
Have you considered making trips to your neighbour countries that do allow them for vet visits? Can't you register your snake legally or something?

I know Finland allows pet snakes, but it's not the common pet by far (even birds are considered exotics), so finding an exotic vet is quite difficult.
Sweden allows them but they have to be registered (something almost no one does), but they'll have exotic vets.
About Denmark, it has very strict laws on owning and importing snakes, so you'll probably need a permit and is one of the most difficult options.

I would research and consider a trip to any of these neighbour countries if you live near enough.
Again, I'm sorry for the criticism, but I feel you just shouldn't have your snakes this way...

[hydrargyra]

Just going to add to the main discussion at hand- I've noticed something similar with my corn and while it was very worrying at first, if there's no change in your snake's behavior I don't think it's a sign of illness or injury. This is something I've seen with no negative consequences for the snake, and I think it may be a common stress response, as my snake mostly does it when he's being handled. Check your humidity and temp- it could be an URI but if your humidity and temperature are at good levels that seems unlikely.