HELPPPP!!!

[HvyMetalMW]

i recently acquired two hatchling problem feeder amels. (i feel sorry for the little guys, and i'm willing to put the time into them.)

anyway, i've had them for about a week, and i just noticed tonight that one of them has small bumps all along the length of his body. they appear to have a yellowish fluid in them...under the scales. he seems to be active and acting normally otherwise (though i still can't get him to eat.) anybody have any idea what these bumps could be? i'm really worried, and my herp vet has left town for a few days so he's not available.

thanks for ANY advice/ideas.
~molly~

[Taceas]

They sound like small abcesses to me.

I've never seen it first hand, thankfully, but I believe they are associated with too moist of an environment, also known as cage-rot.

I've looked through my book, "What's Wrong with My Snake?", and so far nothing is to be said of them. It said that you can slice them open and flush them out with iodine solution. But to me there are too many unknowns out there.

But if they don't seem to be causing the snake any discomfort right now, then I would wait until your herp vet returns and see them as soon as possible. I'd make an appointment with them first thing in the morning to try and be one of the first patients they see when they get back to work.

For anyone on here to effectively help you, you need to give us the particulars that you're housing the snake in. Cage size, bedding material, # of hides, ambient temps on both ends of cage, ambient humidity, does the snake soak a lot, etc. Those kinds of details will help immensely.

Best of luck to you though.

[HvyMetalMW]

i knew i should have provided more info. anyway, i'm not sure how much this will help, but:

he's a really tiny hatchling, so he is housed alone in a rubbermaid shoebox-sized container with plenty of ventilation. the snake room temp is always between 77 and 80 degrees in the daytime, with nighttime temps around 72. he has one hide, and the bottom of the box is lined with paper towels, so he likes to crawl under those, too. he always has access to water, but i have yet to see him soak in it. (but, like i said, i've only had him a week).

i'm a vet tech for a small animal vet (not my herp vet) so i do have a solution of chlorohex on hand that i could dilute and soak in, or apply with swabs...any thoughts on that?

thanks!
~molly~

[CornCrazy]

I wouldn't soak your snake in the Nolvasan. It won't hurt to dilute 20 parts water to 1 part Nolvasan to swab the areas, though. If you soak him, he may dirnk the nolvasan. I know small amounts of chlorhexidine wouldn't be toxic, but with a small hatchling it probably couldn't handle ingesting very much at all.

I am kind of curious as to what you are seeing. Yesterday, I euthanized a non-feeder because it was past the point of no return. It was "bumpy" along its spine (it wasn't before) and appeared to be filled with fluid or air. Is the fluid you are seeing an all over thing or only under the "bumps?"

Could the bumps be kinks, by any chance? Would it be possible for you to get a picture for us?

[HvyMetalMW]

i'll try the chlorohex and see if that helps any...

to describe in more detail what i'm seeing, i noticed one TINY swelling under a scale a day or so ago, and now i'm seeing multiple, (roughly 15-20) swellings the diameter of a pin head scattered over the whole hatchling.

these are not kinks, and are not confined to the dorsal area. the only places i don't see evidence of these little swellings are the head and the belly. they are under the scales, and appear to be filled with a yellowish liquid. i gently ran my fingernail over one with the grain of the scales and a small amount of that liquid oozed out, but that bump didn't go down any with the loss of contents. the skin around and between the swellings appears to be taut and normal, with no sign of dehydration, etc. evident.

the little hatchling appears to be undisturbed by this whole thing, and is behaving normally. (although as i stated before, he has not and will not eat.)

the worst part about this, is that this little guy's sister, who i acquired at the same time, (and up until they were in my care were housed together) i just noticed has developed one of these swellings as well. i'm concerned that she too may develop a whole series of them soon.

hope that gives you a better picture of what's going on. i'm unable to provide photos at the moment, unfortunately!

thanks for the help, it's much appreciated!
~molly~

[CornCrazy]

I am afraid that I have never seen anything like that...or heard of symptoms like that either. I would definitely get them to your herp vet as soon as possible. Does the vet you work for know ANYTHING about reptiles? If it was an infection of some sort, it may be beneficial to get the snakes on antibiotics ASAP. You may want to talk to the vet you work for just in case.

[CornDude]

my friends baby ball python has what sounds similar.only these seem to be along the neck and upper part of the nbody... could you tell me what your herp friend says on the matter....
cheers

[paulh]

Sounds like blister disease to me.

I've had success treating it with a daily application of betadine first aid cream to the affected areas, a dry cage with clean newspapers, and raising the daytime cage temperature to 85 F (your nighttime temp is okay). Raising the cage temperature may also encourage the snakes to eat. Good luck.

[HvyMetalMW]

thanks for the advice...i'm going to try that as soon as i can get to a drugstore. i'll follow up and let you know how it goes!

thanks again, i'm eternally grateful...
~molly~

[CornCrazy]

Nolvasan should be just as good to use as betadine, I would think. It is a wonderful antimicrobial.

[HvyMetalMW]

just an update...a sad one.

my lil hatchling with the skin issues has passed away. i tried the treatment with the chlorohex with little to no result. my appointment with my reptile vet WAS for today, as he has just returned. however, it was a little too late.

i believe that there were some serious internal issues with this little guy, because it appears that he had some internal bleeding. his brother however, has no further signs of skin issues, and seems to be healthy, despite his continual refusal to eat.

thanks for the help, i truly appreciate it.
~molly~

[CornCrazy]

I am sorry for your loss...and I commend you for trying to rescue the little ones.

[dj88girl]

I understand how sad you must feel hvymetal. A few weeks ago i adopted three 6 to 8 week old non eating siblings from a reptile show. The breeder gave up on them. I tried to feed but only got the biggest to eat. Lost a boy the next morning. The tiniest (girl) one was getting very weak so i rushed to a vet she weighed only 2 grams was very dehydrated despite my holding her over her water dish to drink. They gave her fluids which made her really upset and threw her into shock. She didn't make it. The other striped boy that has eaten is very small but doing well. I know you should only adopt healthy snakes, but sometimes the only chance they will have to survive is someone who cares enough to try.