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Guess That Bump!

Lyreiania

Lyreiania

New member
Hello all...
I have a conundrum. Actually; its a rat snake with a bump...some history:
This snake has long standing neurological issues...he acts and moves like a snake with Parkinsons disease, he does not know how to eat, he has to be force assisted. He seems unaware of his surroundings, completely oblivious to things. He seems in no distress. I have asked my vet point blank about that, and said I think its cruel to keep an animal alive who is miserable; my veterinarian does not think he is suffering at all. My veterinarian does not know what to make of his strange neurological issues, he is a herp vet.

So the lump. It looks scarier than it is. He seems to be in no discomfort; snake discomfort, I imagine, would involve him rubbing against walls and decorative items in his tank...he does none of this. He eats. He poops. He has shed for the first time since this has happened...and he needed some help, but no differently than any of his other sheds, except he had to be helped around a huge pink lump. The lump seems semi solid to the touch. It developed quite quickly...and seems to get larger each time I see him. Its round, about the size of a chick pea.

We have a vet visit tomorrow, and would have gone sooner had my vet not been on vacation, and the snake given me any indications he was bothered by the thing. But, prior to this visit, I would love to hear what your guesses are. I wonder if his neurological issues were caused by a brain tumor that burst forth from his head? It looks like no image of any snake abscess I have ever seen. And, it sprung forth FAST.

Pictures say a thousand words, I will try to post some. The site wont let me as it says my images are too large, I will attempt to resize them.

Oh...he is housed by himself in a 55 gallon terrarium, on aspen shavings. He was last at the vet for this in March of 2014, where he tested negative for worms and parasites. I have had this snake since 2009.

Any guesses will be welcome, and I will let you all know what the veterinarian says.

Thank you in advance.
 
pictures of snakes lump

images,finally
 

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Oh...and he seems to be acting more "normally" in some ways. He at times seems more aware of the world, and even finds the third dimension every once in a while. But again, no rubbing at his face or anything, and he had no injuries to that area that I can recall.
 
Not being a vet I wouldn't begin to offer an opinion of that lump. I'm so glad you are going to the vet and that your snake does not seem bothered by it at this time. Bless you for giving him the best life he can have with his ailments/disabilities.
 
Thank you so much DollysMom....
I am rather fond of Adderal even though his name proved to be somewhat prophetic. As for the bump, I expect it to hatch evil aliens or something similar. It would be entirely in keeping with his character. Or, maybe a snake equivalent of Athena will spring forth from it as the Greek goddess did from Zeus's head.

I will let you know tomorrow what my vet says.
And thanks again.
 
That is definitely very weird. No clue what it could be, unfortunately.

Can rat snakes have the stargazer disorder? His behavior sounds a bit like that.
 
Hi and thanks for your reply!! I have never heard of stargazer disorder...the Internet says its more a symptom of many possible things than a disease itself? Oh, and I forgot to mention before he degenerated to where he needed total forced assistance with meals, often, while trying to eat, he would accidentally end up biting himself. And not realizing it, not letting go, and I would have to soak his head to get him to release his grip.

You would think that would put him off his appetite, having his head dunked in water so suddenly...normal snakes would not eat after such an event I wager, but no, he would happily finish that mouse and however many he had left after that. An odd boy, but I love him.
 
Stargazer is a neurological disorder that corn snakes can have (other species can have some similar things, but I don't know much about them). But with stargazer, it's present and obvious from hatching. Stargazer makes them seem disoriented and often they twist their heads at weird angles or can't seem to right themselves when flipped over. You can look at videos of it on YouTube. Corn snakes are a type of rat snake, so I'm sure they can share a lot of disorders, but since stargazer is closely linked with sunkissed morphs in corn snakes, I think it would be unlikely that your rat snake would have that.
 
and a picture of Adderal not realizing he bit himself

Adderal, unaware he struck himself as well as the mouse....Adderal used to be a neurologically normal snake...this is something odd and progressive...so cant be Stargazer...nor does he look at the heavens enough for it. I would be happier if he did seem aware there was a third dimension.
 

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Hi Lyreiania! How ya been?

Sorry your little sneaky one is going through this and has that bump that's almost the size of another head! Looks a little scary, but I'm glad he's not in any apparent discomfort. Wonder if is right about it possibly being a stargazer thing, though I would hope not, unless that's the lesser of two evils compared to what else it could be!

Sorry I don't have anything to add except for moral support which is why I chimed in. This site has been deader than a mortuary lately and I'm just trying to chime in as much as possible since I've also been busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kickin' contest lately!!

Adderall huh? Great moniker if he acts like Speedy Gonzalez, although this particular medication HAS been known for its paradoxical effect with those who are blessed with ADHD (HELLO! But give it a name, huh?)! Actually used to calm me down, but like most medications, my body sort of REACTS as opposed to RESPONDING how its supposed to and I've discovered that I'm better off without ANY psychotropic medications whatsoever and regardless of a diagnosis! I wanted to name our former cats after my favorite brands or mixtures of dope (heroin) and other stuff from back in the day (before 1991, which is about the last time I indulged in that particular form of Better Living Through Chemistry). However, when my wife heard me beckoning to "Speedball & BodyBag," she was less than amused! (We both settled on Romeo & GiGi, who have both sadly since, passed at the ripe old age of 18 years! But if you would have known them, you would have agreed that My choice of names sure fit their personalities & behaviors!).

In any event, I hope that Adderall has a SPEEDY recovery (pun definitely intended, but so is the sentiment!)! :eek1:
 
Hi Axis1..
I have been well, thank you! I hope you have to, and thank you for your reply. Yes, he was named for the medication...his character and traits fit it perfectly. He was once the hyperactive soul...now, well, I should change his name to Halperidol. Or Valium, or Risperidol...but no, he will remain my Addle brained Adderall. Adder also being another term for a serpent...

Stargazer seems to be something snakes have from birth. He was normal when I got him in 2009...it was in 2014 that it was abundantly clear that something was very wrong with the snake. It was very gradual onset. Its been progressively worse...but the snake seems in no discomfort. Just a clear case of a reptile dysfunction (and yes, a bit of a double entendre there) <grins>

If you are a fan of Dr Who, you will get this...I think he looked into the time vortex and went quite mad.

Will give everyone a full report tomorrow. I should be asleep but cant slumber.
 
Lyreiania said:
Axis1...and I love the name of your cats and am sorry that they passed on, but they had great long lives.
Click to expand...

Thanx Lyreiania! Yes they did have long lives. They went within four short months of each other and we had to have both euthanized. Don't know if it can be considered a blessing or a curse to have held them during their last breaths. As someone who works with terminal illness and insanity of many forms on a daily basis (I'm a licensed clinical social worker in NYC), when something is personal and up close like that was, I think I'd rather not have my last memories of someone or something I loved so much be so sad. However, if what happened to them were to happen all over, I wouldn't change one thing we did. We did the right and decent thing to prevent any further suffering on their parts. We mourn them daily.

Now we have two beautiful and energetic kittens (Guido & Nubia). Again, my first choice of names were drug-related (8-Ball & KrashCart) but relationships require a degree of compromise. At least, my doll (my wifey) is someone who is a true soulmate, which is extremely RARE these days! So compromise isn't difficult at all. For her part, she is deathly afraid of snakes! I have to have a room dedicated JUST for my little sneaky ones! However, the fact I have them in the same apartment says a lot about her! She truly is a gem!

Glad Adderall doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and hope it continues that way (nice observation about the term, "Adder!"). Happy to hear you sound like a true snake lover who can look beyond some infirmities. I wouldn't mind having a house full of pets who nobody else wanted because of some perceived aberration. Even a true aberration in THIS world to me, just means someone or something is too DIFFERENT to fit in with the rest! I wouldn't mind having a menagerie of animals no one else wanted because of the way they look or acted. I'd call it "The Misfits," like the toys no one else wanted in the original Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer! (Holy Sh*& do I feel OLD saying that! That came out back when Central Park was in a flowerpot!!!).

In any case, thanx for sharing and please keep us updated!!
 
Hi Axis1, DollysMom, Hypnoctopus and all else who may come here!
Adderal's vet visit came and went pretty well. The vet thinks its LOOKS like a tumor of some sort but could not rule out some form of odd cyst. So, we tried to aspirate and see if we could get some goo from it to analyze. We did, and the aspirate showed mostly white and red blood cells, no crazy cancer cells. However, the vet thinks it still LOOKS tumorous BUT because of the results of the aspiration, we are treating him like he does have an infectious...something. He is on injectable antibiotics every five days. He has a cream to the area daily, which I am sure will just be an exercise in futility as he will just get aspen shavings stuck to the creams grease. Vet said he did not seem to really care at all when the test was done, and he did not care when the vet gave him the first shot, either.

Axis1 you are a social worker in NYC? My fiancé is a licensed social worker in Westchester, NY. I bet you two likely know each other. And, I love your handle here. Its great (I am a nurse, myself. And for oddest animal names, I think the cat I named "Roadkill" has got to win; he was the cat that was dissected in my Anatomy and Physiology class...but maybe that does not count as he was not a pet? My other snake is a healthy rat snake named Svengali. I name pets for character traits.

IF its an infection, the course of treatment may have some noticeable effect in three weeks or so. As I told the vet, if this thing keeps growing at the rate it has, in three weeks, it will be larger than his head. And we cant just remove partially for palliative measures even though hes not at all uncomfortable as that will leave an open wound that has to heal which has a big risk of infection.

So that is his story...I hope the antibiotics work. This snake is one I have had since 2009, he was born (hatched?) in 2007...so hes not OLD for a rat snake. And my vet is dubious that this tumor thing is related to his previous neurologic ills, unless by some remote chance a tumor within his head found its way out by way of his eye...but the eye itself is not affected, really.

Thanks for all the support :)
 
If the aspen is getting stuck, you can switch his bedding to paper towels.

I hope the treatment works for him!
 
Lyreiania said:
Hello all...
I have a conundrum. Actually; its a rat snake with a bump...some history:
This snake has long standing neurological issues...he acts and moves like a snake with Parkinsons disease, he does not know how to eat, he has to be force assisted. He seems unaware of his surroundings, completely oblivious to things. He seems in no distress. I have asked my vet point blank about that, and said I think its cruel to keep an animal alive who is miserable; my veterinarian does not think he is suffering at all. My veterinarian does not know what to make of his strange neurological issues, he is a herp vet.
I wonder if his neurological issues were caused by a brain tumor that burst forth from his head?
Click to expand...

I hope all goes well with your snake..

About 4 years ago I purchased a grey rat snake yearling female. As usual was told it was a captive bred but I made the assumption that it was a wild caught after talking in length with the seller. She never went on feeding strikes but would only eat every 10-14 days so she grew slowly. Fast forward to a year ago. I took her out on a feeding day and noticed a weird behavior. As you said my Earleen was acting like she had Parkinson's! She also would not eat. around 3 months later nothing had changed so I grabbed her and pressed the mouses nose into her mouth then set her down. She promptly eat it and for the last year this is how she eats.
I cannot enlighten you on your snakes behavior but it is interesting that yours and mine act the same. Earleen seams to have no other issues or seems to be in no discomfort either. I will be watching this thread for updates and thank you for posting.
 
Hi Daddio207!!
Thanks for your reply! And that is interesting about your snake...that he seems to have the same thing mine does. Adderal USED to eat as your Earleen did, but he seems to have forgotten how to do even that much. He has to have the mouse totally aided down his throat. The voluntary motions of positioning it to swallow seem to have eluded him. But he does not seem to care.

I hope whatever your guy has is not seemingly progressive and degenerative like what mine has...and I wish you the best of luck with him!
 
Lyreiania said:
Hi Daddio207!!
Thanks for your reply! And that is interesting about your snake...that he seems to have the same thing mine does. Adderal USED to eat as your Earleen did, but he seems to have forgotten how to do even that much. He has to have the mouse totally aided down his throat. The voluntary motions of positioning it to swallow seem to have eluded him. But he does not seem to care.

I hope whatever your guy has is not seemingly progressive and degenerative like what mine has...and I wish you the best of luck with him!
Click to expand...

Your welcome and thanks for your well wishes with Earleen.
 
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