Lady has not-so-lovely lady lumps.

[apollonios]

Hey, I'm new here, I'm mostly just posting because I'm kind of hoping for some insight on this problem our girl has.

Her name's Lady, we've had her for about two months, we adopted her from a family that couldn't keep her any more. They said she was eating like clockwork, one small rat every two weeks.

She ate once for us, with no problems, but then just stopped. She's stayed active and friendly, and she seems to still be a good weight, but she's just not eating.

The other day we found this weird bump on her that we hadn't seen before. Attached are some photos of it, and its general location.

I don't know if she had this bump all along or if this is a new thing. Another possibility for her not eating could be that we have two males also, and smelling them around has got her thinking it's breeding season. We have the boys in a different room now, though, and she still won't eat.

Please advise?

 

[apollonios]

I forgot to mention. the weird bump is in her first half, and it feels hard.

 

[sammythesnake]

I dont know what the lump can mabe food it hasnt digested yet? what are the temps in the cage sorry i am new to snakes to mabe someone elses can be more helpful then me but wow very nice looking snake

 

[Sanebedlam]

That doesn't look like undigested food. I would wait for some other people to weigh in.

 

[Jrgh17]

That doesn't look like undigested food.

I would agree with Geor... erm... Zach. Are you able to find out if they ever bred her (either intentionally or unintentionally)? Is the lump calcified or squishy? If you touch it, does she get agitated? Also, roughly how close to her vent is it? Is the "swelling" only on one side or both sides? Do you happen to know roughly how old she is? Are you 100% positive she's actually a girl?

As for feeding, try mostly leaving her alone for about 7 days, then offer her food again. She's just moved, so she may be a bit nervous.

 

[apollonios]

she was definitely never bred or even kept around a male snake before we got her. the lump is at the end of the first third of her body, nowhere near her vent at all. i'll re-post the first picture and circle where the bump is on her.

very unlikely that it's a food bump of any kind, as it's been over a month since she ate, and we've done warm baths for her to loosen any constipation she may have had. she is very definitely a girl, yes.

the lump itself... is kind of... crunchy? not squishy and not like a rock either. i'm really wondering if it's a rib. it's only on one side. she doesn't seem to care if we touch it though, and she doesn't want to come out and play any less than usual. she's very happy, relaxed and friendly, and continues to be so.

as for the eating thing, i really think it must be the boys being very interesting. she gets really really excited when we bring her in the room where they are. we had her in the same room with them at first, but moved her out about a week ago. she's very rarely still in her enclosure since we moved her, she keeps searching around for something, and I don't think it's food because she doesn't act hungry when we take her out to handle her, she just acts excited.

 

[apollonios]

Here's an edit of the photo so you can see where the lump actually is. thanks!

 

[Jrgh17]

Ooooh... okay. I thought you were pointing to the tail. My bad.

What about impaction? Did they feed on the substrate?

 

[apollonios]

She gets fed in a feeding box outside her tank. we've tried leaving her with her food overnight to see if she would just take her time with it but that didn't work, so I don't think she would have swallowed any substrate.

 

[susang]

she was definitely never bred or even kept around a male snake before we got her. the lump is at the end of the first third of her body, nowhere near her vent at all. i'll re-post the first picture and circle where the bump is on her.

very unlikely that it's a food bump of any kind, as it's been over a month since she ate, and we've done warm baths for her to loosen any constipation she may have had. she is very definitely a girl, yes.

the lump itself... is kind of... crunchy? not squishy and not like a rock either. i'm really wondering if it's a rib. it's only on one side. she doesn't seem to care if we touch it though, and she doesn't want to come out and play any less than usual. she's very happy, relaxed and friendly, and continues to be so.

as for the eating thing, i really think it must be the boys being very interesting. she gets really really excited when we bring her in the room where they are. we had her in the same room with them at first, but moved her out about a week ago. she's very rarely still in her enclosure since we moved her, she keeps searching around for something, and I don't think it's food because she doesn't act hungry when we take her out to handle her, she just acts excited.

Has she been with a male since you got her? Did you have them in same viv? How are you sure it is a female?
I have males and females in vivs next to each other they don't usually have thoughts of mating until Spring.
Also I see the lump in the pic, is it more like damaged scales with maybe scar tissue. Also from the angle of the camera it looks like belly is concave more then usual.
You moved her to a different viv or her viv to a different room. She may be searching for a lay box What are the temps? Does the snake have adequate water and hides?

 

[susang]

the lump itself... is kind of... crunchy? not squishy and not like a rock either. i'm really wondering if it's a rib. it's only on one side. she doesn't seem to care if we touch it though, and she doesn't want to come out and play any less than usual. she's very happy, relaxed and friendly, and continues to be so.

QUOTE]

Snakes by nature do not want to come out and 'play' try leaving the snake alone for 5 days or so and then try feeding, you may be stressing the snake.