Bump and several cuts

[iridescentfire]

I was watching my ~14 year old male move around his enclosure today and noticed several cuts on his belly and a bump under one scale. I did not notice these bumps when I last fed him and cleaned his enclosure, 14 days ago.

I've attached images of the cuts, which look like they must have been healing for some time. There is also a large bump on under one of his scales, which feels a bit hard to the touch. His hiding spots and other decoration have been in his enclosure for years, the newest addition (besides fresh clean bedding) was in 2017 when I purchased a new enclosure and water dish.

I have changed his bedding again tonight to ensure that it is dry and fresh after reading other posts about scale rot. His enclosure is about 70F at night and 85-87F during the day on the warm side of his tank. He does have an under-tank heater, which is about 3/4" away from the glass and not directly on the glass. His bedding is approximately 1-2 inches thick. I currently use Carefresh Small Pet Bedding (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PBM6WHW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), which I started to use at the recommendation of a vet after seeing issues with his scales over 2 years ago.

The vet visit 2 years ago was prompted by me noticing darkened/blackened scales all over his body and lighter/whitened scales at his neck. The vet said that these were normal for an aging snake. I was not a huge fan of this vet, but have not found another close by yet. Reading more posts on this forum, I see many comments about the white scales possibly being from rubbing on small enclosures, but he fits well with room under both of his hiding spots. The lighter scales also appeared before I used this Carefresh bedding, back when I used coconut husk bedding (again over two years ago).

For the new wounds - given that the wounds do not look fresh, do I leave them to heal? Any ideas where the cuts and bump may come from?

I have attached images of the back of his neck that has lightened scales for several years, as well as a picture of each of his wounds (the worst 2 out of 4 due to file limits), one of his bump under his scale, and one of him curled up where his darkened scales can be seen, mostly where his dark red meets light red/orange spotting. I appreciate any feedback, help, and recommendations.

[iridescentfire]

I should mention that he gets fed frozen mice in a plastic enclosure that I have had for about 10 years.

[DeuceRon]

Personally, I think the snake looks great and agree that the wounds may be almost healed. Other than the lump, I wouldn't worry about it. Not sure if older snakes get lumps like dogs get tumors, however perhaps some of the veteran owners here would know for sure.
Good luck !

[iridescentfire]

Personally, I think the snake looks great and agree that the wounds may be almost healed. Other than the lump, I wouldn't worry about it. Not sure if older snakes get lumps like dogs get tumors, however perhaps some of the veteran owners here would know for sure.
Good luck !

Thank you @DeuceRon. I panicked and was able to find another local vet who happened to have a cancelation today. I just got home and saw your message. It did look to the vet like some sort of cut wound that is healing. The bump that was there last night was almost completely gone this morning. I can't find anything sharp in his enclosure, so I'm hoping it was a one time thing, he likes to slither on the door and maybe he fell? For now, I get to give him antibiotic injections to be sure it doesn't turn into an infection.

[iridescentfire]

For the light scales on the back, the vet also said to try more warm soaks - although he has a water bowl big enough to soak in, he never does.

[iridescentfire]

One month update: still trying to find answers.

The "cuts" have gotten worse. We did two weeks of antibiotic shots, new bedding, he has since shed and ate one small rat. I did a couple warm water soaks, at the vet's suggestion. I'm calling the vet again tomorrow to get rechecked. Anyone have more suggestions?

[hypnoctopus]

Poor guy. Is the vet a reptile specialty vet? For now I would put him on paper towels.

[iridescentfire]

Thanks, yes, the vet also came recommended from our best reptile pet shop in the area. I haven’t yet removed his hides either - I have a molded “rock” hide on his warm side and a wood arch on his cool side. Do you think those should be removed as well?

[hypnoctopus]

I would remove the wood for sure. If the rock hide has any sharp or rough parts, then I would remove it as well, otherwise it could probably stay.

[chairman]

Aside from the already suggested changes to the enclosure, you could:

-Clean the wound daily with a chlorhexidine solution.
-Put a topical on the cuts. Silver sulfadiazine cream is reptile safe and probably available through your vet. You can use Neosporin without pain relief as well. You will need to reapply daily and keep an eye on the water dish, change it if you see a sheen on top of the water.

I have a ball python that injured the top of his head, cleaning the wound daily and applying Neosporin cleared the issue up in about a month.

For hides you could just toss a bunch of paper towels in there. Snakes are happy to hide under just about anything.

Sent from my moto g(7) supra using Tapatalk

[iridescentfire]

Update: I proceeded with betadine soaks and neosporin, the cuts got better and worse and better and worse. Never quite healing. He stopped eating, and visibly lost weight. He had his first ever bad shed, then another while I was waiting for my vet appointment at a new vet who was booked for almost a month out.
New vet still says the cuts aren't scale rot and seem to be healed, though scarred. Nothing in his tank could cause it since I have removed everything and even replaced his water bowl with a smooth bowl. He only had paper towel bedding and still got them.
Vet has said the scales and bad shed are not problematic, but he has a heart murmur and a tumor in his abdomen. I'm waiting for a quote, so I'm not sure what the cost will be. I will try heart meds (I need to give orally) and we will have an ultrasound and biopsy. I'm not sure about moving forward with surgery on the tumor.

Has anyone gone through with surgery for a tumor and/or put their snake on heart meds?

[iridescentfire]

I should note that the vet stated the tumor location is likely why he's not eating.

[hypnoctopus]

Is the tumor related to the little bump he had? Can you feel the tumor from the outside?

So sorry to hear he (and you!) are going through all this.

[iridescentfire]

Thanks @hynoctopus, no the bump was on his tail before, this tumor is in his abdomen. I didn't try feeling it because I didn't want to distress him after being at the vet already, but the vet did say she could feel it when examining him.

I also forgot that there is fluid around his heart. The vet is recommending:
1) Bloodwork (of course)
2) Ultrasound + needle aspirate from mass
3) cytology from mass
4) fecal exam
5) heart meds to take home (pills)
6) draining the fluid around his heart
7) Option to biopsy his weird cuts, the vet thinks they are healing, but I don't think they are since it has been months and they don't look improved anymore.

Grand total: $1617.35

[hypnoctopus]

Honestly, at 14 years old, I don't know how well he would even tolerate all of that vet work. If he was my snake, I would probably just leave him be, treat him like normal, and when it becomes apparent that he's really not doing well (usually indicated by consistent feeding refusal or regurges), I would euthanize him, sorry to say.

[iridescentfire]

Maize passed on Tuesday. He was supposed to go to the vet on Wednesday to get his ultrasound and to teach me how to give him heart medication. I didn't expect him not to make it to his appointment, so I was quite shocked to find he had passed in the morning. The vet did a necropsy and found that most of his organs were enlarged, his heart 3x the size it should be. She also found white crystal-like spots in most of his body. She said there was nothing we could have done, even if we had done the ultrasound and heart meds.

He was about 14.5 years old and I had him for 14 of those years. Here is a picture from when he first came to live with me vs how big he got.

[hypnoctopus]

I'm so sorry to hear that. He was beautiful and obviously had a wonderful life with you.

[SnakeCreations]

So very sorry for your loss. You certainly gave this sweet snake a loving home.

-Tonya