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Lump on my Bairds ratsnake *updated with surgery pictures!*

Meg, no I did not opt to get pathology done on the masses. I just couldnt afford the extra cost. If they come back or he gets lumps elsewhere on his body, I will definitely be forking over the money to get it done. Keeping my fingers crossed he remains lump free!

So he had his follow-up appointment today at the vets. His wounds in his mouth have completely healed. You can barely even see the incisions! The lumps and swelling are gone and he is about 95% healed. The reason its not 100% is because he has very minimal use of his tongue. You can see he barely moves the tip of it in and out of his mouth, but thats it. When the vet looked in his mouth, the tongue just kinda flopped to the side and stayed there. Once his mouth was closed, he managed to pull it back in though. That he still has some control of it is very promising and he could regain full use of it. It could take a while, or even never if its nerve damage.

I will be feeding him a very small meal in a few days when the others are due to be fed. Hopefully he has no tongue issues and I wont have to assist feed him. Im not worried about his weight though, he lost no weight during this whole process!

Overall, I am very pleased with the results and only time will tell if his tongue gets better but Im remaining optimistic!
 
Glad to hear he is doing better!
ratsncorns said:
The reason its not 100% is because he has very minimal use of his tongue. You can see he barely moves the tip of it in and out of his mouth, but thats it. When the vet looked in his mouth, the tongue just kinda flopped to the side and stayed there. Once his mouth was closed, he managed to pull it back in though. That he still has some control of it is very promising and he could regain full use of it. It could take a while, or even never if its nerve damage.
Click to expand...
All things considered, that doesn't sound too bad. Maybe what you need to do is find him a smelling tongue corn snake (like a seeing eye dog, but completely different) Find a little corn snake sized vest that says "assistant animal" on it and train it to act as his sense of smell, find the mouse for him and point him in the right direction. Maybe you can also develop a physical therapy regimen for him. Even with a minor disability he can live a long, healthy, productive life as a contributing member of society.
Good luck with the tongue Cain!
 
Excellent news. I hope to have a good report on here after feeding. You might always have to feed several small items if his tongue remains an issue, but I'm betting he'll do fine in the long run with you there to assist!
 
He ate! :)

Two small hoppers no problems! Its so funny to me because ratsnakes have such big heads and I dont even think he had to dislocate his jaw to consume these little morsels.

Im very happy!
 
Yay! I wonder if the act of eating will be like PT for his tongue. Or, just his mouth muscles in general.
 
I never thought of that! But that would make sense and hopefully he will be tongue flicking like normal soon. Im just glad he didnt even hesitate eating the mice. I wonder how much of it was experience with eating mice versus any sensory input of the "smell".
 
Just a little update...

It appears as if Cain is 100% recovered YAY!!! At his last feeding, he was tongue flicking very emphatically. I am soooo relieved! So it appears as if the nerves of his tongue just needed a little more time to heal. Go Cain!
 
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