Red Bump on Snake's Spine

Hello! My name is Nicki and this my blizzard corn snake, Evee!



I've had her since around 2008, when she was given to me by a friend of mine in 8th grade. I know my friend had her in 2004 when we met, so I would say Evee is at least 13 years old, possibly older. She's always been in great health, as far as I know! She eats a large thawed mouse every ten days with no issues, and sheds regularly. She doesn't usually shed in one piece, however, but in 3-4 smaller pieces -- she's done that for as long as I've had her. Her hobbies include slithering around her in tank for hours on end, chillin', and tormenting my cats with her presence.

Her tank is, I believe, a 40 gallon long tank (I had to measure it to determine its size, and I somehow managed to get dubious results -- but it's big). It has a cardboard hide, a rock, a log hide, a large water dish, and another log hide, as well as a tree branch (yes, a real tree branch; 14 year old me did not know in 2008 that it isn't wise to just take things from the outside and put it in a pet tank, but I think ten years later, it's all right now!) I have aspen bedding as a substrate, underlined by newspaper. Her light source is a heat lamp situated on the left side of the tank, and it is generally kept on all day (about 14 hours or so).



The issue I'm here about is the red bump I noticed on her spine tonight. It's notably discolored from the other markings on her body, and seems to be very slightly raised. Here are some pictures!




When I run my finger over it, she doesn't seem to flinch or anything, but she IS a snake after all! Could it be just a bruise? She's a very active snake. She spends much of the evenings (if not part of the days) crawling around her tank and up over her tree branch, making me think she's practicing for the Snake Olympics or something. I wondered if perhaps she bumped it against something. However, if it's something more serious, I'd like to catch it early on! I have two indoor-only cats, but even they aren't skilled enough to get inside the tank and "play" with her (not for lack of trying). Any suggestions? Thank you!!

I am attaching larger versions of the pictures if anyone's interested!

Nice to meet you, Nicki and Evee

In some of your pics it does appear to be a bruise.
Also in half your pics Evee looks healthy but in the others she looks very skinny! ????

What ever the spot is I would wait to see what it looks like after the next shed.

daddio207 said:

Nice to meet you, Nicki and Evee

In some of your pics it does appear to be a bruise.
Also in half your pics Evee looks healthy but in the others she looks very skinny! ????

What ever the spot is I would wait to see what it looks like after the next shed.

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Good news is, I can't readily see it today! Instead I'm just overanalyzing every single mark on her body. I'll just continue to look at her and monitor her coloring

As for her weight -- the picture where she's curled up is an older one, taken about 8 years ago probably. The other ones are newer ones. I've thought that occasionally too, that she looks a bit thin, but I'm feeding her on a normal schedule? Large mice at least the size of the thickest part of her body. She lived with my mom for about 4 years while I was at college, so I don't know how well my mom was feeding her (she fed her, of course, but not on as regular a schedule -- sometimes every two weeks instead of 10 days).

But then sometimes she doesn't look thin at all, and I wonder if it's just the lighting or the way I was holding her :shrugs: Especially since she's so active (like she's doing rounds of her tank as I write this) and not lethargic or anything.

I wonder too if perhaps it's... I don't know, sunburn? The light is not super closer to the bottom of the tank, as seen in the picture, and she has a shaded area at the other end of the tank and multiple hides, but maybe it's just too bright? Her scales do seem to be a bit dry and as I said, she doesn't ever shed in one piece :shrugs: :shrugs: I don't have a thermometer or a hygrometer, so perhaps I'll have to invest in those, or consider an under the tank mat...

I don't know, any advice? I've had her for ten years now but this is my first time taking care of her like, by myself.

I doubt the heat lamp caused the spot. Glad it's clearing up.

She is definitely skinny and probably dehydrated also. I would bump up her feeding schedule to every 7 days until she gains back her weight.
You can mist daily to help raise the humidity. Switching to a undertank heater and getting rid of the light will help also.

daddio207 said:

I doubt the heat lamp caused the spot. Glad it's clearing up.

She is definitely skinny and probably dehydrated also. I would bump up her feeding schedule to every 7 days until she gains back her weight.
You can mist daily to help raise the humidity. Switching to a undertank heater and getting rid of the light will help also.

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Thank you so much! Is there a more specific way to tell that the weight has been gained back? Or rather, what about her right now makes her look underweight, so that I know to look for it disappearing? And what was the cause of the dehydration, overheating and underfeeding?

And what should I mist? The inner walls of the tank?

Sorry for all the questions lmao. I just find so much conflicting information out there. Thank you!!

Weighing her, of course, would help. In all the pics you posted showing the red spot you can see she is triangular shaped. Also that "wrinkled' skin/scales on her sides just above her ventral (stomach) scales is an indicator of dehydration and/or being underweight.
A healthy weight is when the snake is shaped more like a loaf of bread as she looks in her younger pics.
With the correct amount of feedings, prey size and humidity a corn snake can go along time without a water source. Of course, in captivity we always want to have water available 24/7.
Yes, mist the inner walls of the tank.To prevent mold issues from frequent misting it is best to avoid getting the aspen to moist.
Ask away !! Sadly I see all the incorrect information that was going around 20 to 30+ years ago still being perpetuated today. I've come to realize there is no way to correct it. Mob mentality will win over an individual's experience now-a-days. :shrugs:

Picture a round cylinder shape, like a garden hose or piece of pipe. If your snake is round like that it's probably overweight (a fatty). Now picture a triangular shape. The bottom of the triangle on the ground, the top point of the triangle up. If your snake is shaped like that, you'll see the spine up, you'll see the flat belly on the ground, and the sides slope inwards to complete the triangle. If your snake has that shape (and your's does) it's underweight, (too skinny). Now picture what a loaf of bread looks like when you slice through it. The bottom will be flat, the top will be rounded, but the sides are almost straight up and down connecting the rounded top to the flat bottom. That is what a normal healthy snake should look like. (There are pictures of all 3 of these profiles I just described somewhere on this forum, but good luck finding them.)

And of course most of us have scales and weigh our snakes. And even a few of us keep feeding and pooping and shedding records, growth and weight charts, feeding amounts, Medical records....etc.... any other pertinent info.

As for the red bump on the spine, Not sure about that. I didn't see anything that looked alarming in that respect, but I will say that when a snake is too skinny, sometimes you can see Organs, Bones, Even Poop, through its skin. Chances are if you start feeding properly, your snake will also look better.

Thank you guys so much!! I'll weigh her in the next couple days, then check back in in a few weeks after a few feedings and let y'all know if her appearance has changed and if she's gained any weight I'll begin misting as well, and obviously look into getting a thermometer/hygrometer and under-tank heater as well. Thanks again!!